I've got a quick question for those history buffs.

How common are German made 1969 Beetles in Australia?

69 was a weird year for VW's here... for most (all ?) of the year the factory wasn't actually "building" any, but was instead assembling cars from "Complete Knock Down" kits that came from Germany. Partly because of it being a changeover year, and partly because of the Aust Govt. playing silly buggers with the "Australian Content" rules to the extent that VW was considering closing the factory down permanently.

So basically any 69 Beetle is very likely to be a German, and if it is (or used to be) a Semi-Auto then it'll DEFINITELY be a German. A whole heap of ways you can tell, but the compliance plate in spare wheel well saying 'Volkswagenwerke AG" is the giveaway.

Don't know the exact number of CKD's that came in during 68/69 - have a book that'd have the number and will check tonite, but I'd expect could be as many as 10,000 or so.

Why... you lookin at getting one ??? 68/69/70 beetles are a pretty good model to have...

When did they start making semi autos in aus?

My book is a bit vague on the details, but basically Australian production of Beetles had stopped by December 1967 and they just assembled what parts were left.

CKD assembly started in March 1968, with 6,433 beetles produced for the year out of 13,684 VW cars total (Beetle + Type 2 + Type 3 + Country Buggy)

Doesn't seem to have a hard Beetle assembly figures for later years, but has 14,472 total for 1969 and 17,104 for 1970.

There's actually no mention of semi-auto's being produced in Aus at all - just that "about 500 to 600" were brought in from Germany for 1968/69.

Clear as mud I reckon....

I personally don't know why you would bother with a semi auto for the IRS when you could have the far superior mcpherson strut front end, hey Lee?

Hey Sides, thanks for that info.

My next bug project (once my son's Beetle on the road) is a 69 Beetle which does have "Volkswagenwerk AG" on the compliance plate. It also has "Made in Germany", just to be sure.

It's very much a four-speed manual, not a semi-auto. So does this make it a CKD assembled in Australia, or a fully assembled import? It doesn't have an AS engine number.

I guess I'm just curious. I picked her up for a bargain price and although there's some work to do she idles nicely after a fuel pump clean out and once over of the carby.

heres a semi auto if your looking for one

http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=80724&page=1#pid752724 

Quote:

Originally posted by jamsha71 Hey Sides, thanks for that info. My next bug project (once my son's Beetle on the road) is a 69 Beetle which does have "Volkswagenwerk AG" on the compliance plate. It also has "Made in Germany", just to be sure. It's very much a four-speed manual, not a semi-auto. So does this make it a CKD assembled in Australia, or a fully assembled import? It doesn't have an AS engine number.

Sides, I was just poking fun at Leé.

What I really think though - is that beams are stronger, but struts are more tuneable with far less effort (but not cost).

From my personal experiance/perspective - the super setup handles better for my driving.

well the wiper bit sounds right, as my 69 semi auto has the grub screw thing and they are a pain as they come loose every now and again

Heh - no worries Col Mustard - I'm always keen to talk about the differences between 'em I guess !!! I've only ever owned beam cars, but seeing how much room STIDUB has up the front of his, hmmm... maybe one day...



The wiper thing pod... the 69 German manual I used to own had wiper arms with the big nut, same as my 70 Australian... but the 68 (German) semi-auto I owned had the grub screws...

Haven't seen any other original 69 manual cars, so don't know if it's a true difference between the CKD and German cars, or if my 69 manual just had a different wiper mech put in at some point !!!

One of those little mysteries I guess... would love to know the answer...

Yes,
My 68 auto beetle has the grub screws...
As far as i know , it was only on German made 68 beetles.
it was a carry over from the German made 67 beetles...

the 69 beetles had the Nut holding the wiper arms on , the same as all the later beetles.. [from memory]

the small shafts etc are also used, as I was thinking of replacing mine with a later wiper assembly, when I was restoring My beetle, but the holes were too small..
so, I never did change it over. although I still have the wiper assembly with the nuts .. lol..

Lee

Ahhh, well the wiper arm theory is an interesting one. My 69 Beetle has flats on the shafts and grub screws on the arms.

No second "Aussie made" compliance plate either, so I guess it's a fairly safe bet that she's been assembled in Germany...or maybe not?

Something else I've just thought of is the glass... pretty sure CKD cars got Aussie glass put in 'em...