About The Volkswagen Beetle

About The Volkswagen Beetle

Preface

Too many times have I been approached by an 'expert', claiming that their beetle was a '67, or pre '66, only to find that it wasn't. Of course the obvious is exactly that, and after letting them waffle on I point it out. Hence the clever little list on "How to impress your friends" by identifying years from a distance.

If you are reading this article to gain insight prior to looking for a Beetle to purchase, you really should read the "What to Look for When Buying" article as well. We all feel that is the most useful article on this site, at least to novice Beetle enthusiasts.

What makes the beetle so special, what are they worth, why all the fuss?

People are attracted to Beetles for different reasons, it's a personal thing, and I would just leave it that way, I've known too many VW nuts over the years, each one as 'far out' as the cars, to even begin to reason WHY!

Worth, value, etc. are all very relative things. Something is WORTH what someone else is willing to pay for it- THAT'S ALL. Never mind what the seller is telling you, or some book says.

The Beetle, and it's derivatives, have been with us for over 60 years, every one knows it was Hitler etc. Herbie, every scene in a 70's American movie where cars had to be trashed or that scene in San Francisco, do you get my drift? Have a look around, you'd be amazed how many are on the roads, used on TV, they are a part of modern living. That is something to fuss over, and it's up to us to keep them from being chopped up.

I have found that the thing that really has driven my preference in years is what I want to use the car for. I will admit, that as I have grown older, my appreciation for true, correct "old" Beetles has risen. Seeing a '56 cut up and made into a Baha makes my skin crawl. And while just a few years ago I would have had no problem using a '72 as a beater and sawing it and modifying it anyway I saw fit, today I would have a problem doing that. But of course, this article is peppered with my own biases toward the "best year" for the Beetle.

If you discover something that you think is wrong, feel free to E-Mail me. Be specific, polite, and PLEASE, never be offended if I tell you your opinion is wrong, I've had years of practise, listening to my wife tell me that mine is wrong.

What are the years?

As for the years, I will note some technical changes, and TRY to be objective . I have found it helpful to make several "cuts" at differentiating the years by model changes.

For a really in depth guide to the changes through the years, click here.

First cut- Old Beetle / New Beetle:

1968: Start of the "new" Beetle. Simple. By most popular opinion, 67/68 was the dividing line between the "old" and the "new" Beetle.

Second Cut- the Beetle "eras":

49-52: "Split", split rear window.

53-57: "Oval", oval rear window

58-64: "Early 60s"

65-67: "Late 60s"

68-71: Early "new" Beetles

71-78 "Recent" (for lack of a better term) Beetles

Usually you will see VW show classes set up something like this. For a much greater level of year to year detail, see the through the years

table.

Feature "families"

Often, Beetle era's are referred to as "metal dash" or "40 horse", or "kingpin front end". To help you with that, some further digestion of the stuff above identifying year "groups" by various sub-components. Remember that these year offerings were for US Models only. Offerings in other countries varied.

Engines

25HP- 1949-1952

30HP- 1953

36HP- 1954-1960 (1192cc)

40HP- 1961-1966 (1192cc, raised compression ratio)

50HP- 1966 only (1300)

53HP- 1967-1969 (1500)

57HP- 1970 only (1600)

60HP- 1971- (1600, added dual port heads)

Gear Boxes

"Crash Case", all gears non-synchronized, split case- to 1951

No first gear synchro, split case- 1952-1960

All forward gears synchronized- 1961 on

Suspension, Rear

Swing axle- up to 1968 (late '67 and '68 had an integral sway bar in the rear that no other year had)

IRS (double jointed with CV joints)- 1969 and up

Suspension, Front

Kingpin- up to 1965

Ball Joint- 1966 and up (except supers)

McPherson Strut (Supers only) 1971-??

Dashboards

"Split" (dual open glove boxes)- up to Oct '52

"Oval" (single passenger side glove box w/door)- Oct '52-1957

"60s" style- 1958-1967

Padded dash- 1968 on (except late Supers)

"Big" dash- Supers (curved windshield)- 1973 on

How do they do that!? (impress your friends and family)

So maybe you have a friend who is a real bug nut and gets a quick glance at Beetle in a parking lot while passing at 50mph in your car he says "cool, a '64". "How did he do that?" you think. Well it is not that hard. Even my wife can now spot the major "family" years like ovals and old vs. new and supers (and she is not exactly an enthusiast). Well, let me help you impress your friends and family and give you a quick course on "telling the year at a glance". I can't get you to a single year in the later models, but the early years I have mostly down pat.

First cut "OLD" or "NEW", look for the "towel bar" bumpers

NEW: Next for these is the taillights

Really big round: 73 and newer, I can't differentiate beyond these
Smaller but with reflectors on the sides: '70-'72

Vents behind rear quarter windows: '71 or '72
No vents: '70

Smaller but with no reflectors on the sides: '68 or 69

Rear window defroster: '69 *note 1
No rear window defroster: 68 * note 1

OLD: Look at headlights *note 2

No glass bubble, "modern type": '67
Glass bubble: '66 or earlier

Look at rear window

Split window: '52 or earlier
Oval window: '53 through '57

Semaphores: '53 or '54

Lenses on top of taillights: '53
No lenses on top of taillights: '54

No Semaphores: '55 - '57

Single tailpipe muffler: '55
Dual tailpipe muffler: '56 or '57

Have to look at heater outlets *note 3

"Rectangle" window: '58 - '66

Glass lens taillights (like '57): '58 - '61

No front anti-sway bar: '58 * note 4
Front anti-sway bar: '59 - '61 * note 4

"Pull out" type door handles: '59
"Push-button" handles: '60 or '61

Gotta look under the hood * note 5

Plastic taillight lenses: '62 - '66

Wolfsburg crest on hood: '62
No Wolfsburg crest: '63 - '66

Solid rims: '63 - '65

"Thick" door and B pillars: '63 or '64 * note 6

"Nose" type license plate light cover: '63
Wide, half oval license plate light cover: '64

"Thinner" door and B pillars: '65

Slotted rims: '66

Notes:

Another way to differentiate these very similar years is the speedometer. The '68 speedo had numbers that were oriented along the radius of the circle. The '69 numbers were all vertical. I think the face was a darker black too, but that might just be my imagination.
Word was that there were quite a few "black market" '67s around that were made up of old '66 parts and actually had the bubbled lenses. Another source says that the "flat" lights were a mid (very early) '67 model year change and that the first '67s actually had the bubbled covers.
There is no way that I can find to tell a '56 apart from a '57 from the outside. You must look inside at the front heater outlets. If they are about 5" from the door pillar, it's a '57; if they are about 5" from the firewall, it's a '56.
Looking from the front of the car, 25 ft away or more, you can easily see the sway bar if it is there.
There is no way that I can find to tell a '60 apart from a '61 from the outside. Look under the front hood, if the gas tank makes for a "flat" floor in this area, it's a '61. The '60 had the tank with the big hump side to side.
This is tricky, but it's the way I tell these years apart. You have to have a pretty good visual "profile" image of the "thick" and "thin" versions to be able to make the call when just seeing one car.

So that's how it is done. Practice, make a copy of this list, reduce it and paste it on the back of your visor in your car. When you see one "make the call", then check your list to see how you did (but pull over and stop first) Keep score by how close you were, post graphs of your progress on you living room wall. (can you tell that I am a bug nut?) These "specs" assume of course that the car is ORIGINAL; I mean it's not like you can't put a sway bar on an older model or replace rear fenders with ones that have bigger taillights.

So Which One to Buy?

Well again it depends on what your intentions are. Somewhat objectively below I have "classed" intentions based on vintage "value" and driveability. At the end, in brackets, I have added my "if I could pick any year" pick for the described intentions.

Vintage= HIGH

Driveability=LOW

For true "vintage" character and maximum investment protection: '66 and earlier. You won't drive this car a whole lot. Really the older the better, but parts cost and availability goes up with age. Heavily modifying a complete "old" Beetle into anything but stock is grounds for horsewhipping in many states. [if I could pick a year: easy, a '49]

Vintage= MED/HIGH

Driveability=MED/LOW

For "old Beetle charm", investment protection and some driveability: any '58-'67 Beetle. '65 and up will get you better parts availability and (parts) price, but loose some "vintage" value. But parts in the '58 - '66 range are very similar and there are no real hard-to-finds. You can modify suspensions, brakes etc. to improve driveability, but don't perform and irreversible modifications (see "horsewhipping", above). [if I could pick a year: hmmm.... probably a '63 sunroof, it's a nice compromise between old and really old, I would be tempted to put a ball joint front end on it though]

Vintage= MED

Driveability=MED/HIGH

If you want a true "daily driver", I'd recommend a '67 to about '71 (non Super). They have all the useable improvements of the "new" Beetles, but are simple and parts for this range are most plentiful (except the '67 for some parts). Investment protection should not be an issue here. After '71, VW made SOME models complicated with fuel injection and McPherson strut front ends (Supers). Accessories, wiring and dashboards got more complicated too. [if I could pick a year: 67, but only if I only had to drive it in good (no salt) weather, other wise '68]

Vintage= LOW

Driveability=HIGH

This would be what I would call a "beater". You just want to drive a bug, you don't care about vintage anything, you will modify anything you want to make it work, you will drive it year round in some less than ideal weather for cars. My recommendation for years is the same as above, except leave the '67 out, it is too special of a year. '68 to about '73. Parts are readily available and yet the design is still straight forward and simple. [if I could pick a year: 68, just 'cause I like the swing axles]

So that's it folks, hope I've offered something (I did enjoy writing this). Remember be realistic about what you expect from the car and what you want to do with it; long or short term. They are great cars, simple and fun to tinker with. AND, they just aren't making' them anymore. So keep your eyes open, and don't be afraid to pull a "U-ey" on your way to the in-laws one Sunday when you see a dusty old "complete" looking '62 rolled out in front of a house you've passed 100 times before. Knock on the door, you might have a shot at a real sweetie......"Excuse me, but I was just passing by, and....."

This site was last updated 05/16/08