I hope people find this interesting, a rare insight into the servicing & repairs needed to a 1954 beetle from brand new to what was at the time considered an old car , only 11 years.
This car was looked after properly, but driven fairly hard, 100’s of miles were on dirt roads & firetrails etc & the car was also frequently heavily loaded. Remember also that this was 1100 motor . costs have been mostly left out because they are irrelevant due to huge changes in income etc.


The figures are of course in miles , for km multiply x 0.62

Purchased 27th July 1954

6th Aug 54 250 miles oil change, both engine & transmission

10th Aug 54 300 miles first dealer service

3rd Sept 54 900 miles oil change, engine, & clean filter gauze, grease

20th Sept 54 1500 miles 2nd dealer service & transmission oil change

12th Oct 54 2150 miles oil change & grease

10th Nov 54 3000 miles rotate tyres

13th Nov 54 3000 miles grease
16th Nov 54 3104 miles oil change
27th Dec 54 4075 miles oil change

1955

4th Jan 55 4300 miles grease

17th Jan 55 Bought fire extinguisher……

29th Jan 55 5220 miles oil change (3.5 pints of oil, 1 pint Redex additive)
14th Feb 55 5300 miles grease

2nd Mar 55 6100 miles 2nd tyre rotation

8th Mar 55 6275 miles oil change

30th Mar 55 6800 miles, bottle of “Deekarb” added to fuel, - in those days fuel formula & oil etc caused the combustion chamber to fill up with carbon deposits & removing head to do “valve grind & decarb” was a regular service requirement, far more expensive on beetles so additive use, including Redex was the best solution.

5th Apr 55 windscreen wiper

14th Apr 55 7466 miles oil change
17th May 55 8733 miles oil change

19th May 55 8740 miles clean air cleaner

19th May 55 REPAIR HEATER, & GEARLEVER

28th May 55 8950 miles grease & 3rd tyre rotation

4th Jul 55 9735 miles NEW BATTERY

23rd Jul 55 10153 miles oil change

#### 1st 12 months of ownership 10322 miles , 280 gallons of fuel 36.86 MPG !!

5th Aug 55 10450 miles NEW SPARK PLUGS

18th Aug 55 10786 miles transmission oil change

8th Sept 55 11485 miles oil change & grease

14th Sept 55 12000 miles repack front wheel bearings & 4th tyre rotation

26th Sept 55 12866 miles oil change & grease

7th Oct 55 13361 miles FIT NEW FAN BELT

18th Oct NEW THROTTLE CABLE

4th Nov 55 14150 miles oil change
12th Nov 55 14400 miles grease

13th Dec 55 15500 miles REPAIR HORN & BROKEN CLUTCH RETURN SPRING
& oil change

1956

18th Jan 56 16500 miles NEW POINTS & PLUGS

23rd Jan 56 16623 miles oil change
25th Jan 56 16645 miles Grease
(26th Jan married my mother, so Jan service was for their honeymoon)

4th Mar 56 18900 miles oil change
7th May 56 21064 miles oil change
5th June 56 23478 miles oil change
22thJul 56 25360 miles oil change

4th Aug 56 left front tyre retreaded
8th Aug 56 left rear tyre retreaded

7th Sep 56 26590 miles greased

22nd Sept 56 27100 miles NEW POINTS & PLUGS

9th Nov 56 28800 miles oil change
23rd Dec 56 30280 miles greased

1957

1st Jan 57 31078 miles oil change
27th Jan 57 31861 miles oil change & greased
25th Mar 57 33370 miles oil change
12th Apr 57 35570 miles oil change

29th Apr 57 NEW HEADLIGHT SWITCH

1st June 57 2 x RETREAD TYRES

5th June 57 adjust front wheel bearings ONE NEW FRONT WHEEL BEARING

5th June 57 NEW SPEEDO CABLE

20th Jul 57 37300 miles oil change
2nd Oct 57 40345 miles oil change

15th Oct 57 41500 transmission oil change

16th Nov 1 x RETREAD TYRE

21st Nov 57 42670 miles oil change

1958

2nd Jan 58 43767 miles oil change
17th Feb 58 45350 miles oil change
45550 greased
8th Mar 58 46735 oil change & grease
27th Apr 58 47374 miles oil change & grease

17th Jun 58 48760 miles NEW BATTERY

6th Jul 58 NEW FAN BELT

18thJul 58 49400 miles oil change

END OF 4th YEAR of ownership 49830 miles 1297 gallons of fuel
Incredible overall average of 38.4mpg total cost of running $836 – 2 cents per mile

22nd Sep 58 51170 miles NEW SPARK PLUGS, NEW CONDENSOR, NEW MANIFOLD
1st Nov 58 52330 miles oil change

1959

27th Jan 59 55600 miles NEW GENERATOR BEARINGS, NEW FRONT WHEEL BEARINGS
8th Mar 59 56900 miles oil change

2nd Apr 59 57550 miles oil change NEW CAMSHAFT, NEW POINTS

24th May 59 58798 miles oil change

13th May 59 NEW TYRE & TUBE

26th July 59 60500 miles NEW SPARK PLUGS

END of 5th year of ownership 60500 miles 1568 gallons of petrol
38.5mpg , running costs 2 cents per mile

29th Sept 59 61950 miles (close to 100,000km) oil change NEW OIL COOLER
ADJUST VOLTAGE REGULATOR

1960

7TH Feb 60 66000 miles transmission oil change NEW PLUGS & POINTS

28th Mar 60 67000 miles NEW REAR BRAKE DRUM

30th Mar 60 67185 miles NEW CLUTCH CABLE & NEW WHEEL BEARINGS

18th Jun 60 oil change

END of 6th year ownership 71013 miles , cumulative ave mpg 38.9

27th Jul 60 710133 miles oil change
7th Sept 60 72100miles RECONDITIONED GENERATOR

10th Sept 60 72700 miles ! NEW POINTS

1961

9th Mar 61 77500 miles engine died with a big noise!
ENGINE RECONDITIONED AT WARDS MOTORS PENRITH total cost $240.00

21st Mar 61 78000 miles NEW BATTERY

1st May 61 79140 miles oil change
29th May 61 79700 oil change Caltex 10/30

24th Jul 61 NEW SPEEDO CABLE

END 7th year ownership, 80,900 miles overall economy now up to 39mpg

30th Oct 61 82260 miles oil change

1962

8th Jan 62 transmission oil change
4th Mar 62 oil change

May 85900 miles BRAKE RELINE & SKIM DRUMS

25thJul 62 86900 miles 2 x NEW WINTERTREAD TYRES
NEW POINTS & PLUGS
GEARBOX REPAIRS

End 8th Year ownership 87040 miles 38.5mpg

19th Aug 62 87750miles oil change Ampol 10/30
15th Oct 62 Oil change

3rd Nov 62 NEW TYRE & TUBE

1963

4th April Oil change

20th Jul 63 93,000 miles NEW KINGPINS, STEERING WORK & MASTER CYLINDER RUBBER

END 9th year ownership 38 mpg
7th Sep 63 oil change

26th Oct 63 94170 miles NEW POINTS & PLUGS

14th Nov 63 94460 miles NEW CARBIE NEEDLE

1964

25th Jan 64 97000 miles NEW BATTERY

10th Aug 64 98819 miles NEW PLUGS

1965

30th Jan 102,280 miles RETREAD TYRE

4th June 1965 103,883 mile traded in on new Mazda 800

there ya go

for small cars of the time the reliability & economy over 11 years was incredible.

Thats great Kim, 6 Volt batteries don't last long do they!!

u have to luv the Retreaded Tyre

i used to used them when i got my first Type 3 wagon a dunlop B7 retreaded yeah har

I dont know that it was just 6v , I dont think batteries where all that crash hot back in those days & the dirt roads & corrugations were not good for them either. It was a normal thing to get your tyres retreaded, new tyres were more expensive relative to income than they are now & road speeds were not as high

wow that alone is worth ??? a lot for sure.. nice one

how many owners of old bugs out there change their oil that regular????????????????????? like they should

the amount of transmission oil changes was amazing.
What I wapould love to know is why it needed a new camshaft at 57000 miles? I was onlyu just over 2 years old then, but dont think it ever stopped, except when the motor expired big time ony a mile from home, I still remember the noise, it was like somebody shaking gravel in a kerosene tin

My Dad's '56 had a cam change too when it wasn't very old, It chewed the teeth off the fibre cam gear, maybe yours did the same.

thanks, that must have been it, expensive problem, I think it was about 21 pounds ($42) to fix (have book at work) - doesnt sound much but that was a few weeks pay at the time

Its great to have that history..................my 68 model has every service recorded from day one right though to 2005, some 170,000miles !

Hi Kim

thats amazing that u still have something like that from so long ago

i forgot to show u last year my Lbug still has the glovebox vynil sleve thing with the logbook, instruction manual, maintaince manual, an aussie 1975 VW/audi accessories broshure and even the dealship factory warrantee diagnosis punchcards

ill have to scan them

yep, it is a good idea to scan them & share with others, I did not think I had this log book but found with a stash of my fathetrs stuf i got years ago, unfortunately over the last few months we have ben clearing out my mothers house & as of this wek there is absolutely nothing more to find ever.