57 years today, Volkswagen drove a Beetle across Lake Chapala

By the clip the past Volkswagen Beetle successful the satellite rolled disconnected the assembly enactment successful Puebla successful 2003, the “Vocho,” arsenic it is inactive fondly called, had endeared itself to conscionable astir everyone successful Mexico.

One of the factors that brought the curvy sedan into the nationalist oculus was the unforgettable time a small achromatic Vocho — equipped with a 30-centimeter propeller — chugged crossed Chapala, Mexico’s biggest lake.

The Volkswagen was specially outfitted for the crossing attempt. (Mexico Desconocido)

That crossing took spot connected September 8, 1968. The communicative of the lawsuit was wide published, but details were scarce, and galore papers embellished their reports.

In hunt of the existent story

To get the existent and afloat story, I sat down with Jorge Viera, president of the Volkswagen Classic Club successful Guadalajara, who spent years looking for the mechanics who made the car amphibious and piloted it crossed the lake.

“I knew 8 of the 14 radical involved,” Viera told me, “and 1 of them introduced maine to the antheral who organized the full thing: Alois Poppenreiter. He was an Austrian-Hungarian technologist brought to Guadalajara by Volkswagen Americas to enactment arsenic Service Manager.

“It was successful 1968 that the thought of floating the small car occurred to Poppenreiter. Volkswagen had announced that their sedan was the astir hermetic car to beryllium recovered and had made ads saying it floated, but it wasn’t truly true. Poppenreiter, however, decided helium was going to bash it; helium was going to marque a Volkswagen float, and helium was going to marque it interval close crossed Lake Chapala!”

Poppenreiter got unneurotic with respective arsenic enthusiastic Mexican mechanics astatine Volkswagen Americas, and the owners of the dealership provided them with a utilized 1968 sedan. For the adjacent six months the squad worked connected this task during their escaped time. They were ne'er paid thing for this and ever made it wide they had done it for fun.

Jorge Viera undertook a ngo to find and interrogation the squad down the audacious stunt. (John Pint)

They started retired by putting the Vocho done their car lavation to spot conscionable however watertight it was. 

“Then they began enactment connected sealing it up,” says Viera. “People accidental they usage silicon, but it didn’t beryllium successful those days! Actually, they utilized a merchandise called Apcoseal, arsenic good arsenic putty, cork, and adjacent ovum whites: thing fancy!

Beneath achromatic waters

“Next, they went to a adjacent parkland called Avila Camacho, wherever determination was a dam. Well, a definite magnitude of what we telephone ‘aguas negras’ (raw sewage) flowed into that dam, but that didn’t clasp backmost the team. They built a ramp, drove the Vocho into it… and it sank! They had to propulsion it retired with a tractor and ropes.”

Years later, Marcelo de Loza, 1 of the Mexican mechanics, recalled the event. “The h2o successful that dam was soiled and smelled bad. We went backmost to the bureau and washed some the car and ourselves. I ended up stinking for 3 days,”

By proceedings and error, the task advanced. The car’s 1200 motor had been ruined by h2o leaking into it and was replaced by a 1500. Adjustments were made to support the lipid successful and the h2o out. A modified worm cogwheel had to beryllium made connected a lathe.

The h2o successful Lake Chapala was not particularly clean. Note the rescue ropes mounted connected the beforehand of the vehicle. (Jorge Viera)

Water snakes and lilies

“Next,” continues Viera, “they tested the car astatine the Ajijic Yacht Club and Lake Cajititlán wherever they ran into problems from h2o snakes and ‘lirios,’ h2o hyacinths that carpeted galore section lakes and lagoons successful those days.”

By now, the Vocho had a removable 30-cm bronze propeller connected the back, concern tubing extending its exhaust pipes supra h2o level, and a snorkel connected its carburetor.

At last, they made their last tests successful Lake Chapala.

The water crossing was to instrumentality spot connected September 8 and for the lawsuit they hired 2 speedboats to travel them successful lawsuit of trouble. 

It’s important to enactment that the doors of the Vocho were sealed and couldn’t beryllium opened adjacent successful an emergency. If the car began to sink, they would person to exit via the windows.

The aviator of the amphibious conveyance was Alois Poppenreiter himself and the copilot was the antheral successful complaint of the electrical system, Marcelo de Loza, who, however, was specifically chosen for co-pilot “as helium was an fantabulous swimmer.” De Loza operated the car’s 2 bilge pumps. The nationalist didn’t cognize astir these due to the fact that the h2o was being pumped retired of the car done the mitt compartment.

Finally came the time of the crossing. The would-be mariners attached a 30-meter-long agave-fiber enactment to the bumper, successful lawsuit the car went to the bottom. This was coiled and hanging connected the extracurricular reflector connected the driver’s side. They informed the newspapers, and tons of radical showed up.

The program was to motorboat the vessel astatine 12:00 noon from San Luis Soyatlan astatine the southwest country of the lake. They expected to scope Ajijic astatine 2:00 p.m. and Chapala astatine 3:00.

“However, says Viera, “there they were connected the 8th, acceptable to launch, but the 2 velocity boats were obscurity to beryllium seen. The crushed was the waves. They were truthful precocious that nary boats of immoderate benignant were allowed connected the lake. It was excessively dangerous.”

“Well, aft a while, the waves calmed down and they instantly launched the Vochito, accompanied by an mean rowboat. It was lone halfway done the lawsuit that 1 of those velocity boats arrived. There were stories that a scuba diver accompanied them, but these were conscionable rumors.”

Choppy waters

The victorious Volkswagen spent immoderate clip successful the WV Americas installation earlier being un-retired to advertise the 1970 World Cup. (Mexico Desconocido)

Chapala oregon bust

“We near San Luis Soyatlán astatine astir 12:15,” recalled de Loza successful a TV Azteca interview, “and, definite enough, aft a small portion the centrifugal died…but, we managed to get it going again and carried on, reaching Ajijic astatine astir 4:00 p.m., but past we had to support going successful the h2o to scope Chapala. That took america different 2 hours.”

When they arrived, a euphoric assemblage of locals and tourists welcomed the Vochito astatine the pier — and past began the fiesta!

The car was enactment connected grounds successful Volkswagen Americas for a portion and — restored for mean cognition — made its last nationalist quality astatine Jalisco Stadium during a World Cup shot crippled successful 1970. It was driven to the mediate of the transportation where, to the crowd’s delight, retired of it emerged each eleven members of Mexico’s team, who had been crammed inside. The car was past sold and mislaid way of, but the Vocho that crossed the water volition ne'er beryllium forgotten.

John Pint has lived adjacent Guadalajara, Jalisco, for much than 30 years and is the writer of “A Guide to West Mexico’s Guachimontones and Surrounding Area” and co-author of “Outdoors successful Western Mexico.” More of his penning tin beryllium found on his website.