Clear View

Remember that mythbusters-style article we did around 10 years ago? We had some fun busting a few VW myths in the workshop, which included using a pair of ladies tights as a fan belt, attempting to see a swastika in a spinning Volkswagen logo and starting a Beetle with a piece of rope, amongst other tomfoolery. It was early days for Hayburner and all done on a shoestring budget but was received well at the time. After all these years I thought it was time to take another look into a few myths I’ve read about over the years and publish my findings once in a while.

This is a good one and something I’ve been meaning to look into for some time. Around eight or nine years ago I was asked to drive a friend’s Euro-spec LHD ’56 Oval from the show field to the campsite at VW Action because he was too intoxicated to drive himself. Now those of you who know me well won’t believe there’s a chance in hell that back then I would have been sober enough to be chosen as designated driver, especially in the evening, but there was a reason. That day I had to leave the show to attend a Christening where I was to become Godfather to my friend’s son. This meant I stayed sober. On my return I of course found the friends whom I’d left in charge of the Hayburner trade stand pissed as rats, with security quimming about, moving the cars that they had dumped in the fire lane.

Anyway, I didn’t give it a lot of thought after that until a couple of years back when I came across the photograph and posted it on social media. It was of course followed by comments from internet experts: some of them said that it was a dealer safety option; some said it was coincidence and the way the glass had broken; and some just wanted to tell everyone that their dad once owned a Beetle.

Well, having actually seeing this on a windscreen, I decided to dig a little deeper. The first thing to do was to put the photograph into Google Images. A Beetle windscreen shattered in the same way appeared, as well as some advert for SEKURIT glass that someone was using as an example to say that these strange windscreens were a “thing”.

Again using the power of the internet, I did a Google Image translation. The board in the advert did boast about the fact that the new tempered glass would shatter into thousands of “harmless” pieces, but had no mention of the circle in front of the driver’s face. You see, there are different types of glass: old-fashioned plate or annealed glass like windows in your house (this shatters into long shards); tempered or toughened glass, which is a type of safety glass processed by controlled thermal or chemical treatments to increase its strength compared with normal glass (this shatters into tiny pieces); and finally laminated glass, which is made by sandwiching a layer of plastic between two layers of glass (this cracks but remains in one piece). Plate glass windscreens were only used on the very earliest cars and were extremely dangerous, sometimes killing the driver in an accident. Manufacturers had to quickly come up with a more suitable material for windscreens. Tempered glass was the answer. Tempered glass was used on European model Volkswagen Beetles, normally made by SEKURIT, and laminated windscreens were used mostly for the American market. I’ve seen various brands of laminated glass such as Sigla, Duroglas, Kinonglas and Delog. Why the American safety regulations insisted on laminated glass instead of tempered, I have no idea.

The more I dug, the more photographs I found, so I turned to good old trusty Progressive Refinements. For those of you that don’t know what this is, it’s the most boring read you’ll ever cast your eyes over. Its different volumes list every change VW made in the build process from 1940 onwards. The literature is split into sections: Production Figures, Engine, Clutch, and Heating System, Fuel System, Front Axle – Steering, Rear Axle – Transmission, Brakes – Wheels – Tires, Frame, Body, Electrical System and General Modifications. Now as you can imagine it’s not easy to find a specific change unless you know exactly where to look. Some months had hundreds of changes, so searching takes a bit of dedication. Believe it or not I bloody found it! Under the “Body” section, there it was. It clearly states that on 13th October 1954 (Chassis No. 1-0730023) “Windscreen Now: with vision area on driver’s side”. Well, as far as I’m concerned that can’t mean anything else, can it?

So to clarify, and I found this information from Thomas Steininger’s Facebook page:

Pre-1953 – “Spiegel-glas” (translates to “mirror glass”)

Post-early 1953 – “SEKURIT-glas”

Post-October 1954 – “SEKURIT-glas” with a clear view (VISURIT). The clear view couldn’t always be produced clearly, hence the rainbow effect. So post-mid-January 1958, VISURIT-S glass was used. The clear view section can be seen when looking at the windshield at a harsh angle.

I think this “vision area” is a brilliant idea! A clear view in front of the driver’s face which remained, while the rest of the windscreen shattered into tiny pieces. Where previously you’d be completely blind after an accident, this remaining clear section would allow you to safely get off the road or slow down before the whole windshield fell out. I guess also if your head were to hit the windscreen in a major collision, the round section in front of you would tend to stay in one piece while the rest of the windshield shattered around it as your face pushed through.

Someone on theSamba suggested that the clear view section was achieved with jets of gas flame and little blasts of cool air while the windscreen was being made, which makes sense. I’ve also read that this was only done on LHD cars. I did believe this as I’ve only ever seen this on LHD cars. That was until this photo popped up again on thesamba, where the camera has picked up the clear view section clearly, and it’s a RHD Cabrio so has a completely different windscreen size from the Sedan. Could this mean that clear view was used on everything? I’ve definitely never seen it on a Type2.

In general the Progressive Refinement information is pretty accurate, although there’s nothing to say that VW wouldn’t finish off the old stock until it was gone even if they had already received the bulletin. Over the years I’ve come across various parts, especially on early cars, that “shouldn’t be there” but were definitely factory fitted. I also read that someone insists they have this windscreen as an option on their M-plate. Even with all this research I can’t find this anywhere, so if you have the code, I’d love to know it ([email protected]).

My other question is: when did VW stop supplying these windscreens? Again I had to dig into the lists. The next windscreen change isn’t until 13th January 1958 Chassis No. 1-793278, listed as “Now: SEKURIT (large vision area)”, which makes sense according to Thomas’s information.

After not finding any more changes from this in the 1940–1961 literature, I went on to Progressive Refinements 1961–1967, where I couldn’t see a single change for the windscreen until 3rd August 1964 Chassis No. 115 000 001. It states “Now: Window area increased” and nothing about a vision area. Maybe the very slight curvature of the new larger windscreen meant that they could no longer create the vision area?

Personally, I’m sceptical as to this going on into the 1960s. We have a ’63 sitting outside the workshop with its original windscreen and I can’t for the life of me see any sign of a circle.

So, to conclude, I think we can certainly say there is absolutely no question that VISURIT clear view glass was definitely a “thing” in the mid- to late 1950s. According to Progressive Refinements it was a factory change rather than an option. However, I have owned three Euro-spec Ovals and I can’t remember ever noticing it on any of them. Maybe the screens were changed over time or perhaps there is some truth in the M-code theory. As for when it ended, I have to say I just don’t know.

So, put your polarised sunglasses on, sit in the car at dusk and take a photo of your windscreen and send it to [email protected]. I’ll tell you what, I’ll send a goodie bag to the owner of the latest year Beetle photograph with a visible clear view windscreen.

Enjoy this article? For more articles not available online please check out Hayburner Plus, currently the world’s biggest circulating classic VW/Porsche magazine. 

You can subscribe here https://hayburner.co.uk/subscriptions/