My new toy arrived this morning from lyndhurst near bathurst.
its a 1961 with 50/50 tail lights , original flash trim and sunvisor, factory radio, did have the flying vw hood ornament but was stolen before i purchased the car. only has surface rust, very clean car. not registered since 1981.
im going to drop it 2 1/2inches put on some stock wider wheels with white walls.

would any one know the numbers built in 61 as i was told there were not too many built in comparison to other years

i have put a couple of extra pics on members rides

Very Nice,

Mines a 61 too,

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.

What month was yours produced? There are a few differences from the early '61 to the late '61.


Pics are when I first went to look at buying it, lots of incorrect stuff to be seen.



See my reply to your Members Rides thread


Regards,

Matt.

Great to see people quoting my VW history pages! Thanks Matt.

There were a few reasons for the drop in sales in 1961. Firstly the Australian economy suffered a recession and credit squeeze, and sales of all makers dropped. The Australian VW factory was still stabilising their full local manufacture program, so the European improvements were delayed (and later not included at all). The German Beetles got their 1961 improvementa in August 1960, but we didn't see the 40-hp engine, all-syncro gearbox, new fuel tank and blinkers until November 1960. Into 1961 there were no other improvements added, until the fuel gauge and deluxe bumpers at the end of the year. There was eventually a 'catch-up' model, the 1962-and-a-half the year after.

The biggest reason for VW's 1961 sales drop was the introduction of new tough competitor models - the Ford Falcon in late 1960, and especially the Morris Mini 850 in early 1961.

Specific Australian production records no longer exist, so the only way to see precisely when yours was built is to look for date stamps - check the back of the speedo, and also the wheel centres of all five wheels (look inbetween the wheen bolt holes).