I have a new project, 1600 '76 Beetle which got me curious if they are a bit of a rarity now (given they were a bit of a hybrid/crossover model)? Is there a list of numbers produced per year somewhere?
Cheers

ill say they did only 2 i have one and you have the other ................................... $100,000 each sounds fair what you think

Sorry, there three and I love mine, so I want at least that $100,000 you're talking about.

I think I read somewhere that there was 562 made.

not many but I had one for a few years very nice to drive

Thanks guys do any of you have a pic of the original dash? I have 2 knobs that say 'air' but neither do anything, I also have a push button start - I assume non standard?!

Oh and $100k will do fine, I must've got me a bargain

have you turned the knobs clockwise or anti clockwise they open the fresh air vents

yes push button is non standard

Original is key start and steering lock on steering column.

As vw54 states, turn the knobs anti or clockwise to operate.

Anti-clockwise opens the vents, Clockwise closes them.

Not many left now, a lot were used for buggies & the rest rusted into oblivion. The quality control was non existent for 76's, & the original paint quality is terrible. Datsun had taken control of the factory by then & it really is obvious how bad they were painted & assembled compared to when VW Australia was in charge. I've had a few where the 2 bonnet pressings were joined with huge gaps.

They are a really good car to restore/do your thing to,if you can find a good one, as Dave Birchall mentioned, they drive really well when fully sorted. Mainly due to being the only Beetle, produced anywhere in the world, to have the unique combination of front disc brakes, balljoint front end, manual trans & IRS rear. And they did it for 1 year only.

Dash pic.
Excellent quality cars & Good QC, we thought!... Still may rust behind rear window vents (one did, one didn't); but most S'bugs did that.

Production records no longer exist. VW Australia underwent a change of ownership in 1968 (to Sydney's LNC Industries), while the factory became owned by 'Motor Producers Ltd', owned by VW Germany. This was sold to Nissan-Datsun in 1975. Nissan assembled VWs under contract during 1976 - they assembled the Golf, Passat, Transporter and Beetle, but due to numerous problems this contract was terminated at the end of 1976. The last Beetle was assembled in July 1976, as it could not meet the new ADR27A requirements. Old stock in yards and dealerships lasted until early 1977. No one wanted old obsolete Beetles in early 1977.

The only records we have now are sales records, which were recorded by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. Their annual reports are available for you to browse in the NSW State Library, and the National Library in Canberra. I have copies of them.

In 1976 the FCAI reported sales of 'VW 1600' as 1,159. Of course this would also include any sales of any left-over Superbugs in the early months of 1976. There's no way to know exactly. VW also sold 4,429 Golfs, 3,945 Passats and 6,198 Transporters in 1976, so you can see that the Beetle was already superceded.

In 1977 the FCAI reported sales of 'VW 1600' as 130. This would have been the last of the old stock. VW also sold 2,831 Golfs, 1,150 Passats and 2,393 Transporters in 1977, so you can see that sales have already dropped significantly with the expensive fully imported range.

You can read the detailed year-by-year Australian VW history, with annual sales of each model recorded, at:

http://www.clubvw.org.au/history 

Check this out.
Will probably help!
http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=107597&page=1 

I had one and compared to the 69 model I also had the quality was very average, if you close the door to hard the handle would push in around the handle then spring back, as said the paint was terrible, but it was good to drive after I did all the suspension and wheels.

Mine still has all it's original panels & paint, but I've replaced the bonnet which was never assembled properly (Seen a few 76's with this fault) The paint is poor compared to the baked enamel on earlier cars. The first 76 I had was OG Flipper Blue, & it was removed (accidentally) with a heavy duty truck-wash detergent & a pressure wash. 75-76 Beetles have a seam sealer which cracks away from the joins on the roof quite easily, and the expanding foam they used on the inside of all the body joins & cavities needs to be removed completely, as moisture gets in behind it & rusts the steel which is bare underneath.

QC was terrible, (as noted by most) but the 76's can be rectified to make a sweet little ride which handles surprisingly well for a Beetle. Still an underrated Beetle today, considering its low production numbers & being the last Australian Beetle.

I think that most of them were resprayed because they were Martini Olive.

Wow, a wealth of info here guys thanks heaps!

I've established mines a jan 76 and was baby blue but has had a dodgy black paint job at some point. Yep I have the rust and filler both sides at the rear and will get this fixed - and the foam removed - as a priority.

Other than needing new door seals and a chrome headlight surround it's otherwise in great original shape with 77,000 miles, drives real nice and cool to know they are getting scarce.

Can't get the air knobs to move in either direction so they've seized, will try some WD40

Merry Christmas fellow buggers

Some pics of the one I did up and had for a few years

Andrew still has it
It's still going strong and being very well looked after

Yes I see him around

Wish I still had it but you carnt keep them all lovely to drive the most modern of VWs ( no struts )

May be you can persuade Andrew to have a test drive then you will know what I am talking about very comfortable in ride

never owned a strut car and I know WHY

That's a very nice 76' Dave B. I haven't seen too many restored back to original spec. That orange works well with the tan too. Credit to you mate.

yeah it was original Riverina Orange which Datsun and Volvo also used, the 3 were put together in the old Melbourne VW plant before VW got out of there I fitted a later radio and some decent speaker front 1/4 panels, it was rusty as they all are, but trim n other bits still good

Buggar shouldn't have sold it