ok, its been playing on my mind the past few days. wondering if anyone has an input to the years from when they first used the engine lid as shown in image 1, i beleive this engine lid was used with the pope nose number plate light only. then the image 2 deck lid i beleive this was first used with the pope nose number plate light then they changed to the wider light but kept the same engine lid like in image 3.

would like to know the years this took place in Australia

I believe the pope nose should have always been fitted to the pic 1 decklid with the fluting/swage line going either side of the nose, semi W.
The letterbox style light housing had the lines stop just above it and hence the second pic has used a later decklid with the holes welded up to use the pope nose. I should know as have done this to mine due to PO fitting a later lid. Probably sold the early lid and nose on

As for years, I think 58 the W lid was redesigned to the semi W. The letterbox light housing came in 64. As to whether the decklid had an 'in between' period from semi-W to the later style but with pope nose I'm unsure.

Hi
this can be very complicated.. lol

firstly the blue car has the wrong deck lid..
its from about a 1958 > on
[from 1st august 1957 German factory date]
its wrong for an oval beetle..
the number plate lamp was correct for an oval as it had one piece of flat plastic across the bottom..
for the light lens..

I'll have to check out the middle photo again..
OK the white car looks to be the German 1967 [one year only] beetle as it has the large glass windows which didn't appear in Australia until the 1968 model..
[but were introduced in German beetles from August 1964 [1965 year model] [but the door glass isn't the same as 1968 models.. plus it had round pushbutton door handles]
it has the push button deck lid handle..
Australia 1967 beetles were mostly the same as the 1962 German beetles...

the white deck lid is for a 1964> on beetle with the wide number plate housing
[oddly enough it used the same light underneath as the late narrow housing
[about 1958-63] the tee handle was replaced with the push button one about 1st aug 1966 [1967 year model]

Now, the pope's nose number plate light was also the ONLY STOP LIGHT on the car and it glowed RED with the brakes..
that is why it was called the Pope's nose.. the tail lights on those models had NO BRAKE/STOP lights..

I have photos to show all this.. but not sure when I can post them as I'm going away for a week..

Lee

All dates are for German factory made cars... unsure of the exact time for Australian made cars although My Dad bought a new beetle in 1964
and it had the wide number plate housing and wide front blinkers.. Lee

Joel has nailed it.......as usual.

Quote:

Originally posted by HappyDaze Joel has nailed it.......as usual.

Yes, popes nose is the # plate light on split window bugs. After that they are just # plate light housings, oval, narrow and wide. I am quite sure the wide # plate light housing started in '63 but thats splitting hairs

Yes, we'll I have a 63 and it had a wide number plate light, I welded up the holes and put a pope nose on it thinking this was the correct one. I also welded in some cooling vents for my 1600 (1776) that will be going in it.
Not changing it now.... Maybe one day I will.
Pope nose looks better anyway....

Novasmic....how hard was it to weld up those extra cooling vents??

I'm looking for extra air flow, and was thinking of that same idea....

Um.... Well, it wasn't that hard just took me a long time to do. I'm no penal beater so a job that could have been done in a day took me a week ( after work and over the week end. I'm very happy with the result. I cut the vents out of an old beetle I have here.

Next time I do one.... Tip... Get a wet towl and keep the engine lid as cold as possible when your welding. Will save a lot of repair work once welded up.


Regards
Terry

Ok top pic (blue oval ) has the incorrect lid it should be a "W"deck lid.

W's would have stopped in April 57 when ovals ceased

57- early 60's will have a popes nose

mid 60>67 had a slightly different (wider license plate light)

68 - 69 12v lid smooth

70-71 12 v lid 2 lots of vents horizontal

and the later the years the more vents...

the early 6volt lids that has the vents were fitted to factory cabrios.

early 60s


Mid 60s


68-69

Thanks for the reply, so in the mid 60's they did have engine lids with vents?
Do you have a photo?

Yes, that answers all my question, including the aug 63 to oct 63 I did believe this engine lid was made from factory like this.....

Oh that 63 deal only applies to North America not here.

58-64 was the same decklid here in Oz

The decklid on your bug is from a 66 to mid 67 model

Yep, off a 1967 but I replaced the shell with a 1963. I thought a 1963 had a pope nose but not the case. Looking back now I would have left the wider tail light but due to the other mods it don't matter I guess. My next beetle I have ready for restore is a 1960. I will pay more attention to detail. Only been into beetles for 18 months so still green but learning shit loads along the way. It's a great hobby. ( love it)

I do believe that mine is a cross over model 64

http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?action=attachment&tid=45...

roll top seats and looks like a 65(wide nose) but with 63 running gear 1200 etc

this is early sixties and our wedding sign book