Since we’ve all enlivened our VW Beetle memory banks a bit yesterday, let’s take a look at this one out in the boonies I found. It’s a bit worse for wear, but all the evidence is there to be able to pin it down right to the year. And a good year it was.
And for those of you not well versed in these details or just entomophobic, there was also a water cooled engine block sitting nearby; it’s at the end of the post. I wonder if it had been swapped into the Beetle, as its motor is missing.
Here’s the engine block:
Bonus points for correctly guessing both!
My WAG is: ’67 Bug and Rabbit, etc. block. That’s some impressive corrosion, esp. the trans case!
After a second look, I don’t think it’s a Rabbit block…
After a third look, focusing on the headlight bucket, I’ll agree with others that it’s a ’66- first year for ball joints. Btw- my Dad’s new ’64 had seat belts as an option.
My third car (and third VW!) was also a red ’66. I paid $50 for it in August ’73 and sold it 11 months later for $500 after the gas prices went crazy. I had replace the motor with a good used one and my Dad and I repainted it, so with the other somewhat minor repairs I about broke even.
did 67 have those bumpers? otherwise i’d agree…
How about a ’65? Maybe this car has the kingpin front axle, and also the bigger windows, which would narrow it to 1965. It’s quite a stretch to guess this with only photos. One could always cheat by looking at the VIN. No guess on the engine.
I see a ball joint beam
I could be wrong on that – I need to find more photos showing the 2 axles side by side.
No clue. How does a VW rust that badly in Oregon?
The maker of that cheap plastic steering wheel cover should take a bow – that thing has held up better than any part of the car.
This is sitting on Nature Conservatory land right near the bank of the Willamette River. I’m pretty sure they pulled it out of the river. That engine block clearly was underwater a long time.
I think the block is a Toyota 22R or RE.
block is most defiantly a Toyota 20-22r without the cylinder head thee is no way to tell for sure from the pictures what variation it is.
on further inspection I see a single row timing gear, this makes it a post 1985 22RE. most likely came with fuel injection and out of a truck.
Yup a 22RE with the weak single row chain. The other giveaway is the all plastic guide, combine the two and a neglectful driver and that chain will eat right through the timing cover and into the water passage. Saw waaaay to many of those back in the day. That and their plastic rocker spacer were quite profitable for me.
Looks like a shadow of a ’62-’67 taillight on the rear fender, and the black steering wheel suggests to not-very-knowledgeable me this was later in that year range, but then I fell down this rabbit hole (beetle hole?) of apparently exhaustive detail of what makes a ’67 Beetle different to prior models and what parts are ’67-only.
I’m thinking 1965. If it was a Porsche 911 it would be on BAT as a “80% complete restoration project” with many good parts
What was the first year for mandatory seat belts? (I suppose few people installed them aftermarkat, but not sure)
’65 or ’66. It appears to have the larger windows of the ’65+ models, and the headlights aren’t vertical like they were starting in ’67.
Not an expert by any means but the headlight area and the front bumper both point to pre 67, don’t they?
Yep, the chrome bumpers with overrride are definitely ’67 and earlier, and the headlight shape seems to indicate ’66 and earlier.
Looks like a ’67, that steering wheel is late ’60s and rear lights were up to 67 based on the “shadow” left, and seems to have had belts installed.
Headlamp cutout is 1966 or earlier, missing the original cover. 1967 and later got uncovered sealed beams (which were about to be banned in the US) and now had to be perfectly vertical, and the cutout got an odd shape to accommodate uncovered vertical lamps in a sloped fender, with a usually chrome surround to help make it fit. I never thought the uncovered sealed beams looked right on the Beetle.
I think that this is the car that “Toonces The Driving Cat” drove over the cliff.
That was an ungodly combination of Jaguar MkII exterior styling with Ford Granada windshield frame and red vinyl interior. Toonces was doing it a favor putting it out of its’ misery.
It was the same (extremely grainy) stock footage of the Jag and the same Ford Granada cut down to a seating buck every time, too.
Toonces, excellent!
Haven’t thought of that feline in ages!
I vote 66. Towel bar bumpers, big windows, ball joint front.
67’s had a slightly squared off decklid, and from what I can see of the seal this one has the earlier rounded decklid.
Do you know of a good source that compares photos of each axle type side by side? It’s been a long, long time for me, I had a ’65 and a ’66 at one point.
I agree with you, it must be a ’66.
I was thinking earlier than 67, so you may be right… I know 63 still had white steering wheel (i had that in my 63 frame/57 body vw – two damaged cars that my dad made into one…) but i didn’t know when they switched over.
I will agree with the 1967 guesses, had one. 67 first year for mandated seatbelts, and I see the factory anchor bolts on the tunnel, behind the front seats. Tail light shadows look right, heater outlets look right, ball joint beam. That transaxle was magnesium, which would explain its disapearance.
Seatbelt anchors aren’t a good indicator. My 63 has factory anchor points. 67 would also have non-covered sealed beams, which are a different front fender than shown here.
Agreed on the impressive transaxle corrosion, wow.
1962 was the first year for seat belt anchorages (not belts, mind you, just anchorage points for left/right/front/rear lap belts) on all US-market cars by the closest thing to a mandate that existed at that time.
zOMG what the heck happened to that poor Beetle?
1966. No idea for the block.
Just to play along I will call this a 1963. It’s that one year only red colour that has me. Love that spade shovel dealer option.
1966 sounds as good as any… here’s a ’66 that briefly passed through my driveway in 1999 (thus the smallish pics).
Here’s the engine…
Here’s the boot…
And the interior…
Front bumper and (suggestion of) oval taillight = 1967 or earlier
Large windows (i think) = 1965 or later
Dash and steering wheel may offer up some evidence but I don’t know the exact changes made between 65 and 66. The ’66 got a larger 1300 engine and iirc 1300 badges out back.
I’ll go with 1965.
’65 or ’66. Hard to tell without the 1300 tag on the engine lid. Feels more ’65 to me for some reason.
Oops, I didn’t see the balljoints. 66.
Dang, I had a ’66 Beetle. It probably looks like this one by now 🙁