whats the difference between 67 and 68 its a cross over yr i hae a 67 it has 4 stud dis brake front etd and is ball joint i think

however i am trying to work out what door seals etc i need to get so am trying to work out the differences

People make the mistake of using overseas info when ordering parts for aussie bugs which are very different to overseas models especially in that mid to late 60s period.

If yours has 4stud disc brake balljoint front end and its original (not a pan swap) then its classed as 68.

After many owners over 40+ the years mix up the year abit, my bug has been called a 74 model by the last few even though according to VW its a 75 model and was sold new as a 75 in 75 .

The actual door rubbers them selves are one of the only parts that never changed through out beetle production but the window rubbers of the doors from 68 are different.

Bikecrazy,

Below is a picture of an Australian 1967 Beetle, and a 1968 Beetle.

What picture does your car look like?

First picture - 1968
Second picture - 1967

Guys, if if the images used in this explanation, are of your car, thank you.

Dr. Zayus

Lee,


Your car is a '68 isn't it?
The over-riders on the bumpers, USA only?

Zayus

Yes,

its a 1968 model made in early 1968..

I have seen about 4 or 5 different types of over riders..

there were shorter ones too...

lots of after Market ones too... ???

although they were on later model Beetles in the USA...

but the USA ones had a large cut out where the black strip is, as in the USA the black strip was replaced by a thick rubber strip..

I have seen new over riders for sale but at high prices... lol

cheers

LEE

Mine was manufactured 1/68 it's Australian made and it's a '67' model. Weren't 67's made in oz until march 68. I'm usually wrong so could someone confirm this I could have a bogus compliance plate fitted.
Thanks Ian

The two beige comparison dubs above are awesome. Hope mine comes up like them.

Hello Lee,
Mine is almost identical to the 67 above less the white walls and a couple of grades of shine.
Chassis #1977595516
Chassis # equates to 67 model, but I don't know how they determined it was 1/68 I may have been misinformed.
Thanks Ian

Who told you it was a 1/68?

It may have just been sold new in Jan 68.

Mine is like that, build date is 10/74 but it was sold new jan 17th 75 and is listed in the log book by VW as a 75 model.

Not trying to hijack this thread, but if anyone knows of any RHD 'European spec' 67 beetle's for sale or in existence here in Oz, I would be interested in knowing about it, or even swapping an oval for one.

Cheers, Dave

There is a small handful of those European 1200 68 onwards bugs like the one above floating around Oz.

There is 69 1200 rusting away here in a mates backyard.
I remember when I first saw it about 20 years ago when I was only young and pretty new to VWs I couldnt understand why a 69 bug had horn grilles in the front guards and early bumpers

I only found out years later it was a European 69 1200 bug like this.



I've always had a soft spot for the late 1200s, the mix of old and new is kinda cool.
I'd love that 1200 Jeans bug forsale at the moment but I already have too many cars now.

Joel, I think you hit the nail on the head. The build and the first rego dates are probably mixed up. Any idea how I can workout the actual build date? A friend of mine is still sure the Clayton factory continued to build the '67' well into 1968 to clear their remaining components. Please confirm one way or the other I think I'll put money on it if I can get the facts.
Thanks Ian

There really isn't much in the way of data and records from the Clayton factory, you can get a rough idea by piecing together all the dates from stuff on the car which was actually dated with the month but the factory would have just kept building them until they used the bodies up, I think I;ve read somewhere that small window bugs were rolling at the doors till march 68 even though fatchick production had started.

The Clayton plant shut down and retooled for the new models in 68. I'm pretty sure just about all 68's for our market are fully imported as completely assembled vehicles, not ckd. You would have your answer if you could just post a picture of it.

Here it is,

Ah yeah that's the one Westi sold, just your typical Aussie model garden variety 67 bug.

It must be an early to mid 67 though cos it still had the early decklid latch, the last 67s were exactly the same but had the push button decklid latch instead

Yep! you got it right again Joel. Since I've had it I've replaced a tie-rod end a couple of tyres and tightened the steering box, apart from a slight leak from the front seal I can't fault it. Westi (from Westside mufflers at Padstow) sold me a great car!

This is a 1966 1300 beetle with wide-five wheels and a ball joint front end. It was 6 volt and had a swing-axle gearbox. Note the larger side and rear windows and slope headlight combo. This was German assembled and a local guy called it the "one-year" beetle. I would have liked to restore it but I already have three others on the go so I sold it last year.

Thats a Euro spec car, very different to what we got here.

One year only is very over used term thanks to the Americans with those bloody 67 beetles that have started that load of crap.

A few parts on a car that were only used for that year doesnt make the car a one year only item.

I can find atleast one "one year only" part on every year beetle between 67 and 76 that unique to that year only.

Ian yes you are right, the Clayton factory made Aussie '67s well into 1968. The Deluxe was phased out about March, and replaced by the fully-imported German '68 model (both manual and semi-auto). I believe the Custom (Standard) continued up until about September 1968 (plus the Country Buggy). It took a while to convert the factory from manufacture to assembly, it wasn't an overnight thing. The Clayton factory was also making the Type 3, and the Transporter, in 1968 so those lines also had to be converted to CKD. As well, the factory also began assembling Datsun 1200/1600s and Volvo sedans as work was contracted out.

So while the Euro '68 model appeared in Germany in August '67, it didn't go on sale in Australia until March 1968. Both '68s remained fully imported for a few months, then CKD assembly of the manual began about June '68. The semi-auto remained fully imported.

Lee your production dates for model years (1 August to 31 July) only apply to German cars. The Australian factory made each model year well after July - in fact into Xmas and the new year, as the compoments were used up. New 'model year' VWs appeared here in February or March; there's no specific date as there is for Wolfsburg. Even when CKD assembly began from '68 on, the parts may have been built according to those Wolfsburg dates but were have been assembled here months later - the CKD crates had to be shipped out here. In fact the gap got larger in the late '60s as VW's local sales dropped and a backlog of unsold cars built up. By the time the changeover on '68 happened, the factory was partly idle. It was built to produce 50,000 cars a year but never exceeded 34,000 (1964).

There's no way to determine the actual 'build date' of an Australian-made VW. The closest you'll get is to look for various 'date stamps' for some of the components. Look at the wheel centres (between the bolt holes) for date stamps. Look also at the back of the speedo and the fuel gauge. That will tell you when those parts were made, so the car's assembly date will be shortly after.

Thanks for the info and I'll classify that as gospel !!!
Ian

Have a read of the Australian VW history here:

http://www.clubvw.org.au/history/history.html 

I will be updating and expanding the history over the next month or two, ready for the launch of the club's redesigned website.

The German factories close down for the summer holidays. This is when the retooling is done for the new models which appear after August. The same thing happened in Australia only our summer holidays are in January, hence the new models are first manufactured in February.

Compliance plates have nothing to do with build dates. It is common for them to be 2 years later than when the vehicle was built. As far as I know, there were no 1975 Passat sedans, but there are plenty of 1974s with 1975 compliance plates as with 1981 Golfs.

Anyone know what year this olive beetle is. http://www.tradingpost.com.au/Automotive/Used-Cars/Small-Medium-Family-Presti...

That thing has been posted up a few times.

It;s a 69 semi auto but every time the owner tries to flog it off as a 56 oval