(first posted 11/28/2011, revised 6/6/2015, and 4/6/2024) Trying to maintain some objectivity about significant cars from one’s younger years is difficult. Yes, the Beetle is practically my alter-ego; my oldest memories ever were made in one. I’ve written up several, trying to stick to the historical facts as much as possible: probing the origins of the Beetle back to 1903, the Beetle’s emergence out of the ashes of WW2, Volkswagen’s meteoric growth in the US during the 1950s. and then the decline of the Beetle.
In between those last two eras, the Beetle had its glory years, selling close to half-million per year to eager American buyers. The 1966 VW 1300 had a number of unique qualities that alone make it a worthy topic, including the fact that it was sold in the US only that year, unlike in Europe, where the 1300 became the best selling version for many more years.
Then there’s also the personal experience: my brother owned a white ’66 1300 for a number of years, and it played an important role in my appreciation of that particular car and model year, as well as the choice of my future cars (two Beetles). So when I say “The Best Beetle Of Them All”, it could be applied both subjectively and objectively. I’m going to swing for a double; you be the judge.
Which one to start with? Facts always trump fiction memories, right? To talk about the unique qualities of the ’66 to someone not familiar with the subtle but often significant annual evolution of the Beetle is obviously a deep dive into the VW arcane. I’ll try to keep it simple; that’s the VW way, right?
The VW’s air-cooled boxer four went through numerous steps in its evolution, in order to keep the Beetle up with ever-faster traffic. The original specs as fleshed out on a napkin over lunch by Porsche and Hitler called for a top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph) for Germany’s new Autobahn. 100 km/h was a big deal at the time; no low priced cars could achieve that, never mind do continuously. The calculations determined that it would require some 22 (DIN/net) hp.
The original 1938 KdF Wagen had a 985cc engine to generate that required power at some 2900 rpm, with a 5.8 to 1 compression ratio; don’t ask how long it took to get to that speed. But once it get there, it could do it for hours on end, as long as no hills got in the way.
The postwar Beetle adopted the slightly larger 1100cc engine developed for the military Kübelwagen, which made 25 (DIN/net) hp, or 30 in the old US gross rating. That’s what powered the Beetles up until the 1954 model year, when the bigger 1200cc engine arrived.
Rated at 36 (gross) 30 (DIN/net) hp, the Beetle now had a top speed of exactly 68 mph. And in 1961, the power of the 1200 was bumped to 40/34 hp, and top speed went to 72 mph. During the Beetle’s ascendency, the 36 and 40 hp 1200 was the only game in town, except for the twin-carb tuners or those that just dropped a Porsche engine into one.
Keep in mind that the VW was a popular car with the import/sports car set in the fifties. Paul Newman cut his teeth on a VW1200, and later drove a Porsche-powered convertible (above). That is exactly how I’d like my next Beetle, thank you! I saw that picture forty-five years ago, and it’s never lost its effect.
Those in the know knew a budget Porsche when they saw one. And its ability to get to races, avoid a DNF, and drive home again was appreciated; even if you weren’t actually racing it.
Driven properly (flat out), the VW 1200 could keep up with American traffic, mostly. But the mid sixties were the golden years of the horsepower wars, and VW finally relented.
The 1966 1300 had by far the biggest one-time jump in power, a whopping 25% jump, from 40 hp to 50! (34 to 44 DIN/net) Wow; ten additional ponies; we couldn’t believe it. That was suddenly good for a solid 78-80 mph top speed. And acceleration was dramatically improved; 0 – 50 now came in only 14.5 seconds, and 0-60 in about 22. By today’s standards, that’s laughable. But it was quite close to what a 1960 Falcon did, with twice the engine (2.4 L) and almost twice the horsepower (90). Another way to look at it was that the new 1300 had the exact same horsepower that the Porsche 356 1300 did just about a decade earlier.
How were those ten new ponies coaxed out of the Beetle’s engine? A 0.2″ (5mm) longer stroke, a new cylinder head with bigger intake valves, a bump in compression ratio from 7.0 to 7.3, and a larger carburetor. It’s still a bit curious that such fairly minor changes resulted in a 25% increase in power. But it did, and those extra ten ponies were very palpable when driving it. The 1300 had some genuine enthusiasm when revved to its new higher limit; the 1200 was always just barely adequate.
OK, before you VW fans jump on me and point out that the very next year the 1500 motor was introduced with 53 hp, and by 1970, the 1600 twin port hit the power zenith with 60 hp, here’s the key difference: gearing, and engine tuning. The 1300 used the 1200’s lower (higher numerical) axle gearing, but the engine had a big jump in peak power rpm, from 3900 (1200) to 4600 (1300).
The 1500/1600s all used a substantially taller final gearing, and these motors were tuned for torque, and reverted to a lower 4200 rpm power peak. The 1500/1600s were great for lazy American drivers, but with its tighter gearing and rev-happier motor, the 1300 could still accelerate about as fast, if not faster. It was the only VW engine tuned for higher rpm and a sportier power band, and had the gearing to take advantage of it. That meant a bit more noise at speed, but the lively feel of the 1300 was unique to all Beetles ever built.
The 1500 and 1600s also caused a not-insignificant reduction in fuel economy, dropping to the 25 mpg range. This is the primary reason the 1300 engine continued to be the preferred one in Europe where there was a choice between the 1200, 1300 and 1500/1600 for a number of years. The 1300 hit the sweet spot between performance and economy.
A 1966 Popular Science comparison of the 1300 against the Opel Kadett and Simca 1000 gives the VW the nod on the acceleration tests. Now that didn’t happen often. Of course, the VW’s oversteering tendencies were duly noted, but what else was new? Admittedly, the wider rear track (1967) and a double-jointed rear axle (1969) that came along later resolved that to substantial extents. But for Beetle purists, the ugly big bumpers, padded interior, and smog controls made these later Beetles lesser in their/my eyes. It was hard enough getting used to the much bigger glass area that came along in 1965.
So hopefully, I’ve inundated you with enough facts about the 1300’s unique and estimable place in VW history. Now for the memories. Actually, I’m going to some facts here too, because they have a lot to do with understanding the Beetle’s popularity at the time.
My older brother’s failed experiment with a 1957 MGA ended with it being hauled off to the junk yard. Something drastically different was called for. It arrived in the winter of 1968 in the form of a white ’66 1300, acquired for the not insignificant price of $900 ($5700 adjusted) from a private seller. Given that it had cost $1585 new, that was a hefty 57% of its original rice, for a three year old car. Based on this ad, my brother got a good deal, as the official Used Car Guide had it at $1155, and much higher than US-Built compacts and intermediates, like that Buick Special and Olds F-85. The VW had by far the highest residual of any three-year old car in America then.
But it was well worth it. To start with, it looked like new; everywhere. The VW Beetle may have had shortcomings that its detractors will readily point out, but the quality of its materials and construction ain’t gonna be one of them. It was built like a German ziegelscheisshaus. The contrast to the 1965 Opel Kadett my father decided to get rid of after three years was startling. The Kadett’s paper-thin doors actually bent outwards at the top at highway speeds, opening up a gap you could see light through. The VeeDubs doors were like a bank vault’s in comparison. That pretty much went for the whole car.
I made many happy memories in “Oscar”, especially the summer of 1972 when my brother left it in my hands while he hitchhiked around Europe. Let’s just say I made several runs up and down the East Coast that summer, chasing girls who were on their summer vacations at various beach towns. Never mind some back roads “races” with cars that had several times the horsepower. Even if I lost, the effort was well worth it. I was a bit embarrassed by how much the odometer had moved forward in just one summer. Not that the VW minded, and thankfully, neither did my brother.
That car ran flawlessly for a number of more years, accumulating significant mileage. He finally sold it to a girl we both knew in Iowa City. It was 1973, and as I remember it, he sold it for not much less than what he paid for it, or something close to that. His ownership costs for those four years were peanuts, depreciation being the biggest determinant of the total cost of driving. By then, it was eight years old, and pushing 100k miles. And except for a new clutch I helped him put in for the new buyer, it was still in very rude health. With a bit of spit and polish, that indestructible VW enamel paint still looked as deep as a well. His cost of driving it those years: very little indeed. It was a lesson that I took to heart.
I borrowed it from the new owner a couple of times, including possibly the hairiest drive ever, to Madison WI and back, in a winter ice-rain storm. The old narrow 1920s era highway was built with curbs, a practice that was long ago abandoned. These curbs were unlike today’s, in that they had a rounded cross-section at the bottom and top. Anyway, coming back at night, in that ice-rain storm, I repeatedly used that curb like the bumpers on a bowling alley, especially on curves. If it hadn’t been for them, and perhaps the VW’s large 15″ wheels, I would have ended up in the ditch several times, not like that’s possible. Maybe that’s why they were built them like that in the first place? But it’s indelible memories like that that not only make you appreciate the car you’re driving, perhaps beyond what it deserves.
VWs were the Toyotas of their time, which explains a lot. No, they weren’t perfect, and the engines didn’t last as long as cars do now. A properly maintained factory Beetle engine was good for about 100-125k or more miles or so. Swapping in a rebuilt engine was a very quick job done without any major lifts or hoists, in a couple of hours. The quality of the rebuilt engine made all the difference. If you were doing it for the first time, on your kitchen table, trying to make sense of the directions in John Muir’s “How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive”, and using cheap parts, you might be lucky to get 25 to 40k miles out of it or so. Not everyone was cut out for that.
This ’66 has been around campus for a couple of years, and needless to say, always makes me want to check what decade it currently is; it takes me back instantly. It’s got a few dings on the fenders, but as we all know, VW fenders are easily replaced with a few bolts. Other than that, it looks to be ready for another half century. Just needs some polish to make that perlweiss paint glisten again.
Speaking of John Muir, his favorite VW ever was also the ’66. In his esteemed words: “The 1966 Beetle is my personal favorite. The 1300 engine was powerful, frugal on gas, and could wail at high RPM all day if asked. This is an excellent collectable that can double as a daily driver, strong and well constructed“. I should have just started with that, and called it good. Sometimes less is more, like the VW.
Related CC Reading:
Curbside Classic: 1946 Volkswagen 1100 (Type 11): The Beetle Crawls Out Of The Rubble
Curbside Classic: 1957 VW 1200 – The Beetle Takes America By Sturm
Curbside Classic: 1971 VW Super Beetle: 1971 Small Car Comparison No. 5
They did build the rounded curbs on some 1920s highways to help keep cars on the road. But when drivers bumped up against them, freaked out about it, overcorrected, and drove right into oncoming traffic — well, that’s why roads were built without curbs after that time.
U.S. Hwy 66 was also originally built with curbing too. I believe most, if not all the original federal U.S. highways were built that way. Eventually paved over with blacktop and widened.
The photo of the narrow road above reminds me of the narrowest road I have ever driven – a single poured lane of concrete, 15 feet wide – I measured it – 2 lanes marked, 7½’ wide each! Pogue Road near Wood River, IL. It’s been paved over and widened, too.
The VW? Nah, I don’t care – I was never a VW fan. Death trap as far as I was concerned, but being an Impala guy, well, old habits are hard to break, and the AMC Gremlin was the smallest car I have ever owned. However, the old, two-tone VWs are pretty sharp, especially seeing one now. I wish the example above had a different color either above or below the chrome trim line.
VW’s WERE a death trap… but MOST cars back in the 60’s were death traps… I know this, cos our high school, every year, would take the mangled wreckage of the most recent fatal teen crash, and place it at the front entrance of the campus… This twisted sculpture of metal and steel and blood (usually an American car) was to remind kids not to hotrod… Still, every year we had a kid killed, even after the mandatory seat belt laws and later, when airbags appeared.
And my VW? Well, “Little Blue” was a 1958, and except for not having a gas gauge, it was fun to drive, even with the “small” 36 hp motor. Senior year, I sold it to another kid; I later got my mom’s ’66 Karmann Ghia convertible (a nice ride, until I crashed it into a parked truck), and later ended up with a Mazda GLC wagon.
Every so often, I get the urge to buy another old Beetle… but then I remember valve adjustments every 1,500 miles, oil changes at 3,000 miles, the rock hard ride, the virtually nonexistent heater, and the NOISE inside that little air cooled beast… which is why we’ve stuck with modern vehicles for the last four decades!
I ran into a narrow road back in the early 70s. South of Urbana, IL, a 1 lane concrete road to a town called Deers. Somewhere I have a picture of my motorcycle parked across it. IIRC, the paved spot was 6 feet wide, but a full lane-width shoulder prevented major problems.
FWIW, it was on a different road I encountered one of the odder characteristics of VWs. Going south in January on a dead flat, dead straight road, I started to spin out. A bit of snow drifting across the roadway and a stiff crosswind helped the back tires break loose while the fronts kept track. Didn’t help that the bug was new to me–I was used to the quirks of a clapped out MGB. (Lifting off the throttle for each small drift kept the car straight. Fortunately this was during the day and visibility was good.)
hanJi 💫
RAISEd on ’66 VW ‘SedanS’, etcet since 1958 .🏁gF NM/FL☮️
I went from Brownsville, Texas and back with my friend and his 1969 VW sedan. This was 1974. I was at the wheel, in the desert just south of Matuala, at night, when I drove over a road kill mule. No problem. My friend slept through it, and I don’t think a accident even knocked the wheel out of alignment.
I never had a particular preference for the ’66 – but your essay is making me rethink that. I wasn’t aware that with the engine-size increase came a change in gearing; and I’d never thought about how the torque curve was affected in the more powerful VW engines.
For the silly sake of appearance, and safety questions as well…I was partial to the 1968. The black padding edges on the dash with the body-color inserts, make for a nice contrast; unlike some, I thought the simplified bumpers were an improvement. Certainly the outside fuel-neck door was…The reshape of the tail, with the modern lamp housings but before the slots were added to the engine cover…appearance-wises, it was a peak. All downhill from there. And, need I add, the reshaped seats with required head-restraints, were orthopedic masterpieces?
I always thought the VW parking-light approach in the early models was clever…that little bulb inside the fairing cover, set in such a way as to take advantage of the headlight reflector. But, of course, it was outlawed in 1967. Progress marches on, sometimes for the better, sometimes not.
Of course, I say all this as an aficionado of the Super Beetle variant; my favorite out of those is the original year, 1971. Flat windshield, steering-wheel unencumbered by Federal padding; yet the front-suspension cribbed from Porsche. A true sleeper of the winding road; and enough to make the MG set hang their heads in shame.
Good piece.
I DO agree with you on the 1968 model – even I liked them, in contrast to my statements above.
That’s funny, how different people choose different years as the peak. 🙂
From a practical daily driver perspective I really like the final Superbeetles, especially the convertibles. But having owned a white ’66 just like the profiled car, that was by far my favorite — and I’ve driven and owned quite a few air-cooled VWs, though I have none at the moment. The ’66 just had so much more of that Olde Worlde Charme or something, plus it really did feel significantly more peppy than my ’71 with the dual port 1600. Now I know why, thanks to Paul. 🙂
But even the styling, construction, and assembly of the ’66 and previous models were far closer to contemporary Porsche standards than later Beetles were. It does contribute significantly to the pleasure factor, IME. My ’66 seemed almost “jewel-like” in a way the later Beetles I had did not (though they were still fine cars). My ’66 had the steel sunroof too, which I loved.
But my top endorsement goes to Mr. Newman’s version, with the 356 engine. He and his wife sure have some good recipes, too. I love their Ginger-Os!
http://www.insideline.com/volkswagen/paul-newmans-1963-vw-beetle-convertible-for-sale.html
Paul Newman’s bug actually has a 351 engine, by Ford rather than Porsche.
That’s disappointing. Wonder if it’s a later mod to his 356-powered Beetle, or if that was a different one?
I do know he had a 356 engine put in at least one Beetle. ISTR it was actually a ’62 sedan, but it was so long ago now…
My sister had a bug (year?) with an engine transplanted into it. Yes, it was a 356 engine and it had plenty of power for the San Francisco hills. My 62 will always be my favorite. Bugsie was pastel green with a red drivers door. I paid $75 for it in 1976 and drove it for three summers and two winters in the Washington, D.C. area before it was declared too rusty to be safely driven by the State of Virginia.
I hope the Bug CC’s don’t stop!
Well, that was maybe a decade later. There weren’t 351s in 1964, or whenever that picture was taken. And it’s quite obvious from looking it that the first version didn’t have the front cooling intakes, wheels and roll cage of the later version.
This red convertible did have a Porsche motor at the time the picture was taken. I remember the article very clearly.
I am guessing that the V-8 Beetle was built later… I say this, cos I remember actually seeing Newman driving his Porsche-powered VW on Sunset Blvd, way back when… which was one of the cool parts about living in Los Angeles in the 60’s: you would regularly see Steve McQueen or Paul Newman running around town in their various sleds… awesome…
Somehow I had gotten a copy of the VW sales brochure that featured that picture of Paul Newman and his convert. I loved the caption. My best recollection is that it said ” It’s my car, I take it everywhere I go.” Oh for the days when a famous movie star could drive such an everyday car.
The car in the ad is the same car that was fitted with the Ford 351. In the photo, it was likely presented as a stock car by VW for advertising purposes. When it was originally converted to mid-engine V8 configuration, there were no cooling holes cut in the hood. The project wasn’t completed until 1969 though, at which point it was featured in the November 1969 issue of Hot Rod. https://www.oldbug.com/newmanvw.htm
Paulson: I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. The picture of Newman with his Porsche-powered VW was taken in about 1962-1964 or so, a number of years before he cut it up and had the Ford 351 implanted in 1969. Nobody dressed like that in 1969!
I’m pointing out that it was the same car, but the conversion to mid-engine hot rod wasn’t completed until years after it was used in the VW advertisement with its famous owner.
I agree that if I were to pick one to use as a driver today, the ’71 or ’72 Super Beetle would be my choice, due to the handling improvements, not having to open the trunk to refuel, and actually being able to carry a modicum of luggage in that trunk.
Just as an aside. These Super Beetles offered more trunk space, better handling and VW’s sadistic idea of creature comfort. However, it came at a cost: the strut towers developed cracks, the front suspension and steering wore out much faster and were much more expensive to repair than the double tube design. The blower assisted “climate control” was just about impossible to repair. What exactly where these these little buttons with the bidirectional arrows supposed to do when you turn them? I think they where steering wheels for the kids, a design blatantly stolen from the cars at the Mary go Rounds.
But I do have fond memories of my ’68 1300, ’71 1302 and most of all of my uncle’s Reseda Green oval window: My place was behind the rear bench and usually I fell asleep, valve clatter and all. And that one even had a flower vase as an accessory!
I would say that the conventional wisdom of the time was that the ’68 is the pinnacle of the Beetle. The larger 1.6 liter engine and relatively few smog controls made it so. I may be wrong–but subsequent models had progressively more smog equipment.
And, not mentioned in the article, is that you could buy a ’66 (or any other classic Beetle), and most likely it would NOT have the 1300 cc motor… many “restored” VW’s don’t have original engines, having been “improved” with bigger, “better” motors.
Tragic but true.
“Conventional wisdom” requires replacing all single port engines with the later dual port version. If my old ’66 is still cruising southern CA, it’s probably powered by a DP 1600 by now.
Maybe there’ll be a lucrative market one day for period “correct” and period “souped up” versions of the earlier engines. That would be pretty fun to do, actually…
Though I’m very partial to the idea of 356 or Type IV power, having spent way more time mentally building “the perfect Beetle” than any other car. A driver, not a show car. But when I saw the probably bone stock white ’66 with that patina on the front page my heart actually raced!
I know this is late to the game, but the 1300 did run well.. I drove my dad’s frankenbug – three different beatles in one. The body was a 1957 sunroof, the undercarriage was from a 1963 that had hit a deer, and the motor was from a 1968 autostick that had rusted out.
“Three different Beatles”…Paul, Ringo, & George?
Amazing how the models differ the flat hubcaps and smaller bolt patter didnt get out here till 68 the 1300 engine made it though its quite hard to date beetles down under as the alterations filtered through slower but yes these were an improvement over the 1200 though other than the enlargement I hadnt realized why.57 minutes to change an engine but its easier on early kombis just wheel one out and another back in but cheap parts dont exist here VW parts were expensive one of its failings outside the US.
A 1966 VW 1300 was my first new car purchase back when I was 22 years old and a PFC in the Army. Thanks for the technical information because I knew I loved the car but until now, didn’t know why. I put about 33,000 miles on it in the year and a half between the end of basic training and when I left for Vietnam. Then I sold it to my father for a going to work car. He never appreciated it because he hated foreign cars. I remember it as a very sporty drive and a very comfortable ride with plenty of room. I once hauled a five foot long combination TV and stereo console from Elmira, NY to my apartment in Oxen Hill, MD by removing the front seat and leaving it in Elmira, NY at my sister’s house. Then, since I was the driver for a car pool of soldiers every morning going in to Fort McNair in DC, we left the front seat out for quite a while because the three of them enjoyed the ease of getting into the rear seat with no passenger front seat in the way. I filled the gas tank weekly for $3.25 unless I was going on a weekend trip and that would require another three or four dollars. 30 to 32 mpg was normal and I kept the gas pedal to the floor on most of my out of town trips. One Sunday night I drove from Cleveland, OH to DC in under 3 hours using the Ohio turnpike and the PA turnpike. The only sore spot was one rainy August Saturday morning when I hydroplaned on Route 15 near Selinsgrove, PA due to one worn rear tire. Suddenly instead of tooling along frontwards at 65 mph and I was tooling along backwards at 65 mph. I glanced in the mirror and saw a big telephone pole in the middle of it. I thought “well, it sure has been fun!” But, as luck would have it, the car slid between a small concrete bridge railing and that pole, dropped down over a steep bank with the front of the car flipping over the back. Ended up in a small creek with water running across the headliner. Wipers were still wiping a glassless windshield, lights were still on and the radio was still playing. I quickly turned off the ignition, crawled out the passenger door and made my way to the nearest house where the nice resident took me to the local state police station. You are right about the quality of construction. I had one scratch on my elbow and had been wearing no seatbelt. Had to take the bus back to DC but the car was repaired in about 4 weeks, just in time to sell to my dad! He kept it a few months and traded it for a 68 Dodge Coronet.
My only embarrassing single car accident happened in a Subarau Brat with glass T-tops — I lost control taking a turn too fast on questionable tires and launched it off a 20 foot drop, it rolled multiple times upon landing, and even took out several small trees. Other than a gash on my right knee and a wicked headache, I was fine, But when the Brat came to rest upside-down in the meadow, David Bowie was singing “Don’t let me stay — my logic says ‘burn’, so send me away — your minds are too green, I despise all I’ve seen. You can’t stake your lives on a savior machine!”
It was weird.
That’s a great story. I once spun my VW Dasher wagon 360 degrees on I-5 in Seattle during a snow storm. I made the mistake of changing lanes and the slush mound on the center line broke me loose at about 55mph. Fortunately there were no cars near or it would have been bumper cars.
In the 1960’s, I was no fan of Volkswagen. My friend’s dad bought a beige colored one in 1968, I think. The headlights were aimed more horizontally. It had medium brown seats. I rode in it a few times. At 6’3″, I thought it was cramped. I remember thinking the car seemed well built; the doors closed like a bank vault. In that era, my Dad had a 64 two door Biscayne Chevrolet, an extremely cheap car which looked like a Cadillac in comparison with the VW.
Today, that Bug looks good to me. I probably will never buy one, new or classic, but I understand how anyone could want one. I borrowed a guy’s Karmann Ghia back in 1974, and although I felt like a sardine, it was a blast to drive. Alot more fun than my 68 Fury HT. I’d still pick the Fury, though. Cheers!
I never owned a VW, but I thought that the bowl hubcaps stayed thru 66. Maybe not. A good friend had a 67 that was maybe 11 or 12 years old at the time – well after the heater ducts had rusted out. The car was fffffffreeeeezing in the winter in northern Indiana.
I had a brief love affair with beetles in the late 70s, but 1) gas was expensive and so were old VWs and 2) my buddy’s car gave me what I needed and I bought a slant 6 Scamp instead. With a good heater.
Was the 66 1300 the one with the bad engine mounting straps? My wife has a story to tell about those.
The wheels and hubs and lug-nut patterns were changed in 1965. Same time the roof was raised somewhat; the side-windows and windshield got bigger; the windshield-wiper pivots moved from left to right-hand; and the time the vent-window divider got an angled. A new window-winder was part of the reason for that; made winding down the window a two-turn job instead of an eight-turn exercise.
Engine-mounting straps? The engine in those things, was entirely bolted to the transaxle. That’s all there was. Now, the transaxle had a set of bolts at its tongue forward; and (I believe) a bridge-bracket holding it and bracing it to the firewall on the rearward end.
I had a FSM of the Type 1 back in the day, but I can no longer remember. I DO know that we shade-tree mechanics were cautioned against lifting the rear with a floor jack on the crankcase underside…which of course was the only place to get purchase. When my clutch-cable broke, that’s exactly what I had to do to get it up and get under.
You may be referring to some issues with the ’61, which was the first year of the fully-synchronized transmission, and I seem to remember something related to its front mounting or attachment.
The front gearbox mount changed I swapped in a 63 gearbox into a 59/60 and had to change the mountings easy though.
I guess Ziegel is translated as brick. I agree it was built like that. I bought my 66 while stationed in Argentia Newfoundland. There I had a choice of a 1200 or a 1300. The 1300 had the new hubcaps, the same wheels, a 1300 engineinstead of a 1200. Had I bought the 1200, I was essentially getting the 40 horse 1965. I might have done that but I couldn’t have brought it back. The only mistake I think they made was waiting till 67 to go 12 volt.
I was 23 years old and getting transferred to submarine school. I drove through newfoundland and took the ferry to Nova Scotia ( I think). Then I drove down through Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It was July and I loved the Maritime provinces. Thought Antigonish was the prettiest town I ever saw. Probably changed now.I saw my first interstate highway (95/Holton Me.) and drove through new york, pa etc. I avoided NYC.
I drove to Kansas to see my family and drove about 1kmiles just kicking around there for 30 days. Then I headed back to New London Ct via the northern route and covered a batch of states I hadn’t seen before. 7500 miles in 35 days at .01/mile.
That car saw me through sub school and through the first 2 years of submarine duty. I put a judson blower on it and embarrassed my share of v8’s over the 1/8 mile. Lots of fun. I’ve owned a lot of vw’s and still have a 63 sitting up in Kansas waiting on me. Hope it doesn’t dissolve before I run out of time.
I don’t know if that was my best vw because I bought it new or if it was because it was better. I agree that it was the best. Only thing I ever fixed was stopping and banging the voltage regulator with a rock. Even new that happened from time to time even if I changed the regulator. Oh, and driving like a jerk meant the clutch only lasted 40kmiles.
Thanks for bringing back the memories.
The wheels/ lug pattern changed on the Beetle for the 68 M.Y., not 65. And yes the car photoed has 67 hub caps, the 66 had the dog bowl caps.My personal fave is the 67, mainly because its 12 volt. And Paul hit the nail on the head, the build quality of these mid-sixties VW’s equaled anything built in the world at the time, and surpassed most.
No, the ’66 was the first year for the flat hubcaps, but it still had the old style wheel. The reason was that the ’66 had a new front end, with ball joints, and the actual wheel hub didn’t protrude as much. That allowed flat hub caps, which didn’t get dinged up as much on curbs.
You can put the old bowl caps on a ’66 or ’67, but these flat ones won’t fit on an ’65 or earlier because of the protruding front hub. Ask me how I know.
BTW, the ball-joint front end that appeared for ’66 was a real boon: no more king pins to replace, which inevitably wore out, depending on how often you grease it. And to me, it made the steering a touch lighter yet.
Correct on the ’66 caps, I was in a hurry this morning! And according to the “how to tell the year of a Volkswagen” thats in the back of Small Wonder 66’s also got the ventilated wheels.
Nitpicking trivia, I know, but it was also the change from ball to tapered roller front wheel bearings that shortened the spindles allowing for flatter hubcaps. That happened at the same time as the balljoints.
It was.
Very nice driver there. My personal preference is anything 67 and earlier because of the bumpers and taillights. I own a 63 and the windshield looks too tall on a 66, just a matter of perception.
I can vouch for the quality of original VW parts. When restoring a VW you always get 3 choices of quality in parts: Cheap Brazillian, Good Brazillian and German. The German quality parts are probably made in Brazil too but I digress.
I’ve tried to buy the best quality parts for my restoration, but in some cases you can see that the replacement parts are visibly inferior to the originals, which were built for the ages and finally done after nearly 50 years.
My VW came from Texas, and my brother in law drove it for a few weeks before shipping it up. It has a tired 40hp 1200 and he said when you drove on the Interstate you never knew if people were going to give you the thumbs up for having such a cool car, or the finger for driving so slowly..
I share your preference. That’s one of the reasons I had a ’63 and a ’64 myself. Ideally, they’d be sitting on a ’66 pan!
For that matter, I’ve always had a soft spot for the ’57s and earlier, with their original size windshield and oval or pretzel rear window. On second thought, make that a ’53 on a ’66 pan!
Paul, what option level did it take to get the pop-open back windows? I recall very few VW’s I have seen had them, which surprised me due to lack of A/C back then.
There were very factory few options then, and it was one of them. Sunroof, pop-out rear windows, radio ; ummm…that was it, I think. Lots of dealer installed options, like little doo-dads; parcel shelf under dash, visors, things like that.
And ’67 12v electrics!
12 Volt; yes, that was a good improvement indeed! The Beetle just kept getting better, until it was too good. Or something like that.
USA got 12v (and round upright headlamps) a year before the rest of the world.
I would definitely give a thumbs up! Not related note: I’m wearing my Studebaker Museum tshirt today. It has a yellow ’37 pickup on it.
I was introduced to Volkswagen ownership when I bought a non-running ’71 Campmobile (bus). Bought the ‘Idiot’ book, and figured out the points were closed up, then drove it on and off for the next eight years, with an engine rebuild early in that timeframe.
Then bought a ’64 sedan, and drove that for six years in Atlanta traffic. Yikes. Got passed by folks driving around me in the emergency lane more than once. Rebuilt the 1200 about a year before I sold it, and ran 70+ all day on a road trip from GA to IL (except through the TN mountains!). In the occasional Atlanta winter ice storms, I was usually one of few who could make it in to work, and I’d always laugh at the 4x4s off in the ditches. (c:
That got replaced with a ’00 TDI New Beetle, which is still my daily, but is needing some longer-term undercarriage maintenance now that I’ve passed 200K.
Out in the barn are a ’62 sunroof and a ’63 sedan that my younger son and I are poking away at. Can’t wait to get them on the road again, but I think I’m past the point of wanting one for a daily driver (especially since we’re in the salt belt)…
I had a 66 for a short period, sorting it out for a friend. I liked it, but I think I prefer the ’62-64s better – they just seem simpler, somehow, which appeals to me.
My first car was a ’63 sunroof. And even with a sunroof, you definitely felt the air cushion when closing the door. Only difference was the sunroof would bulge up briefly. In an eight-year old car (when I had it) from the early sixties that was pretty remarkable. In the rust-ridden Northeast no less.
I’ve always thought a big part of the VW’s appeal and general solid feeling is the styling. More than styling of course, more the general architecture and proportions of the car. Perfect example of form following function. There’s something about the big round wheels, fenders and cab that just looks solid and right.
Talking about a ’66 brings back a real childhood (well, adolescence anyway) memory: Dad left the Chevy business in the fall of ’65, just as the ’66 models were coming out. He then spent 90 very unsatisfactory days as new car manager for the nearby Pontiac/Cadillac dealership. At which point, he retired for awhile.
Spring of ’66, he’s approached by Volkswagen of America, wondering if he’d be interested in taking on the franchise for Volkswagen in the nearby town of Indiana, PA (Johnstown already had a dealer for years) and getting the dealership started.
After a couple of days thought, and some long talks with mom, he turned VoA down. Sorry, but this red-blooded American, still nursing a sore right knee from some shrapnel at Cassino, just couldn’t bring himself to make a living selling a ‘furrin’ car; and especially not one from the same bunch of people who were hell-bent on killing him 23 years earlier. And to his dying day (27 years later) he wondered what kind of American could buy a Japanese or German automobile, given what his generation went thru.
For me, I’d already given up on the Corvette for high school. Now I wasn’t even going to end up with a Beetle. Just the black and yellow school bus.
My first car was a ’63 Bug. When it was time for another car, WWII-vet Dad offered to chip in on a new car, but only if it was American. Thus the Pinto, not the Corolla SR-5 I really wanted.
My dad was 100% the same way..but he was union, not military. But a lot of the guys in Local 369 were WWII veterans. I was always told if I bought a foreign car, I couldn’t park it in the driveway…and our street didn’t allow street parking.
I’ve always loved the Beetle since I was a kid but my personal favorite has to be the Super Beetle, partly due to nostalgia and partly because I find it to be the most “livable” Beetle, if you will. About 17-18 years ago, my grandparents’ neighbor’s son used to have a red Super Beetle convertible and I remember being fascinated by it as a little kid; never got the chance to ride in it though.
In 1964 I had a ’63 Beetle, gray, red interior with the cloth sunroof.
On a cloudless spring day, driving down I-95 in CT, and ascending a slight rise, I was in the process of passing a large Buick, when, just over the rise, there was a barricade set up: the fellow doing the mowing had set up a barricade in the fast lane that you couldn’t see until it was right in front of you!
The Buick, lumbering along at 45 just kept lumbering along. All I could do was apply the brakes. Hard. Not something rear engine cars like you to do.
As I began to spin out, sensing that the sunroof was open to the sky, I threw my upper body over onto the passenger seat.
It turns out there were two of these barricades, both in the fast lane. I spun around the first one, then around the second one, before finally ending up in the median strip, stalled out, but still UPRIGHT.
I figure that throwing my weight must have made a difference. I was saved by not wanting my head to fly through the sunroof!
Both driver-side tires were deflated. (I think the steering damper later had to be replaced).
There was an exit just down the road, fortunately, and I drove off, filled up the tires and continued on to Washington, DC without further problems.
We (well, my parents) got a new red bug in 1961. We drove it 70,000 miles in two years. One set of brake linings, one set of tires + normal maintenance. They traded it two years later plus $1750 for another new one. We used to drive the snowy backroads in the wintertime looking for hills we couldn’t take. That probably says more about not-too-deep snow than anything.
Later my wife and I bought a new red 1967 bug. It worked well for us too, but after we’d had it for a year some old character in a ’49 Plymouth sedan made a left turn in front of me and I t-boned him. After the VW was fixed we drove back from a camping trip in the Olympic Mountains in the rain and when we got back to Tacoma the floor on the passenger side had three inches of water on it – my wife had been sleeping, hiking boots still on, and hadn’t noticed. The body shop must have left a seam open when they repaired the wreck damage. This was during the period when we weren’t keeping cars very long, and we traded it for a 1960 220S sedan.
Hey Beetle-philes – is there a good online spotters guide that charts the annual changes?
I learned to drive standard on the neighbor’s ’66, a skill required for my first high school job to deliver for the town’s pharmacy. Unfortunately, any long time spent in a Beetle made me physically ill….don’t know if it was the windshield in my face or the peculiar VW smell. Many moons later, I still get nauseous when I sit in one! Pity, really.
I always fancied the Squareback…..
I had a girlfriend in high school who had a 1969 VW Beetle. A total rustbucket in 1979, but provided us with a lot of freedom.
In the wintertime, the windows were always fogged, because the heater was rusted out, and just breathing in the car would expel enough vapor to fog them up. I did not know this until after we’d broken up, but apparently I had developed a reputation as quite the lover because of this issue.
Funny, all of that high school stuff…
I’ve never seriously had the urge to own a Kafer, however.
Livermore, CA. Old man drove to Walnut Creek, CA and gave the dealer $1,500 if memory is correct and away we went in a new 1965 Bug.
Grovel with ample admiration ye mere commoners.
I got to hold the 15 one-hundred dollar bills.
For a brief moment.
Traded to the Old Man for his assistance in ensuring the USA’s thermonuclear devices would, if needed, inflict the desired damage against Rooskie filthy Commie infrastructures.
Film at eleven.
My only Beetle memory comes from a post high school encounter with a female classmate. I encountered her at an Ottawa (Ontario, Canada) strip mall with a slush storm in progress outside. She offered me a ride home in her beetle and I gladly accepted. Entering the modest sedan she pointed to a breach in the floor beneath my feet. It was just aft of the front wheelwell that intruded into the passenger compartment footwell. She advised me to keep my foot firmly planted over the openning claiming that, if I did not, road debrit may directly strike my face. I took her advice to heart and kept my foot firmly planted over the gap, even though, I did not completely subscribe to her dire description of the possible conciquences of non-complience. As we left the mall lot and proceeded along public roads, I could indeed feel something impacting the sole of my instrucively placed shoe. As she drove on, however, I , somehow, became distracted. It was not a call, it was not a text, it was 1975, Nonetheless, when she encountered a large slush deposit, what struc me in the face and soaked me to the waist was a virtual torent. I quicly moved my foot. I also granted her full absolution over her display of obvious delight.
I love your article/story about the ’66’ VW 1300 beetle. Thanks to you and your photos and detailed story you have helped me decide just the right one I want to own one day. I love the bumpers and the style of the tail lights and sunken headlights with the cover over them. I think it is awesome and knowing the details of the engine and it’s speed and that it can be driven daily and frugal on gas just makes it better. Thanks for this. I am going to book mark this for future use.
Just make sure that you buy one in the best shape you can. Much as I loved my 1966 vw did make improvements in the next decade or so. 1966 was sort of an oddball year and it is my favorite. You might look for one of the mexican ones that was more recently built and see what that takes to import legally. I would love to have a new old car.
Great article! My summer driver for the last 5 years has been a 66 imported from Greenville, SC. They are rare now here in eastern Canada.
One thing not mentioned in the article was that 66 was the last year of 6 volt electrics. I upgraded mine to 12 volts two years ago when the engine burned out. Driving at night was a nightmare, as was AM radio! Creeping down country roads seeing only 30 feet in front of the car was a real drag.
We were lucky in Australia. Our locally made ’66 and ’67 cars still had the pre ’65 small window body and wide lug wheels, but gained 1300 engines and interiors. Best of both worlds.
My first car was a ’66 Bug and it was a dud, sorry to say. It would not start when it was very humid or rainy and it left me stranded a couple of times.
I would never describe it as “peppy” nor “sporty.” The front end got very light at highway speeds and had a tendency to wander due to lift. The headlights would dim at stoplights and the windshield wipers were ineffective due to the 6-volt system. It was also a deathtrap with no headrests nor shoulder belts.
I wish I had it back though.
I often wondered what the difference was between 65 & 66. I knew that a 67 was a one-year model with unique diffs. from prior years. My first VW was a 57 which I bought in England while stationed there with the U.S.A.F.(1962). I know most if not all of you who read this will not believe it but every word is true. I paid $100 for it and didn’t even know how to find reverse. It would run 94 mph(clocked by an American car since the speedo didn’t go that high) and got over 37 mpg. I used to go to the junk yards and buy fenders, hood, & engine lid that were in better shape than mine since at one time before I bought the car it had been blown over(rolled 6 times) by an Air Force F100 fighter jet. The owner had parked on the road by the post-dock run-up area and when the plane was being tested it blew it right over. There wasn’t a straight panel on the entire car. I only owned it for 7 months but put over 35000 miles on it in that time. To give you an idea just how rugged VWs are, I drove to town one night(about 8 miles) with 9 people, including me of course, in it. Being the driver, I was the only one sitting alone. Ah, those were the days. My second VW, a 63, couldn’t hold a candle to the 57. The 63 flat out would not run over 70 mph. Many good memories of those 2 cars, especially the 57 since that was when I was still single and unencumbered.
The top speed of a ’57 Beetle with the stock motor (1200 cc 36 gross hp/ 30 DIN hp) was exactly 68 mph; maybe 70 of it was a bit better running than average.
If your ’57 Beetle went 97 mph, it must have had something very different under the hood. Are you sure it wasn’t 97 kmh?
In 1962, there were no performance mods that I know of that would take a VW anywhere near the speed you’re talking about. It would have taken some 85 – 90 hp to do that, almost triple the stock engine. If it had the top Porsche engine installed, a Super 90, that might have done the trick. But that would have been a very expensive motor.
Don’t forget about the American car he clocked it with (no km/h there).
Don’t forget about speedo error in said American car. 🙂
This was a left hand drive American version which had been taken from the States over to England by an American serviceman. So, the speedo was MPH not KPH. And it definitely had only the 36 hp original engine. I don’t know why it ran that fast but hey I LOVED IT!!!
Absolutely, positively 100% not possible, but enjoy your memories! What were you guys drinking (or smoking) that day?
Since you were not there you can not possible know that it was “Absolutely, positively 100% not possible”. Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t lie… it all happened EXACTLY as stated. But if it makes YOU feel better to think only the worst about someone else … have at it.
Don’t take it personally; It’s just physics. It would take about 80 (net) hp or more to push a not-very aerodynamic Beetle through the air at 97 mph. That’s almost three times(!) the 30 (net) hp a “36 hp” (gross) Beetle had.
How do you explain breaking the laws of physics?
I had lots of experiences with VWs, but what you describe is simply impossible. And that’s not to diss you personally. But what you’re saying is the same as me saying today that I drove my 103 hp Scion Xb at 156 mph. Would you believe that?
(97 mph is 42% higher than the ’57 VW’s actual top speed. The Scion’s top speed is 110; hence 110 x 142% = 156 mph) That’s a bit rough, but it gives you a rough idea of what I’m talking about.
What do want me to say? Either I tell you it was physically impossible, or tell you to enjoy your “memory”, or tell you that you’re capable of breaking the laws of nature, hence god (or something equivalent)? Your choice.
Long downhill and a strong tailwind? I used to get my standard 1961 Beetle (34bhp DIN / 40hp SAE) off the 90mph clock given those conditions… From memory 1000rpm was getting on for 20mph so 90 would be about 5000.. Well past peak torque and power, but the wind and gravity helping. .. Going the opposite way in the same conditions 65 would be about it.
:o)
You probably don’t look at old comments, but today’s Manta/Celica/Capri took me back to my childhood, where my dad replaced the family car, a 68 Beetle, with a used 1972 Ford Escort. And an Escort GT at that, with the big 1300cc engine and a tachometer!
And a heater!
And a real trunk!
And a bigger back seat!
But at some point, later in life, my dad told me when he bought the Beetle, new in Athens, in 1968, one of the big things about it, besides the “new” body, was the it had the “1300”.
As you note, in the US, the 1968 got the torquey, but not “revvy”, 1500.
So, if the 1300 was the sweet spot, I didn’t realize it at the time, but my father’s last Beetle was really PEAK Beetle: the new body with the 1300cc engine.
The last Beetle he bought was the only one he did not sell for more than he bought it. I think he got $800 in 1974 for it. The other three (a 195x, 1962, 1967, he sold (because of military reasssignments within 1-2 years) for more than he paid.
If you see this, maybe you’ll do a CC on the “peak Beetle”, a 1300cc “new” body that was never sold in America.
I enjoy CC, cheers!
Hi Tom,
Yes, I try to read all the comments. I failed to point out in this post is that although the 1300 was a one-year only in the US, it was available in Europe and other areas, where a buyer had the choice of 1200, 1300 and 1500/1600 engines. The 1300 was the hands-down favorite, because it had the best balance between power and economy. The 1500/1600s were just too thirsty for most Europeans.
Here’s a CC post on a European ’69 1300:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-cohort/cohort-pick-of-the-day-1969-vw-1300-the-most-popular-vw-engine-size-in-europe-for-many-years/
7 months is 28 weeks to cover 35,000 miles? You must have done little else but drive it full time, That coupled with the impossible top speed points to a wildly optimistic speedo or did it just have 14inch kombi wheels on the front to boost the reading.
In college I had a ’63 VW 1200 and we regularly piled six or more in for grocery runs from the dorm. Once we had ten, I remember that for sure. Suspension totally bottomed out. Usually the transmission was voice-operated, as in “shift it into third now”.
Eventually it developed a loud moaning from a rear-end bearing, and I sold it to a guy who was always tearing down VWs. Only lately have I realized there might have been some cause-and-effect there.
I have been driving a 1978 convertible for 20 yrs and before that it was a 1972 hardtop. Now I am in the process of restoring a 1967 hardtop. My only problem is I live in Texas (the land of trucks, big trucks) and having a hard time finding a qualified mechanic. Love the car, they have a personality all their own and can’t imagine driving anything else.
Hello there,
So I was searching for parts to my ’66 Beetle and here I stumbled upon your blog post featuring pictures of my car! They are from my Eugene days. I am potentially interested in selling Theodore, but I haven’t yet made up my mind. Anyway, this was super weird. Thanks for appreciating the best of the bugs.
66 the best year? I have a different opinion. I drove a 66 Beetle for 2 years and loved the car- except for the 6 volt electrical system. The lights were on,you couldn’t beep the horn without revving the engine. The dim headlights were not fun either. In 1972 I bought a 67 VW and rebuilt the engine using the ” Idiot’s guide to VWs”. I drove that car for 8 years and put 150,000 miles on the rebuild.
That was my intro to what I consider the ” best” VW. I now own 2 fully restored 67 VWs and have owned my one car since 1998 .My Father located a rusty 67 and fully restored it and I have owned it since his death 4 years ago.I cruise with the traffic at 70-75 mph- the little 1500 cc engine is singing,but I love every minute! I will always have my 67 Beetle.
My first car was a 1969 VW Bug 1300. In 1972, I was pulling into a corner parking spot, almost stopped, airtight windows up, when broadsided by a 3,500 pound Marathon Taxi cab doing an estimated 70 mph. I survived, still recovering but survived and thrived. My passenger was unharmed. That car was not a deathtrap.
My first car was exactly the same car as this. Same color. Same pop out windows. Dad bought brand new in 66, I got it in 72. Great car, but I totaled it out in less then a year. It had a 12 volt convertor for the AM/FM radio, it worked well but when idling with the turn signal on the radio would get louder and quieter in sync with the blinking. When we moved from Portland to Southern California we had floor vents installed, I believe they were called ‘Uni Vents’. The local VW dealership carried and installed them, but they were aftermarket, not a VW accessory. They took in air through the horn grill openings, and you had to reach down into the cowl area above the heater vents to open them. They worked great with the pop outs open, the must not have been around for very long as I have never seen another beetle equipped with them.
Drove an old 1300 for a bit. It was quite the car, if you ask me. It would cruise at 60mph, & the windshield would almost defrost in Winter. A friend (who weighed a bit closer to 240 than I did) almost burnt the damned thing because the springs in the rear seat got a bit hot when shorting out the battery (when someone only mildly heavy sat on it) & the excelsior in the cushion nearly caught fire. Lucky for our sense of smell. I installed a piece of rubber & a 2×8 over the battery & had no further problems with that.
The 1966 Beetles and ‘Ghias had one year specific gear and final drive ratios in the North American versions (look it up in the owner’s manuals) to better utilize the new ” big block ” 1300 CC engine’s power .
Those who like me, prefer the look of the ’71 & ’72 Super Beetles , can swap in the later Super Beetles front suspension for better ride , handling and adjustability .
6 volt horns and wipers that don’t work well are the fault of poor maintenance .
I drove mostly 6 volt VW’s until I stopped on them completely and after I peaked & tweaked the system , grounds and connections , everything always worked *perfectly* even in the 1950’s versions with Motorola ” Volumatic” tube typ AM radios .
’65 was the year the brakes _finally_ got up dated .
Choosing the ‘ best ‘ year , geeze , I dunno , too many happy memories in too many Beetles to choose just one .
Maybe my ’60 # 117 DeLuxe Sedan my Son came home from Huntington Memorial Hospital in ? . he still has it , 36HP engine and crashbox tranny .
Lastly there are NO ‘ Hard Top ‘ Beetles ! they are , by design , all SEDANS .
VOLKSWAGEN : America’s _renewable_ resource ! .
-Nate
For some reason, this old post came up as new in my newsreader. Guess it’s true, what is old is new again. I had a 1967 Beetle, more powerful 1600cc, more safety stuff and some nods smog control.
I had a ’66 and loved it. It was destroyed when some jerk ran a red light and T-boned me. For me, the big advance of the ’67 was the 12 volt electrics.
I had a German market ’67 Deluxe Sunroof Sedan. Mechanically, it was a like ’67 Karmann Ghia, but electrically, mostly a ’66 bus.
1500cc engine and matching “wide track” transaxle with compensating spring.
4-bolt rims and front disk brakes with single master cylinder.
6v electrical system, but large diameter generator with separate regulator, “12v” flywheel and starter gear. This was in common with the 1500cc ’64-’66 bus.
Glass covered headlights, like the ’66-earlier.
My first car was a red 1966 Beetle bought while attending the University of Missouri in 1976 for $500. Still had the Sapphire IV that would cut out when you braked at night with the headlights on. I “upgraded” to an Audiovox AM/FM Cassette player (which required a 12 volt converter). Drove it for two years, then gave it to my sister after I bought a yellow 1971 Karmann-Ghia convertible, which I promptly totaled after a mild restoration. Drove the Beetle for a few more months until I found a 1969 KG Convertible. Sold it for $550. I still remember Driving back from Columbia MO to St. Louis in the wee small hours of a November Sunday morning with the defroster working only on the passenger side in order to see a Steve Martin appearance at the old Kiel Opera House (the next summer he sold out the local hockey arena).
My teen years with Volkswagens taught me all the basics of automobiles, with an air-cooled bias albeit. By sixteen, I had become very proficient at adjusting valves and drum brakes, thanks to Mr. John Muir and Company. I almost wore out Dad’s copy of “How to keep your Volkswagen alive for the compleat idiot”. Thankfully he bought me my own copy. To this day that book is still the best source of Volkswagen mechanics IMO, even better that the factory manuals. They don’t write ’em like that anymore. To paraphrase and possibly be politically incorrect, ” roll up a smoke and getting it drawing real well before you go drive about”. You won’t see any other auto repair manual explain a warm-up procedure quite like that ever again.
Thanks for another trip down Memory Lane.
I understand why they were successful but they always left me cold – I passed my driving test in 1979 in one and even then it was gutless (and that was an 1303). It felt wooden and unresponsive and that applied to Mexican ones I drove years later. And no, I’m not comparing them to the cars which were around in 1979 or 1991; the Mini Clubman with similar hp I had made the VW look really, really old. But yes, the VWs (back then) were the epitome of reliability – the Mini, at least in the early years – was not…
The 1303 had only the normal 1300 engine in the heavier 1303 body, so wasn’t fast.. The 1303S was the 1600cc disc-braked faster model.
I’ve never managed to drive or even ride in an original Beetle, which makes me feel kind of incomplete given how many were around in my childhood, and how many are still around if you’re looking for them. And this one does look pretty close to Peak Beetle, though the 12V electrics would be a welcome upgrade!
Also–in the “After 3 years” ad, what in the world is the $860 car in the rear right? I can’t quite make sense of it…partly because it looks like it has the smaller quad-sized headlamps, but only actually has one per side.
Odd; it looks like a Rambler Classic, but with its inner two headlights removed.
That was my first thought but it did seem a little implausible. Also reminds me of the Coronet A990, though those are of course a different thing entirely!
I owned a unique Army Green VW Beetle in late 1970s. Car was brought to Shilo, Manitoba, Canada by German Army for summer training where hundreds of troops used big guns. The Beetle was like a late 1950 car with no options including 6 volt battery system.
Funny how my ’86 Jetta seems a little under powered now, but comparing it’s 0-60 with the ’66 Beetle that was my first car (0-60 22.5 seconds) my car does that in almost exactly half that time and top speed is up from 72.5 MPH to 101 MPH. And that’s still really slow compared to modern cars, but only by 3 or 4 seconds VS over 14 seconds! A lot more improvement from ’66 to ’86 vs, ’86 to present. Thanks for reposting this article.
With all the Beetles sold its amazing no one in my family ever owned one but about 20 years ago a co-worker of mine bought a 70’s standard bug–he explained how he had one in the 70’s and what amazing memories he had of owning it. After about a month he sold it because he couldn’t stand the idosycranies that made the original car so memorable. Noisy engine, no heat, no power and not really good milage. He bought a Cavalier if I remember right–I’m sure old bugs make great weekend collector cars but not everyday drivers in todays world.
Which goes to show how good modern cars really are… Old cars can be fun but if you want to drive them daily (or at least on a semi-regular basis) realistically speaking modification will be needed (which, at least in the case of the Beetle, is not that difficulat or expensive to do).
The ’67 1500 was far sportier (relatively) The bigger torque and hp more than made up for the taller gearing (I’ve owned both) and the wider rear track and Z-bar made the cornering far better, combined with disc brakes in European models.
By the way, the 50/44bhp (SAE/DIN) at higher RPM you quoted is for the 1971-on 1300 twin port engine.. Introduced at the same time as the 1600, as the 1500 was discontinued.. … The 1966-70 single-port 1300 produced 40bhp (DIN) 46bhp (SAE) at similar peak rpm to the similarly-ported 1500.
No, the 1966 1300 made its peak 50 SAE gross hp @4600 rpm. The 1967 1500 made its peak 53 gross hp @4200 rpm.
The ’67 1500 may have been marginally faster depending on tune and the driver, but the difference is not very much, based on some contemporary tests. The new rear axle gearing on the 1500 blunted some of its power increase.
Sitting at home 2 days after major abdominal surgery. I made my wife drop me off at the shop to drive my baby home yesterday day on the way home from the hospital! Accidentally bark the tires shifting into 2nd. Makes me feel 16 again every time I drive her. Low and slow and a blast to drive!
I had a green 1300 and tried to kill it in my late teen years with auto crossing,rallies and drag races. I had an oversized front swaybar,camber-compensator,EMPI exhaust and a rejetted carb. But the real secret was the Porsche 912 clutch. I could even get a 2nd gear chirp out of the tires. At the strip I could beat the 1500cc bugs with a time of 20.22 sec. for the 1/4 mile at a blistering 67 mph.
Put a few Mustangs and Corvairs to shame on twisty roads. Truly a poor mans Porsche!!
Damn I miss that car!!!
This brings back some memories.
Given that Dad was a VW mechanic, I think I have driven the gamut of all of them. Hate to openly disagree with the OP, but 1500/1600s were much more desirable than the 1300 that was only imported to Canada for 1 year. 1966 was also the last 6v car. Generally these all these eventually became 1600s after the first rebuild anyway because the cylinder bores in the block were the same size, and piston/cylinder kits cost almost the same. 1970 brought the dual port heads.
Favorites: 1968-1970 standard beetle (or Karman Ghia). The Super Beetle was a bit too floaty for my liking because of the Macpherson strut front end. As an aside, if anything, 912s were upgraded with VW parts (due largely to the bigger aftermarket)
Shave the heads, put in oversized pistons, mild cam and exhaust, Holley (Bugspray) or Weber/Mikuni carbs, shave the flywheel, and it was easy to extract well over 100HP. I still have most of the motor in the garage, which by the time I was done, put out about 120HP.
As a youngster of the ’70s I found I always wanted muscle cars, but dad sort of forced the issue, and I had to “settle” for my ’68 Beetle. Once I started earning my own money, it was gone, and the Mustang showed up. Today, I sort of wish I had the little Beetle back … I miss the days I could work on my own car without a degree in Computer Science. (Hold on, I have one of those,… it doesn’t help!)
Anyhow, Thanks for the memories!
This 65 (?) lives here in Wichita Falls. I’d love to own it.
Other side.
I am wrong, it’s a 62 or 63 model. Should have consulted my VW spotters guide sooner!
Seeing that we’re going down memory lane….my first car that my parents had that I have significant memories of was the ’66 1300, red of course. All of the family cars had to be red. The car was driven by my mother during the week while my dad trained it into the NYC. Mother was not a good driver, but I learned a lot from her…of what not to do. I always rode shotgun while my younger sister was in the back. There were lots of “oh my God” moments in that car. I would hold onto dear life which included gripping the horizontal handle right above the glove box. This handle is still referred to this day by us as the “Oh my God” handle”. It is also the car that my father taught me auto maintenance on. Everything from what we call now detailing, to rotating tires, changing tires to snow tires, putting on chains, changing oil etc….I was 7 in ’66 and we had that car for a number of years. It was a sad day when they had to seel it for my sister and I were just getting too big. I love to shoot and I must have thousands of photos of “bugs” from wherever I have visited or lived, some even of a red ’66 1300. One neighbor had 8 kids, 5 of them were of age of grammar school, one was in my class. They too had a bug, go figure. One rainy day when I was walking to school I passed by their house as they were just leaving to go to school. The mother rolled down the window and asked if I wanted a ride..I looked inside and I said ” I think it’s full” (she had 7 of her kids in the bug). She smiled and said….nahhh get in! So there were 2 riding shotgun that had to get out for me to get in, and as I attempted to get in the back the two youngest jumped into the back area where all the books were piled hight already and there I squeezed into whatever room was left. It was a great mile ride that went by way too soon. It must have looked like a circus act when we arrived for we just kept on coming out one by one. But, I did get to squeeze next to Eileen all the way to school..like I said…it passed way too soon. I still do all of my non-computer related work on my cars and went on to get my A&P license after being a mechanic on B-52’s in the Air Force.
While the later Type 4 engines displaced around 1.7-2-litres, could the Type 1 or Type 3 engines have been further enlarged to 2-litres as well as featured at least some of the advances Porsche achieved with its VW-derived Flat-4 356 engines?
my first car and 1964 Beatle with all the options… radio, cigarette lighter and the metal sunroof (almost always open). the car was so tight the it actually floated (briefly) off the beach at a frat party. i won $25 in bets. took a few strong guys to get the rear end back on shore. had to wait an hour to dry out and off we went driving it home. the tightness lead us to figure out it was the best place to smoke dope because the smoke just stayed in the car. the second hand smoke enable five guys (a little tight all in the car) to only need one joint to get nicely stoned.
another modification of note; take the spare tire out of the front trunk and you have a perfect place for ice and a minni keg. then take the hose attached to the windshield washer reservoir and attach it to the keg (duct tape works well and tape the keg button down) then take the other end of the hose off the squitter thingy and run it out the ashtray into the car. staying hydrated simply requited a cup under the hose; press the windshield button and there you had a cold beer while on the long road trip. i am not sure how many laws we broke; but these were the old days when you got points for creativity. and believe it or not i went to school in the south where drinking and driving was the norm.
FYI i have reformed (gotten old) and no longer participate in such activities
I had a 1966 1300, my girl friend had a 1965 1200, the 1300 would cruise “easily” at 75mph, the 1200 struggled to get there. After rebuiding at 106,000 and switching to an extractor exhaust, it would approach 90 mph on a good day.
What is the source of the Muir quote on the ’66 VW? I have several printings of his magnum opus and they don’t have that one I think. Was interested in this thread to learn why the ’66 had the flat hubcaps.
I can’t remember now; it’s been ten years since I wrote this. But I didn’t make it up.
In ’66 the new ball joint front suspension also had different hubs that didn’t stick out as far, which allowed for flatter hubcaps. The reality is that those older style hubcaps all too often got dinged by a curb, as they stuck out a bit.
Thanks for the reply. A point I rarely see noted about VW build quality is in the paint jobs of the mid-50s cars. When those cars were newish the paint looked like it was three-quarters of an inch thick. I was particularly taken by a terracotta or cinnamon shade fairly common on these.
Got my used ’66 in USAF in Anchorage, AK & it was a champ w/snow tires & engine weight over the rear wheels. I made enough rank for them to ship it to Seattle when I was discharged and I hit the road on my way to MIAMI! About 200 mi. out the engine started clattering but, I was coming up on a town so, I coasted down the off ramp into a service station who said “we don’t know nothin’ ’bout VW’s……but, the guy on the next corner specializes in them”. I clattered another block, the guy says “You’ve thrown a rod & rebuild’s $600.” I said “Wanna buy a car?” He then said “I’ve got an idea. See that car over there? I’ve been meaning to soup it up but, been hesitating to tear apart a perfectly good engine. Help me swap the engine and it’ll be $300″……….It was a piece of cake & 2 hours later I was back on the road. 5 days from Seattle to Miami and it kept up pretty with the rest of the traffic thanks to the 1300 engine but, I did have to chug over the Continental Divide in the Rockies because of the thin air and incline, though. Regular heater, of course, sucked in AK but, previous owner had installed a special VW gasoline furnace in the trunk and after warming up the the interior, afterward the regular heater could keep up…..Amusingly though, furnace sounded like fighter jets on the base when they kicked in the afterburner (& cut my mpg in 1/2). LOL! Car ran like a champ until I sold it 5 years later.
HI, Great writeup. The 1300 Beetle had a 4.375 final drive and the 1500 Beetles had 4.1. The difference in hp between the 1300 and 1500 Beetles was not much.
So the 1300 Beetle did seem sprightly. And has been said, the 1300 motor was built for slightly higher revs. I have a 1300 Beetle and crated up the original engine as it is a matching numbers car. I have run a 1679cc motor with the 1300 gearbox and it is reeaal sporty.
I had several Bugs and Busses back then, so I do have some history. 1300s were good, known for being able to wind them out, but for best car I’ve got to go with 67s. The 12V electrical system was such an improvement it overwhelmingly tilts the scale. Then 68-70 had the reputation for pulling head studs reportedly due to too much magnesium in the mix with aluminum in the case casting. So again it goes back to 67 as the premier vintage.
Haven’t been in one since the 70’s, but I’d love to drive one again. Not to own, just to drive for a few miles, just to remember what they were like. Not fast of course, but they could keep up with traffic, it moved slower back then, and they did go thru the gears well, pulling relatively well in the first 2, sort of ok in 3rd, then… But at least getting underway they felt ok due to torque and gearing. Carrying that to an extreme I knew a girl in England with a Honda 360. Rode in it and it felt ok, she went thru the gears just fine, 1, 2, 3 and 4, felt like it pulled fine. Except we were only doing 25MPH!
I’ve seen this post several times before, but I really relate to it at the moment. I really miss having a Beetle.
I’ve had or experienced many Beetles, and in the spring of ’75 I had an elderly, mildly modded Java Green ’66. Other than an “extractor” exhaust, the engine was stock, and this car scooted right up the hill to Cal State Hayward like none of the later models I owned. I had to beat the tar out of my ’71 Super Beetle to climb Harder Rd at anywhere near the speed the ’66 made, which is when I realized that the final drive had been changed in the newer cars. Though I owned the ’66 only briefly, I still recall crossing the Bay Bridge to SF and back one night with the sunroof open on a date – a pleasant memory.
What’s my favorite year? I loved them all. The ’66 with it’s shorter final drive, my parents ’67 that I learned to drive on, my 1600 dual port ’71, the ’73 Sports Bug, any special edition ’74, my fuel injected ’75. They were all fun.
There’s a clean African Red ’74 Beetle on BaT right now, so tempting…
Always been most cynical about Beetles, because riding in them as a kid they were stinky and cramped, and as a new-ish driver, the two swing axle-era ones I drove were stinky and cramped but then scared my pants a new – if partial and area-limited – color by falling all over the road around corners.
But all credit to CC itself, I have learnt much, and moderated my thinking over the years, this article being just one part of that. The damn things were a fine piece of design, I must concede: to wit, the photo of the ’30’s engine bay shows exceptional engineering finesse. Almost as if someone really bright designed it…
All that said in praise of the old, my later frequent drives of a Superbug may as well have been of a different car, and, perhaps, the car the (honorary) Dr Porsche might have put together himself much earlier had he been alive. Sure, underpowered and cramped (and still stinky) by any competitive standards, by man, did it handle! Absolute ripper of a car.
“After 3 years, the car that cost the least, costs the most.” The Valiant is conspicuous by its absence in that add. Surely, the 1966 Valiant had a fantastic reputation as a used car, 1966 and 1967 having been a rare blip when Chrysler was doing the best job of assembling their generally superior designs. That the Corvair was worth about two-thirds as much as a Chevy II points to a reason for GM to let it falter on the market.