My new dub has arrived today. its a 1961 50/50 with flash trim , original radio , sunvisor
all dealership fitted accessories. it did have the original flying vw logo fitted on the hood but was stolen.has only surface rust. car has lived at orange / bathurst area all its life, has not been registered since 1981.
Would anybody know of the numbers built in 1961 or is there a register
According to the Club Vee Dub websites history page 14,970 1200cc Beetles were sold that year.
24,388 in '60
14,970 in '61
21,273 in '62,
20,135 in '63,
22,293 in '64,
18,077 in '65
Then downhill from there.
You could probably put the drop in '61 down to the introduction of the new 40 Hp engine, the market wanted to "wait and see" I guess. I think there might have been an economic downturn that year too.
What month was yours produced? There are a few differences from the early '61 to the late '61. There would also hve been '61s still being sold when the next model came out with all sorts of add ons and discounts to get rid of them. ( basically a good time to buy a beetle if you had the cash)
Pics are when I first went to look at buying it, lots of incorrect stuff to be seen.
The reason it has all those dealer fitted accessories is because that was a VERY slow selling year and the dealers did whatever they could to shift them.
Things you should guard with your life:
50/50's:
If they are in good nick, keep them out of the sun as much as possible, they fade and craze terribly and you cannot replace them (except second hand and they will probably be worse than you already have). Last pair of new old stock I saw about 2 years ago went for 350 Euros. (Italy used them for a couple of years just like we did). At the time the Euro was a bit more than double the Aussie Dollar.
This is what they look like after too much sun.
The housing to guard seal is also no longer available as is the lense to chrome trim seal so, treat them gently, or you will have to get inventive and come up with something else to do the job.
The tail light housing body tends to rust out underneath and undoing the mounting nuts often breaks off the stud that holds them in place. Be very gentle with them. If WD40 doesn't do the trick, I've heard eucalyptus oil works a treat. You really need to remove the housings and treat them for rust and then add some prevention. If they're not bad yet they WILL get there.
Once re-fitted clean the drain hole at the bottom of the housing regularly to stop water accumulating behind it.
While you have the housing bodies off it might pay to make a paper template of the mounting holes in relation to the main body of the car as they are different to every other Beetle model (in case you ever need to replace a guard, or help out another veedubber).
You could consider adapting some '62 & 1/2 and later rear lights for general use and putting your 50/50's on for special occasions.
Number plate mounting bracket:
Rare as rocking horse shit. Most Beetles these days have the number plate screwed directly to the deck lid. There have been reproduction ones over the years but they are not the same quality.
Flash Kit:
Still available second hand and repro's too. The thing with originals is the metal clips rust out and new replacement clips are not available. Repro's are a different size. Remove your door trims and rear quarter trims so you can squeeze the clips to release the trim (the front bits are easy access under the boot lid).
Remove all the clips, clean them up with some rust converter and soak them in some fish oil then let them dry and re-fit them. You could seal them with silastic from the inside as they tend to rust more where they make contact with the hole where they go through the body panels.
While you have the trim off it might pay to make a paper template of the mounting holes in relation to the stock trim in case you ever need to replace a panel or help out another veedubber.
Fuel Tank:
The 1960 model has the hump style tank similar to earlier models whereas the 1961 has the flat style used from then on.
The BIG difference is it's the only flat tank model that has the filler on the passenger side of the car. That makes it replaceable only by a second hand one, from a very low production year. So, it would be a good idea to get your tank cleaned and sealed . There are kits you can get to do this, POR 15 and others make a fuel tank kit, or there are places where you can get your tank done professionally.
That's all I can think of for now, I'll add more if the grey cells allow.
i purchased it from a fellow called peter , i purchased a beetle from him 3 years ago and regretfully sold it.i called him a few months back and he told me he had this one. he buys a few vws around his area. if you need his number i can pass it on to you, he has all sorts of bits and peices to suit a veriaty of vws.
i put some 2 pac buffing cream and used a FOAM BUFFING PAD with water on my tail lights today and they come up fantastic.
Looks awesome! If you need any help I recommend VW Performance at west gosford. Liong and James are a font of information and advice And a good place to go for spares.
Come back Jack...We all have good days and we all have our bad days.
Aussie Vee Dubbers is like that girlfriend that you just can't live with, but the sex is great!:😊
ragged wrote:Come back Jack...We all have good days and we all have our bad days.
Aussie Vee Dubbers is like that girlfriend that you just can't live with, but the sex is great!:😊
well that means I have been having one hell of an affair with the samba 😍
71 notchback,
Past owner of, 70 NB, 73 SB and 72 FB TLE
