Which Beetle

Prior to 1957 parts can be iffy. 57-65 parts OK but not great. Post 65 best availability for parts. Dependability probably equal but later models have more power and better suspension. Howard

'68 or later. Before that they were 6 volt (I think) and the '67 had a bunch of one-year-only parts. But maybe if you want "most desirable" then the '67 would appeal to you? Don't get me wrong. I've owned a '73 Super, a '66 and '63 (and a '73 Bus). I had fun with all of them. Just ask. *cough* Most desirableto you is what is most desirable to YOU. If I was going to go buy a VW that was most desirable to me right now I'd be torn between a notch and a sandrail. I think I know which one I'm gonna wind up buyin first. :-)

A notchback sandrail!

lurker here... had to comment-

it could be called "notch-yo-rail"

that is all, carry on....

jjd

In Illinois, desirable is '67 or before. After that, at least in the Chicago area, you have to pass the smog check, forever. It's not like California and its 30 year rolling smogcheck, although I understand the Demagogues are trying to change that now, too. We have a 4 year case of the Blagojavich in this state and we still have two years to go. Blago's ineptitude and selfishness as Governor may be the single thing that revives the now-moribund Republican party in this state.

Charles of Kankakee Not a Commucrat or a Demogogue. (The differences between the two in the last two major elections make me wonder if Tail-Gunner Joe might have been right. Wondering if their next slogan will be "Peace, Land and Bread" or something similar.)

On Sun, 24 Oct 2004 18:31:02 -0500, "Mark" scribbled this interesting note:

It all depends on what YOU find desirable.

What is your budget, both to acquire and to maintain? What do you find aesthetically pleasing? And reliability is about the same regardless of the year of Beetle.

Assuming you are in the US, here are some factors you might want to consider...

Pre 1965 cars are more expensive to buy and maintain. Parts are available, but they cost more. Oftentimes the owner (that means you) feels the need to update or retrofit items like bigger engines, 12 volt electrical systems, etc.

Post 1964 cars are cheaper to maintain and the buy when compared to earlier cars. There are exceptions, such as 1967, which in the US was the first year of the 12 volt electrical systems, but this year car has many, many one year changes since 1967 was a kind of transitional year model, which make 1967 Beetles a one of a kind year model and more expensive to maintain than either 1966 or 1968 cars.

Pre 1969 cars have a single jointed swing axle design (except the 1968 Auto stick, which has a double jointed swing axle) which makes some jobs more difficult and time consuming, meaning they cost more to perform regardless of if you do it yourself or hire it out.

Post 1968 cars have a double jointed swing axle design which makes those same jobs easier and therefore cheaper to perform. Also, parts for them are more common and therefore less expensive.

As to the looks of the cars, that is a matter of personal taste, of which there is no accounting!:~) Buy a book and look at the different year cars and decide which you like the looks of the best, then take into account the projected purchase and maintenance costs, then decide what you want. You might want to do a search in this group on Google to find out what the dollar per mile costs of owning and running an air cooled VW might reasonably be. They aren't cheap when compared to a modern vehicle since they were designed and originally built when labor was plentiful and cheap. As the years have passed, the same amount (or more) of labor is required to maintain them and these days labor is expensive regardless of if you perform it or someone else does. Remember, your time has a cost too...

Oh, and remember, once you take the plunge and buy a Beetle, be sure to buy several different manuals if you are to work on your own car. eBay has many different offerings for manuals. The original workshop manual is the best, followed by the Bentley manual, and the others (Haynes, Chiltons, Idiot Guide, How to Hot Rod...etc.) follow in differing orders depending on who is looking. You can never have too many reference works.

One last word of advice-buy the very best example of the car you decide on that you can find. Sure, there are bargains out there, but they are far and few between, and even those are going to require a vast amount of work. Spend more money up front to buy the car and you will be saving money in the long run. To many people this seems counter-intuitive but if you stop to think about it, and you should, this is absolutely sensible. Buy a $500 car and you'll spend thousands more by the time it is safe to drive than if you'd gone ahead and bought a $2,500 car which is already safe to drive but needs minor work.

And don't be afraid to stop back by ramva and ask more questions as needed, nor should you forget that Google is a great resource to look at first as most questions you may ask at first have already been asked, and answered, many times before. If you don't find what you are looking for there, then ask here, you'll find the ramva-ites helpful, although some may be a little grumpy from time to time!:~)

-- John Willis (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

The '67 is the *most desireable* IMO. It's the last year for 5-lug wheels (better looking wheels are available without adaptors), & the first year for the 12 volt system. It's a great looking car! Next would probably be '69-'72's. The years before the side vents behind the rear window. Still nice clean-looking cars. Older ones (ovals & such) are great looking too, but cost more to restore. A friend has several bodies & one running '67 for sale in the Atlanta area; if you're near let me know & I'll show you some examples first-hand (& of course I have Annie the radical '63 baja & the shortened '72 street baja). HTH, ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"

Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!

The ones without the vents are '68 thru '70. The vents started in the '71 tear model in my neighborhood................I like bugs though. I am just as interested in all year models, untill I go looking to work on them. Then I veer toward the '71. It is the single most imported and sold in the USA in a single model year. There are more parts cars available as well as more aftermarket and all the rest. Supers , convertibles and standard beetles. There's not a year in which there were more produced.

All else is a matter of personal influences and such. (things like what year the buyer is born , or some other odd item about the buyer)

There isn't a year model around that can't be made as safe as any other year as long as your willing to do the modifications or have the money for them.............that money thing can be a strong motivator for all of the opinions one might form too.

All in all. The best thing one can do is enjoy what may come their way. There's always a Beetle looking for a person to love it and nourish it to life again.

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MUADIB®

one small step for man,..... One giant leap for attorneys.

'71 tear model in my neighborhood

********** My '72 dosen't have the vents... ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"

Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!

Then Your 72 is of another country origin...............All the US models ahd the rear (crescent shaped) vents behind the rear windows, unless it is a convertible....................I'd give you a pass on that one. Is it possible yours is not a US model???? or maybe your car was modified by a previous owner?

There are possibilities, but they are not from the dealership, delivered that way in the US unless I have mis understood something , way way out there somewhere......................I miss things on occaision, but this one for some reason is not even a smidgen off the mark in my brain.

Anyone else wanna chime in on this and help us make for certain that niether of us is putting eroneous info out for the original poster???

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MUADIB®

one small step for man,..... One giant leap for attorneys.

I have eliminated the vents on a few 71 and newer beetles so smooth, and using nothing but metal that you would never be able to tell they were ever there

you can use a magnet to see if the area have bondo to remove the vents in some cases, not all though I make sure a refrigerator magnet sticks to all my work.

Mario

It's possible my body was changed out by a previous owner. I know it dosen't have the vents, & the body never had them (they haven't been filled). Very curious. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"

Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!

There were

1) different bodies and levels of trim for different market areas

and

2) different trim levels and slight body differences in the same market area between "budget" models (Also called "standard") and "regular" (also called, ready for this, LIMOUSINE) models.

I had a 1970 swing axle 1500, "limousine". Chrome trim, headliner and interior vinyl covering all metal areas except door metal. Padded dash. Swing axle rear, disc brakes up front on torsion bar suspension

The standard had virtually no chrome trim, narrow headliner strip (metal visible all around the interior), 1200 engine, painted old style "blade" bumpers with no overriders, and no gas gauge.

Just to name a few details.

BTW nowhere in this did I mention or mean the SUPER beetle, as opposed to "standard". That's a whole different beast and I don't know if a "standard" or economy version of the super ever existed.

jan

On Fri, 29 Oct 2004 21:04:10 +0300, Jan Andersson scribbled this interesting note:

I'll chime in for Scott here since he seems to be goofing off somewhere...

Scott had two standard, plain Jane, bottom of the line 1971 Beetles. You know, the kind that came from the factory with a horn button, not a horn ring. No fancy chrome, no fancy trim packages. Neither of these cars had been altered in any significant fashion and the numbers between the bodies and the pans matched. Both of these cars had the vents. These are both U.S. model cars.

I kind of like the standard Beetles. There are far fewer of them here in the U.S. than the dressed up Beetles. To my mind that makes them a little more desirable since there are fewer of them.

-- John Willis (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

They are very hard to find. I've never seen one. Seems everybody messes 'em up with "improvements".

And I revently sold off two of 'em that were un-altered...............well, other than aging and natural erosion.............LOL

Had planned on making a show pair once uppon a time.

They were very close in VIN number and they were both the same factory paint color too.

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MUADIB®

one small step for man,..... One giant leap for attorneys.

The Super Beetles had unique factory trims to go with special limited editions. They had a baja, denim, and sun bug that I remember. My 74 Sun Bug that I am salvaging had stamped wheels which they also used on other models, fake wood dash inserts, cloth seat centers with gold threads, leather shift knob with sun burst center, simulated leather steering wheel cover with the center emblem painted, of course the gold paint, sun roof and golden bronze carpet. There might be more but these are what I've found as well as confirmed by my research. Also the dealers were supplied with a Sun-Bug logo that was to be installed on the rear deck but most were not installed on the correct models but installed on other convertables and sliding roof models to make a few extra bucks as I remember. I seem to remember my dealer had a "Blue" convert with the deck emblem. No, I don't have a deck emblem and I sold the shift knob for $150. Dennis

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up with "improvements".

******** And yet I posted that a friend was selling 5 or 6 of his Beetles & not a single response. I guess no one in the Atlanta area is interested in bugs anymore. Shame; 2 of them will probably see the crusher... ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"

Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!