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On the 8th of March 1950 the first production model of the Splitscreen Bus was manufactured. It was a Panelvan with chassis number 20-00000. There were a few Buses made before this date but they were very limited in quantity and were more like prototypes than full on production models.
Barndoor Bus
In September 1950 the Panelvan was updated to include three short louvres on each side of the van. These were designed to ventilate the load area. This was introduced from chassis number 20-002818.
On October 31st 1950 from chassis number 20-005001 the spare wheel was moved on all VW Splitscreen Buses from its vertical position on the right hand side of the engine compartment to a new horizontal position above the engine.
On November 11th 1950 the VW badge was no longer fitted to the back of the van. The Splitscreen Bus at this stage did still not have a rear window.
From April 10th 1951 the VW Badge on the front panel was changed from being manufactured from Aluminium and was now produced in Steel.
On April 20th 1951 (From Chassis number 20-012343) a small rear window was introduced to the back of the van. This was included on all Panelvans, Kombi’s and Microbuses.
On June 1st 1951 the first Microbus de luxe (Samba) was produced. The chassis number for this Bus was 20-013908. The Samba included a sliding sunroof and 23 Windows including windows in the roof (Skylights) and special curved windows on the rear corners.
On 3rd August 1951 (from chassis number 20-015400) the louvres that were introduced on the Panelvan back in September 1950 were increased in length to increase ventilation.
On 3rd December 1951 the first Volkswagen Splitscreen Ambulance was produced. The chassis number of this bus was 20-019498.
On March 31st 1952 a reflector was added to the right hand rear corner. Before this date (Chassis number 20-023750) the Splitscreen Bus only had a reflector on the left hand rear corner.
On 5th August 1952 the first Volkswagen Splitscreen Pick-up was produced (Chassis number 20-030590).
On the 2nd January 1953 the cab door front quarter light was changed on the Splitsceen Bus. The original design before this model included a piano hinge. From Chassis Number 20-041712 the pivoting quarter light was introduced which can be found on all models thereafter.
In March 1953 the first syncromesh gearbox was installed in the VW Splitscreen Bus. Syncromesh gears were installed on 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears.
On the 21st December 1953 the VW Splitscreen Bus was given the all new 30HP (1192cc) engine. Before this date all Splitscreen Buses were fitted with the 25HP (1131cc) engine which was the same as the engine fitted into the VW Beetle.
On March 1st 1955 the VW Splitscreen Bus was redesigned which saw the end of the Barndoor Model. The front of the roof was extended to include a new peak over the front windscreen. This peak included a new fresh air vent which was to feed fresh air to a new air box inside the cab area.
The engine lid (Barndoor) was reduced in size and a new Tailgate was introduced to allow better access to the interior of the Bus.
The spare wheel was moved from the engine bay to inside the bus behind the front seats.
An extra Louvre (now 9 on each side) was installed in the side panel of the Splitscreen Bus above the rear wheel.
The dashboard was completely redeveloped and now included a new larger speedometer. The ignition switch was changed so that the the start was incorporated into the switch. The indicator stalk was moved from the top of the dashboard to the left hand side of the steering column. The steering wheel was changed from 3 spokes down to 2.
The barndoor Bus was originally fitted with 16” steel wheels. From now on all Splitscreen Buses would be fitted with a smaller 15” wheel.
A steering Damper was fitted to all models.
Although still a single circuit brake line system, the brake master cylinder and wheel cylinders were all increased in size.
1958 Kombi
In May 1958 (From Chassis number 351 736) the tail lights were increased in size to incorporate the brake lights and tail lights. Before this date the brake light was a single separate unit.
In August 1958 (From Chassis Number 374 811) the side cargo doors incorporated a recess behind the exterior handle.
The ribbed bumpers were also a thing of the past and a new stronger ‘blade’ bumper was fitted to both the front and rear of the van. In September 1958 (Chassis number 385 000) the US spec bumper was produced which included overiders and towel rails. These bumpers were fitted as standard in North America and were optional extras in other markets.
On the 3rd of November 1958 the first Splitscreen Double Cab Pickup (Crewcab) was produced.
On the 19th of May 1959 the first 1200cc style engine was fitted as standard. This included a brand new style crankcase with a removable dynamo stand. On June 1st 1960 the horse power of the engine was increased from 30Hp to 34HP.
Also in June 1960 Semaphores were now a thing of the past. In America the semaphore had already been replaced with flashing indicators back in March 1955 but the rest of the world were still running Semaphores up until now.
In December 1960 the side cargo door top hinges were lowered.
In August 1961 the American market saw the end of the bullet style indicators. They were replaced with a flatter version (Known as Fish Eye Indicators) and the tail lights were increased in size. However the rest of the world would not adopt these changes until August 1963.
In August 1962 the full width front bench seat was replaced with a 1/3rd 2/3rd style front seat for non walk-through models.
1963 Crewcab
In January 1963 the first 1500cc single port engine was fitted to the Splitscreen Bus.
In March 1963 the side vents were given yet another makeover and a 10th vent was added to each side. At this point the vents were then made to face inwards instead of outwards as on all previous models.
In August 1963 the tailgate was increased in size. This became the end of the 23 window Samba due to the lack of space for the rear corner windows. The Samba from now on would only be a 21 Window (all other windows remained the same except the larger rear window).
The ‘ice pick’ cab door handles were replaced in December 1963 (From Chassis Number 1 222 026) for a push button style cab door handle.
The floor mounted headlight dipswitch was replaced in August 1965 to be incorporated into the indicator stalk mounted on the steering column.
Also in August 1965 the Splitscreen bus wiper motor was upgraded to a 2 speed version.
The first 12 volt Splitscreen Bus was produced in August 1966. As with all 12 volt aircooled models the engine flywheel was increased in size and was installed with a 130 teeth ring gear instead of the 109 teeth on a 6 volt flywheel ring gear. The gearbox case therefore also was modified to accept the larger 12 volt starter motor.
1966 Splitscreen Bus
