How Volkswagen Combined Its Beetle, Karmann Ghia, And Bus To Create The 'Fridolin' Postal Carrier (And A Look At A Slammed One For Sale) - The Autopian (2024)

For years, car enthusiasts have looked to the Grumman LLV as the holy grail of weird postal trucks to own one day. But, unless you happen to score one of the super rare municipal LLVs, your chances to buy one are slim. Forget the LLV for a moment because Volkswagen made an even weirder postal truck. The Volkswagen Type 147 Kleinlieferwagen is the strange and rare 50-year-old postal truck you forgot about if you even knew it existed. Even better, you can buy one right here in America.

Postal trucks have a sort of odd appeal that other vehicles don’t. Normally, a 1980s Chevy S-10 with an underpowered four-cylinder is a vehicle that most enthusiasts probably don’t think a lot about. But, place a cargo body and sliding doors on top, and now we have something cool. One of David’s famous Moab trips was in a seemingly hopeless Jeep Dispatcher! Postal trucks are awesome and I’d do some bad things to get my hands on one.

I still have hope of finding a cheap LLV, but if you aren’t married to America’s iconic postal trucks, Germany can deliver something that looks baffling. This modified 1972 Volkswagen Type 147 Kleinlieferwagen ‘Fridolin’ is up for grabs on Bring a Trailer and I can’t stop looking at it from all angles.

A Humble Mail Carrier

The Volkswagen Type 147 Kleinlieferwagen, nicknamed the Fridolin, is a vehicle recognizable to Germans from the era because thousands of these trucks were deployed to deliver the mail. It’s not unlike how Americans associate the Grumman LLV with the same but on a smaller scale.

This story takes us back to the 1960s. German government-run Deutsche Bundespost, the successor to the Deutsche Post of 1947 and the Deutsche Reichspost before that, wanted to create a specialized vehicle to deliver the mail. This wasn’t the first time Germany put out a call for a proper mail truck. In the 1950s, Germany reportedly commissioned a postal truck from Hans Glas, resulting in the Goggomobil Transporter.

More than 2,000 of these delivery trucks were entered into service in various roles from mail to street cleaning, but Germany eventually figured out that it wanted something larger and more reliable than a microcar with a box on the back.

For its next postal truck, Germany looked to Volkswagen. As the book, Volkswagen Transporter: the complete story, writes, Volkswagen and the German post office already enjoyed a beneficial relationship. However, a normal VW wasn’t going to work. The postal service wanted a purpose-built mail truck. Volkswagen continues the story:

The Postal Authority approached Volkswagen with a list of specific dimensions and capabilities for their official postal vehicle. Their specifications included an extensive cargo capacity, a payload of at least 750 pounds, and two sliding side doors to allow for easier access.

To meet their needs, VW offered up a custom prototype that included parts from several existing air-cooled Volkswagen models: the engine and transmission from the Beetle, the chassis from the Karmann Ghia, rear body elements from the Type 2 Microbus and headlight assemblies and hood design from a Type 3 Notchback.

Weighing in at over a ton, the postal authority was satisfied with this user-friendly utility van and it went into production at Westfalia-Werke in 1964. More than 6,000 models were built until production ended in 1974.

Rear body parts came from a Type 2:

The lights and hood of a Type 3 Notchback:

The chassis of a Karmann Ghia:

Now, you may ask why wasn’t the Type 2 a good choice for this role? It had been in production for over a decade at that point and was designed to be a workhorse. Reportedly, the Type 147 Kleinlieferwagen stands out because it’s smaller and has large sliding entry doors. A Type 147 Kleinlieferwagen is 5 inches wider and 9 inches taller than a Beetle, but 8 inches shorter and 3 inches narrower than a Type 2.

Since the Type 147 Kleinlieferwagen was expected to cover routes without a ton of speed, the Beetle’s 1200 34 HP engine was mounted in the rear with its transaxle. Under that quirky hood up front were your normal classic VW bits including a spare tire, fuel tank, and windshield washer bottle. Volkswagen above notes that the delivery truck was a parts bin special, but it goes even more than that. The truck’s windshield comes from the Type 3 and the truck’s interior pieces are a mismash of parts from the Bus and Beetle.

There were even variations of the Volkswagen Type 147 Kleinlieferwagen. Volkswagen says that over 1,000 examples were sold to the Swiss postal service. Those Swiss examples had wraparound rear side windows and a larger rear window. Swiss Type 147s also had their own heaters, a different interior, a bigger engine, front disc brakes, and side windows where the German Type 247s didn’t have them.

You might be wondering where that “Fridolin” nickname comes from, and Volkswagen doesn’t really know:

Although the Fridolin was state-owned and operated for a decade, its nickname and the meaning of the name remains unknown. One rumor says the “Fridolin” name came from a Volkswagen worker who affectionately exclaimed it looked like a coworker with that surname. Another rumor suggests it’s similar to a German word for small boy or child.

Of course, this is an old air-cooled Volkswagen, so of course Jason Torchinsky drove one and adored it. However, that was over a decade ago. Wow, time moves fast!

Sadly, the Fridolin hasn’t enjoyed an easy retirement. Apparently, these trucks did end up in private hands after their work with the postal service. They then became the delivery vehicles for businesses around Germany. These trucks eventually rotted out and were discarded. Few people thought of preserving some. Because of this, Volkswagen believes that there aren’t even 200 of these left in existence. A sad end for any workhorse.

This Fridolin

That leaves us with today’s 1972 Volkswagen Type 147 Kleinlieferwagen. It’s up for grabs on Bring a Trailer in an auction with 4 days left on the clock and bids at $21,503.

As you can tell, this one isn’t stock. The listing says the vehicle was rusty in the past, but the metal was blasted and the rust was removed. The restoration saw the delivery truck receiving custom pearlescent paint, custom pop-out windows, fender vent flaps, a safari-style rear window, and a bunch of other smaller things.

The delivery truck nature was largely lost in the interior renovation.

There are now bucket seats with parchment upholstery up front, and another parchment bench in the rear. Square weave carpets line the floor and wells in the truck. Other custom bits include the Budnik Wheels steering wheel, polished Billet Specialties wheels, and an air suspension.

Originally, these postal vehicles were practically the definition of “spartan.” Volkswagen originally fitted them with a single seat, door cards consisting of covered hardboard, tar board floors, and cold, body color metal in other places. There was just a heater vent for the driver and nowhere else in the vehicle.

The business end of the postal truck was also upgraded and sounds to be better equipped for modern travel. The original 2100 Beetle flat-four was replaced by another VW air-cooled engine. It was then modified to its current 2,332cc specification. The engine is fed from dual Weber carbs, cooled with a Bergman Porsche-style cooling fan, and breathes from six velocity stacks. The upgraded engine is backed by a Rancho Performance Pro Street four-speed transaxle and access to the powertrain was improved through a rear hatch borrowed from a Type 2.

The only thing I’d change is the wheels. Aside from that, this postal truck looks like a total blast. The only downside I see is the fact that the engine takes up space under the rear hatch, so good luck turning this into a motorcycle hauler. Still, the possibilities are endless.

As I noted before, this Volkswagen Type 147 Kleinlieferwagen is being sold on Bring a Trailer in an auction with 4 days left and bids at $21,503. There’s no telling where the bids will land on this one, but it is a rare piece of history. You’ll likely stump everyone but the Jason Torchinsky types out there. So, forget the LLV, at least for now, find one of these and bring it home!

(Images: Bring a Trailer Seller, unless otherwise noted.)