You See The Best Converted Rear-Engined Pickup Trucks Right Outside Of Major Prisons

I’m just back from a red-eye flight, coming back from the Bay Area where I drove that $250,000 electric-converted Volkswagen Microbus from Kindred Motorworks. I mentioned it the other day, as you’ll recall. I’ll have a full review of that coming soon, but before then I need to show you this amazing truck I saw while testing out that Kindred Bus. And, even better, I saw this thing right next to the famous San Quentin prison. I’m excited about the truck because it’s a converted Volkswagen Type 3 Squareback.

Did you know San Quentin is California’s oldest prison? It was started in 1852 to replace a prison ship named the Waban! Who knew?

I just sorted ended up at the prison by chance, and I don’t see why the fact that I may or may not have had condoms full of pharmaceuticals crammed into body cavities is even worth bringing up, so I’m just not even going to dignify that by writing about it, because I just don’t see how it’s relevant here or why we even need to bring it up at all, so you know, never mind all that.

So this Type 3 truck: it immediately caught my eye because (1) it’s a VW Type 3 pickup truck and (B) it’s a really well-converted Type 3 pickup truck.

I think, based on the early Type 3 body and the presence of reverse lights, it was made from a 1967-1969 Squareback, the station wagon of the Type 3 family. While this thing has clearly seen its share of use and is in solid, if tattered shape, you can tell that some real care was put into the conversion.

Look how nicely the upper bed line is, with that nice folded lip and how the rear fender line remains intact. The rear bulkhead is also very nicely done, with a slight curve as it melds into the bedsides.

The rear window is nicely sized and inset – that could be an old VW Bus rear window? I’m not exactly sure. The Squareback, with its rear seat folded down, had a nice flat load surface, which has become the bed floor here. The flat-four engine is still aft of the rear axle, of course, and accessible through a panel in the load floor.

I’ve highlighted the dimensions of the bed area there, and, especially considering this is a rear-engined car, it’s a pretty decent sized truck bed! I think it may even be longer than the beds in some compact trucks like the Ford Maverick or the Hyundai Santa Cruz, though those trucks do have four-door cabs, of course. Still, you absolutely could use this to do some actual trucky things, and, based on the wear, I suspect this owner has done just that.

I’m especially impressed with the tailgate design; based on the presence of that upper T-handle, I think this must be hinged at the bottom, and done in a very clean way. That’s the opposite of how the Squareback was originally, with its rear hatchback, so re-working the hinging setup that seamlessly is no joke.

I just appreciate what a nice and tidy conversion this is, and how well the Squareback lends itself to a pickup truck design. I wonder when it was done, and by whom – was this the work of a specialized shop, or just some skilled backyard DIYer?

Whomever it was, let me just say great job. I wonder if the owner works for the prison? It’s right next door. Maybe rents/mortgages are cheaper when a huge prison is your neighbor. There also seems to be a sign for astrology readings in front of where this is parked. Perhaps the owner is an astrologer, and needs a good, small truck for all that complex astrology equipment, like astrolabes and crystalline spheres and anti-Mercury retrograde hazmat suits or whatever.

UPDATE: A fellow Autopian named Mike just informed me that this truck is for sale! And it’s a ’69! They want $23,000 for it! Oy. I mean, on one level, the work done to convert it is worthy of respect and has value, but still, I’m not sure the market will bear that.