I really need to dig into what this was more, but for the moment, let me just show you that wonderful, earthtone-y image up there of an actual Volkswagen Beetle variant you could buy in Europe around 1980: the Hazard Streaker. What a fantastic name for a car! From what I can tell, this wasn’t sold as a Baja Beetle kit, but as a pre-assembled full car, that could be based on, unusually for a Baja, a convertible Super Beetle (1303) as well as a normal Beetle. Maybe it was a kit, also? I’ll be honest, I’m not entirely certain. Here, let’s look at a couple more ads for these.
You know, maybe it is a kit, because it lists “VW-Käfer, 1303 und Cabrio-Modelle” which is the regular Beetle and the Super Beetle variants. Usually, Baja kits tended to avoid the MacPherson-strut front suspension of the Super Beetles, preferring the very rugged torsion bar front axle of the regular Beetles, but there were some kits. Also, a convertible Baja was sort of a rarity, with most using the cheaper and more available hardtop Beetles. That one up there is just a flat-windshield normal torsion-bar Beetle, anyway.
Look at the big pickup truck-style towing mirrors, too!
I like how casual this ad’s photography is especially. It looks like they literally just remembered, shit, we need to take pictures for our ad, pulled over, clicked the camera a few times, and then got back on their way.
The roll bars are pretty beefy in these, and that engine cage doesn’t look like what I saw on any Baja kits in America, especially with that upper mesh part. Plus, those front indicators are pretty novel, too. And we have different huge side mirrors here as well.
I wonder how standardized these were? In this video, a lot of the details are different, and it’s based on a hardtop Beetle – it looks a lot more like Baja kits I’ve seen:
Anyway, I’ll dig into just what the Hazard Streaker was a bit more, but until then, let it be as a guide to you today, encouraging you to, um, get naked and run through some public event? You know, like a coronation or something.
That looks very similar to the “wide-eye” baja bug kit that I purchased in 1976 from Berrien Buggy in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Even had the same recesses on the frunk. And mine was a convertible, also! (1967)
It seams odd to me that the front indicators would be moved down lower where they would be more prone to damage. I wonder what the logic was? The heavily sculpted hood is kinda cool looking and makes sense, having dented a beetle hood too easily once myself.
Also, can someone explain to me why this genre had the engine bay open and caged? It doesn’t seam to provide any more clearance removing the bodywork. Was it for improved cooling?
Improved coolness, more likely.
As stringent as the German TUV safety certification is, I’m kind of surprised that this level of modification was allowed to exist in Germany.
There are two separate kits, one for regular Beetles and one for 1303 Super Beetles.
The clue is the “ausser (except) 1302” – that’s the 1971-2 flat windshield Super Beetle. Apparently they didn’t see the point in doing a third variation for a relatively short-lived transitional model.
71-72 Superbeetles also used the flat windshield and have some parts interchangeability with the standard beetles, but most of the sheetmetal was exclusive to that 2 model year run. 71-72 Superbeetle hoods are practically unobtanium, ask me how I know!
Don’t look, Ethel!
But it’s too late
Those big mirrors are from a Vanagon!
That’s entirely right, turned upside down ! Didn’t spot it myself but when I read your comment, it hit me too. And to think I have a Vanagon since 2007 …
‘Coronation Streak’ sounds like a parody of a long-running UK soap opera.
And I thought Streaker Hazard was floppage, flappage, and shrinkage.
And Bobby Wagner.
What’s with those pipe-like attachments on the rear fenders? Are they designed to be steps to aid passenger ingress to the rear seat without going through the door? Are they load-bearing?
It’s difficult to be certain, but with the running boards gone the attachments do look like steps for the rear passengers. As we know, kooky people who ride around in quirky convertibles always leap over the side to get into the back seat.
At first I thought the pipe dealies were to protect the rear fenders from trees, etc. while baja-ing around – and they may do that as well – but I think the step/handle idea makes sense.
Yeah, GDankert, wondering about that, too. Possible that they might actually serve, at least in part, as running boards since it looks like they removed the original running boards in order to reinforce the frame rails given that those are convertibles destined for rough terrain use & how they also installed pretty substantial rollbars…
What I remember from my air-cooled days is that the piping in front of the rear tire was meant to avoid having that tire ‘hook’ a tree trunk and rip that tire&suspension from the car. Note that it makes sort of a triangle with the hypotenuse from a forward part of the door bottom to the outside leading edge of the rear tire. So a hypothetical tree rubs along the hypotenuse instead of wedging into the inner right angle at the inside leading edge of the tire.
I had never seen a convertible Baja Bug until this ad. Interesting.
Dialects are amazing things.
As politely as I can put this, I recall a “streaker” as being the aftermath of an overlong gap between bowel excitement and a visit to the bathroom.
I think it isn’t coincidence most of the Beetles in this article are brown. I’m more worried about the ones that aren’t.
Be sure that while you are streaking, you have your hazards on to warn people you are coming.
Here is a little background about Kühn, who sold that: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buggy-Center-Hamburg_G._K%C3%BChn
Ok, I admit, it is in German…
Thank you. It Google translated for me: )
It mentioned that it was built on a shortened chassis, which is what I wondered looking at the ad.
Heh, even works in German.
“Ein Original US-Flitzer-Bausatz,” while literally meaning “an original US speedster conversion kit” could reasonably be translated to “an original US streaker kit”.
Turns out casual exhibitionism might transcend language borders.
When the kids start driving in a few years I want to add a fun little car to the garage that you have to row your own in that I can use when the other vehicles are out or just for fun. A baja bug has been working it’s way higher and higher on the list.
Cool little buzz bomb. I, no shit, dreamed last night about building a Meyers Manx with a Porsche Type 4 engine. Being a dream, of course, everything that could go wrong did. Then I woke up to this post. Is somebody trying to tell me something?
DT and Torch are trying to psychically communicate commands to you. It may ultimately result in content for the site.
Along with divorce and/or sideways into a tree death, depending on how the project goes…