After building this site, my search for BINZ specifics began. After contacting Dan kinsey, I realized we were both searching for the same thing.  I knew what he was doing, - I knew what he was looking for. I knew why night after night, he sat at his computer.  He was looking for answers.... I knew because I was once looking for the same thing, and when I found it, I realized I wasn't really looking for the answer.
It was the Question that drove me.........
What is the Binz.

The following is a story that Dan kinsey wrote for my site to the best of his knowledge with the facts presented.
Revised on 8-19-01
The Binz Story
Dan kinsey
Binz 187
Volkswagen began production of the Crew Cab on November 3, 1958 according to "Progressive Refinements", a manual published by Volkswagen.  Prior to that, all Volkswagen Crew Cabs were made by the coachbuilder Binz & Company.  The Binz Crew Cab, "Binz" for short, is one of the rarest production type II's in existence.

The exact origin of the Binz crew cab is unknown.  One article states that sometime between 1954 and 1956 the owner of a nursery visited the Binz coachwerks in Germany.   He was in need of a vehicle that would be able to transport plants, materials, and workers to and from jobsites.  In addition to having the standard truck bed it also needed a protected space for transporting sensitive plants.  Thus, according to the story, the crew cab was born. However, there is also an early Volkswagen Special Option brochure dated 10/53, showing a Binz double cab. Perhaps the nursery owner story is correct and the dates are wrong.

What is known, is the Binz crew cab was available through the Volkswagen dealer network until February 1959 as Special Equipment Option 16 or SO 16. According to some reports, you could also take your VW single cab to Binz and have them convert it for you.  My guess is that after the first conversion for the nursery owner, if that story is true, the next several conversions were performed on customer vehicles until a contract with VW was agreed upon. The practice of converting customer vehicles may have continued concurrently with the VW contract but almost definitely continued after the contract expired.   This would account for the existence of post '59 Binz crew cabs rumored to exist.   The practice of converting customer trucks makes it difficult to verify the start date of Binz production. Theoretically, you could have taken your '53 single cab to Binz in 1960 to have it converted so the existence of a '53 Binz does not necessarily mean Binz started production in 1953.

The process of the conversion was very straightforward.  VW sent single cabs in primer with belly pans, like the deluxe and the double door busses, to the Binz factory.   The conversion was performed by taking the stock VW single cab, cutting the back section of the cab off, and moving it rearward approximately 85 cm.   This created the rear seating/storage area.  A roof section, third door, and wall panel were then installed to enclose the new, larger, passenger cabin.  As an option, the owner could have Binz paint the truck for an additional fee of 260dm (in 1957). The paint quality on these trucks was very poor.  The engine compartment was left in primer and the ashtray was left in when the cabin was painted.  Lift up the ashtray on an original paint Binz and you will see a ring of primer showing.  The majority of the Binz conversions were painted "Tauben Blau" or Blue-Grey, a color similar to Dove Blue, but other colors were also used.  There are vintage articles showing bumpers and wheels painted the same color as the body and other articles showing both white wheels and white detail on the bumpers. Based on these photos I believe the earlier conversions had everything painted the body color while the later ones used white detail.

The trademark exterior signs of a Binz are the large rectangular rear side windows, large rear door (suicide style on most Binz but with traditional forward opening hinges on later models), and the remains of bed seam showing
on the drivers side (see photos), and the cut and welded side gates. Interior differences include the bulkhead, Binz production tag, and the optional (250 dm in 9/57) Binz only rear seat.now that is a rare seat!

So far all of the Binz I have found have a Binz Tag number that starts out "3635" then is followed by another number, "187" in my case.  So my Binz Tag reads "3635+187".  The "187" portion of the tag refers to the production number.  So mine would be the 187th Binz conversion built.   The meaning of the "3635" is unclear.  I'm guessing it refers to the general type of the conversion or possibly a specific type of conversion.  The difference is small but important.  Since Binz did several types of conversions the "3635" could simply designate conversion of Volkswagen single cab to double cab - a general designation.  But it could also mean conversion of Volkswagen single cab to double cab for US Export.  If so, there could be a whole other designation and production numbering series for domestic (European) delivered Binz conversions.  To date all the Binz I have found have been in the United States so until I find a European delivered Binz and get the serial number and Tag information from it I can't be 100% certain of the meaning of the "3635" or make an estimate to the total production.

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