Between 1963 - 1965 Volkswagen Australasia in Clayton Victoria - made the Standard Beetle which had No Glovebox lid - headlining only on the roof - none on the sides etc.. painted hubcaps & blade bumpers without the over riders etc
the front blinker housings , VW badge & headlamp rims were also painted - no chrome trim anywhere - thin painted black line where side chrome strips go- No fuel gauge - these beetles did look ugly - I can only remember them painted white or grey -

Next - the Custom beetle with a 'Custom' badge on the engine lid - No glovebox lid - No external chrome -
Stainless steel blade bumpers with no over riders etc.
again - headlining only on the roof section... paint everywhere else... silver painted hubcaps ... painted blinker housing and VW Badge.. No fuel gauge -
Now these did look much better than the standard Beetle...

a bit of Australia VW History from 68AutoBug -- Lee
in freezing & Blowing a gale winds in downtown Scone...




[Edited on 18-6-2004 by 68AutoBug]

thats what we call the '' poverty bug pack'' :jesus ''ill have one thanks...''

The German factory made a base model beetle as well with only a central headliner and blade bumpers. Personally, I think they have that extra cool factor. One of my favourite cars i've owned was my base model 65 on rostyles.

They have all seemed to have disappeared although one of the local VW fanatics has had a few one owner custom Beetles.. He always puts a glovebox lid and fuel gauge in them.. they usually already have chromed bumpers and hubcaps..

Lee

i heard from Steve Muller ''Custom" badged beetles existed but i didnt believe him i guess i was wrong

He's got an original Custom badge maybe i should buy it off him?

Hey Lee you forgot about NO interior light and the plastic cover that they used to fill the origional hole in.

:sandrine
Had a friend here in Byron who owned a beautiful stock pale green bug with no glovebox lid.
He called it a "standard" modelHe just recently sold it.
Judy

thats right Dave
- No interior light - but plastic cap and a plastic cap where the door switches were....
Now that must have saved a few pennies ??? [Cents]

Its a wonder Volkswagenwerk let them make a cheapy like that ... but someone said they also had a cheap & nasty beetle from there too....

I remember the standard Beetle looked terrible with painted hubcaps and bumpers.... I'm Not sure whether they were all dark grey or not..

Lee

The customs weren't grey.... I can remember a light green one... so maybe they had a couple of colours...

Lee

I have one of those and its dated '66.It has the central headliner,no fuel guage with a reserve tap,no glove box lid but doesn't have any badges anywhere.It has chrome blade bumpers,all the chrome side strips,interior light,and all the bright trims in the windows but the 1/4 windows are black.It has a black steering wheel,no passenger door arm rest and the seats are the early type with the square tops.When I got it the hub caps were chromed as were the headlight rims.Seems to be an odd one.

It would be a Custom Model... they did have a chromed "custom" badge on the engine lid...

I thought the 1/4 windows were painted...
any chance of a few photos?? You have a fairly rare VW..

I think the actual standard model may have been only one year- 64 or 65... they were terrible looking with painted bumpers and hubcaps...

The Custom didn't look too bad....

there isn't a lot of information about them available...

I believe Your friends Beetle would have been a Custom model .. Judy...

Lee -- 68AutoBug --

Extract from VWA Review dated Sept 1963.
"Chopping 12 per cent off the price of a car while keeping 100% of the qulaity sounds like a motor manufacturers nightmare.
But, this is in effetc what VWA has achieved with its improved VW Standard 1200 model.
The VW Standard first appeared on Australian roads in 1962 as a utilitarian version of the ever popular little Volkswagen De Luxe. A "plain jane" motor car if ever there was one still represented good value at 849 pounds,104 pounds chaeper than the Deluxe. Howefver, a few weeks ago the Standard came out in a new dress up uniform with brighter plumage and more comfort- with the price unchanged. There were only small changes- you could need a micrometer to measure them. Changes included improved upholstery trim, a better colour range, chrome replacing paint on door handles and one or two other places and a lock on the engine compartment.
The bumper bars are still painted (personally I prefer chrome) and the glovebox remains lidless..
You still get the advantages of the efficient VW heater ( minus back seat vents)the superb all synchro 4 spped box and the same 40 hp engine.
Do not be confused with the Standard model on the Continent which has a less powerful motor and only the two top ratios synchronised."

Lets not forget about Barry Ferguson's adventures in the 1963 Armstrong 500 at Bathurst where he was running a 1200 cc Standard. Class A was won by Barry and Bill Ford. Five Beetles started and fivwe finished. Barrie's car averaged 25 mpg throughought the race driving at "race speed"

BTW,
I have a brother in law with a very good example of a Standard sitting in a shed at Bathurst. One day it will move

Regards,
Countrybuggybill.

Hi

My 1st Beetle was a povo pack, a few trips to wrecker had looking like a deluxe in no time. They were much sought after by people doing rallies because of their lighter weight.

1302Steve