Johann Distler founded, in 1895 in Nürnberg, the Metallwarenfabrik Johann Distler KG. Until WW1 they mainly produced Penny Toys. Later they also produced cars, planes and mechanical toys. In 1936 the Company was bought by Ernst Völkl (also owner of TRIX) due to the fact that Johann Distler was Jewish and need to sell his company. DISTLER mainly produced for large retailers and mail order. In 1962, production in Germany was seized and the tools were sold to Belgium, where some toys (like the Porsche 356) were still produced for some years.
A very nicely painted, red, blue or green, tinplate body with cut out windows and tin lithographed button headlights. Tin plate chassis, usually painted silver or grey, with bumpers, rubber wheels and key wound clockwork motor with or without a brake lever protruding out of the rear hood. There is a "fir tree" looking symbol stamped into the side of the clockwerk motor and the original key has the same stamping that indicates the well-known German clockwerk specialist Company, Gebrüder Bühler. Chassis may or may not be stamped with “MADE IN WESTERN GERMANY.” Tin lithographed front and rear license plate registration number D-3070. There also exists a red version without a brake lever on the rear hood, but with a regular key wound motor. The toy came in a colorful box with scenes of the car driving on the autobahn, driving past a filling station and parked in front of the owners' house. The red version had all red cars on the box; the blue version however had red as well as blue cars depicted on the box!
DISTLER introduced in 1953, an Electromatic Strom Service Tankstelle for their toy vehicle line to include the Split Window VW. The VW had a battery (accumulator) inside the body. Inside the colorful tin lithographed Shell Tankstelle was a pair of batteries and cable that was connected to the VW, where the key hole was on the left side. The Shell Tankstelle then recharged the accumulator battery inside the VW. The VW came with or without a rear brake lever and also with or without silver cardboard window inserts. On the chassis was a large battery cover with the DISTLER globe insignia with the GERMANY wording on the insignia. Seldom found and utmost rare.
The DISTLER Split Window VW body was only painted on the outside as the body was resting on two round pegs of a paint form. The paint overspray going through the windows and wheel wells caused some paint to cover the inside of the body unevenly as well. But there was no overspray where the body was resting on the two round pegs. These DISTLER Split VWs quite often are repainted and sold as being in mint condition. When repainted, the inside of the body has a nice coat of even paint. So, when in doubt, just look inside the windows or wheel wells and look for the uneven paint and the two round peg markings inside the body.
Just to note: There was produced by the Company named SANZ, in the early 1960s, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a crude hard plastic copy of the DISTLER VW that was called "VOLKSWAGEN L 3020." See photos.
D-3070 Variations:
Body is painted red, blue or a light pale green.
Silver lithographed or grey painted chassis stamped with or without “Made In Western Germany”.
Red or gray tin seat or no tin seat.
Metal wheels with ribbed hubcaps.
Rubber wheels with ribbed hubcaps or with metal rims with large dimple hubcaps.
One-piece rubber wheels with molded hubcaps.
Clockwork motor with or without a brake lever.
Single wheel axle or straight axle for both front wheels.
