Just purchased a 54 oval ID tag has 1-0597374 and the letters MKA2686 stamped on the body above.From what I can tell its Jan 54 but what is the other stamping mean.
The pan was not with the can but a 68 instead can't have it all !!
Cheers
Charlie

Nice score mate, post some pics asap so we can get our oval fix

Pick it up this week so will put some up soon

MKA means Martin and King. They were the railway workshops in Melbourne (owned by Clyde Industries) who were contracted to assemble the first German CKD kits for Regent Motors, and later Volkswagen Australia. The new Volkswagen Australia company bought Martin and King in 1957.

http://www.clubvw.org.au/history002 

It would have been an assembly number that Martin and King stamped on the panel when the car was being assembled in Melbourne.

Martin and King didn't begin assembly for VW until June 1954, so your car would have been assembled after that. However the component parts themselves were made in Germany and sent out here in crates. They could have been made many months beforehand.

A few pics of my 54
Not sure if I should replace the hole heater channels or just the rusted sections

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Wow! In my opinion, thats very clean for an oval... My 66 bug is far worse than that!

I would replace the whole heater channels, as the sections that are next to the holes will be 90/ 95/ 99% rusted through, and you will have more holes around the replaced sections in a short time. Cars rust from the inside out, so any hole in a panel where you cannot see the inside means it is advisable to replace the whole panel

Those numbers are interesting. The chassis number puts the build date in early Feb 54, but the MKA number is from around Sept/Oct 54.
The luggage area is missing the holes for the luggage rails which were deleted ~Aug 54.