Now that we are the proud owners of our 71 bus, my wife and I notice a lot more VW buses than before. As we drive past, we wonder what model year we are looking at. To the experienced eye, there are probably exterior details that would allow one to i.d. the bus.
When I was a lad and into trains, I had a copy of the Diesel Spotter's Guide -- a handbook that allowed railfans to identify the make and model of diesel locomotives.
Is there such a thing -- in print or online -- for VW's, esp. buses?
"Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott" wrote
I've learned a ton by checking out
Personal choice -- your bus is one of the best out there... beetle engine (slow) with the big steering wheel aspects of a "bay (curved) window bus"
Congrats on your new ride.
T.
Great links, but while decoding VIN's and other numbers is all well and good, we're not planning to pull over when we see another bus and get out and creep around it, peering into it to find the VIN. Certainly aren't planning to wave someone down for it!
Some of you can probably nail a bus's model year by looking at it. What are the clues? Does each model year have something about the exterior that is distinctive and can be spotted from a few yards away?
Me, I'm hoping for a picture gallery to ID the bus with. You know, something like, "Okay honey -- when it has the ribbed rear bumper and the wider rain gutter, but doesn't have the veeblefetzer fitting above the radio antenna -- it's gotta be a 73."
Hi Rocky.At the risk of being in error(as opposed to being wrong),I look at bumper style(step '68-72,bar '73-up),turn signal location,wheels and hubcaps(wide 5 pattern and big logo caps vs small 5 disc brake wheels and caps,tail lites(smaller"old style up to '71,big Euro style '72 up.Westys can be confusing because Westfalia converted large lots as demand called for so I've seen "overlaps" where the tag says '72 but its obviously a'71(for example).Of course Splitty's and Bays are self explanatory.Ya,it must be nice to have so many buses to look at.To see any ACVW on the road here is a major event.Lots of hulks in yards though.Steve
Oh-ho . . . to the trained eye, there are many tell-tale clues. Anyone know of pictures showing examples of these details?
A few quickee differences for USA vehicles:
68 = round side marker reflecters, domed hubcaps, pushbutton front door handles [like a 67], wiper arms that clamp on the shaft like 67 and back but have a 45 degree bend on the end, front door lock buttons are on top of the window sill. [same as 74? and up, but 68 doors do not have flow-thru ventilation] 69 = same reflecters and hubcaps, front door handles are lever action [69 up], wiper arms are held on with a nut on the end of the shafts, door lock 'knob' is now a small lever above the inner release handle. 70 = same as 69 except round reflecters turn square and the rears light up. Beginning few months of production, VW used a horrible orange material for the fuse boxes, they split in half down the middle!! They redesigned it using a white nylon material. 71 = hubcaps are now flat because the bolt pattern went to 5 x 112mm. 1st year for front disc brakes and dual port, doghouse shroud engine [and last year for upright fan type 1 engine] 72 = 1st year for type IV engine, body still has the round bumpers but the tail lights are now the tall skinny ones. 73 = 1st year for the square bumpers, 1st year for auto trans, 1st year for engine access cover, front park/turnsignals moved up above the headlights.
handles [like a 67], wiper
the end, front door lock
do not have flow-thru
up], wiper arms are held
lever above the inner
up. Beginning few months of
split in half down the
year for front disc brakes
tail lights are now the
for engine access cover,
...................I just did a click and drag of this post into a folder for future reference. Thanks Karl!
But I thought that the'72s had the veeblefetzer fitting too.Oopps,wrong hat.Bullwinkel
Great stuff! Thanks, Karl!
"Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott" wrote
Apologies for the effort. I thought it would help to read the yearly changes noted at the first link, many of which are the same as those noted in Karl's excellent post. You didn't specify that you wanted pictures ..... wander around the galleries and classified ads here:
dgaffiih
-- Scott
No,no -- please accept my apologies for not thanking you for the effort! I wasn't clear in my initial request.
...
Actually, 73 was the last year of the front hinged pop top. 74 was the 1st year of the front luggage section. In the USA....
68-72 Westies were built on sun-roof buses. You can remove the upper cot and put the netal sliding roof in. 73 was the 1st year the Westy was not a sliding roof bus. 68-72 Westies used honey opal vinyl. The single person upper cot was mounted on the passenger [right] side. 68-72 pop top hinges were tubular aluminum and very weak. 68 were one year only, they actually were screwed to the bottom of the pop top with wood screws. 69 and up used carriage bolts that went thru the pop top. 68 was the only year that VW put a white vunyl strip between the hinge and body. 69 up was metal to paint. 73 pop top hinges are one year only but they will fit 69-72. Westfalia finally got smart and made the hinges out of flat stock steel. Not as strong as the 74-79 rear hinges but much improved over the tubular aluminum. 73 was one year only for the mustard cloth material. One year only for the larger upper cot that sits on the drivers side [left]. 74 was the beginning of the plaid material. 74-75 pumpkin orange was a site to behold. Even the door panels and headrests were orange! 74-75 Westies were the only full width rear seat/bed. 68-73 front cot bars were 56 1/4". 68-early 69 were round and black; they bent very easily. Mid 69 and up became 3 sided galvanised steel. 74-75 bars were 57 1/4" long. The half moons on the A and B pillars were mounted lower. 76-79 bars are 2 piece collapsible. 74-75 bars will fit but you will not have a place to store them. 68-73 stored above the right side wall cabinet. 74-75 stored under the full width bench seat/bed. 76-79 stored under the 3/4 bench seat/bed. Lots more but I will stop for now.I'm going to remember Karl's name...... the first project I will be finishing will be a 1969 Bus. May need some info from you Karl......
DOH! I should have checked that out online, obviously. It's been a couple of years since I paid attention to that particular detail.
"Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott" wrote
Hey, no problem Mike. :o) For the record, I wasn't fishing for a `thank you' .... it's no excuse but it was late and I was tired and grouchy and it just seemed that the links weren't appreciated. Sorry for kind of smarting off about that.
I'm no expert at any of this but I do try to help if I think I can. Karl appears to be THE man for this type of stuff.
I've enjoyed the humor that you've brought to the group, along with the enthusiasm and eagerness you've shown in learning about your bus.
Take care.
Some 68 only things: The upper brake reservoir is kidney shaped and the connecting pipe to the lower reservoir is metal.The plastic self-destructed with age. 69-70 were round and used plastic connecting tube. Starting 71, it was square and moved to behind the seat. Much better plastic.
68 = 211 611 313 E to chassis no. 218 220 00068 used the 9 pin flasher box like 67. 69 up VW separated the 2 circuits, turn signals and hazard.
68 = 211 953 215 C68 door handles are push button ala 64-67 but the tumbler locking paddles are longer.
68 = 211 837 205 J [67 was 211 837 205 K] The 68 paddle is 211 837 213 C (69 up is D). 67 paddle is 211 837 231 B.68 front doors are one year only, they have the lock knob on top of the window sill and no flow thru ventilation. Flow thru started 1971. The vent window knob/arm is not replaceable, it is rivited on.
69 up it is held on with a roll pin, all the way to 79 will swap. But I have seen early 69's with left over stock 68 windows factory installed.... The inside release handles are 68 only. Part number 211 837 019. Door latches are one year only, 211 837 015 E for the left and 016 E for the right.I already mentioned the wiper assembly and arms.
68 wiper arms = 211 955 407 C (69 up are 211 955 409 A) 68 wiper shafts = 211 955 221 C (69 up are 211 955 221 D) [66-67 are 211 955 221 B]68 to mid 69 rear view mirrors were held on with 2 screws. Mid 69 and up are break-away mirrors. They are held on by a spring clip and break away if you hit them in an accident.
68-mid 69 = 211 857 501 A The upper body panel across the top of the windshield was different in 68-mid 69 because of the way the mirror mounted. If you had to replace it, i.e. accident and it got bent, then you got part number 211 805 283 A and you had to also use the 69 up mirror, part no. 211 857 501 B. (the original 68 upper header may have been part no. 211 805 283 but I cannot verify that)I may think of more later, this was just off the top of my head.
lower reservoir is
plastic connecting tube.
turn signals and hazard.
window sill and no flow thru
replaceable, it is rivited on.
have seen early 69's with
handles are 68 only. Part number
and 016 E for the right.
are break-away mirrors.
68-mid 69 because of the waybent, then you got part
211 857 501 B. (the original......................Jeez Karl. You're a tremendous resource for us on these baywindow bus questions. Sort of like Howard on the '66 bug............... Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.
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