How to tell the year of my bugs body????

bmc350 · Post by **bmc350** » Tue Mar 12, 2002 3:44 pm

I have a feeling that the body, doors, rear quarter windows, etc, are not a 65 like the title says. How do I tell so I know to order the right parts?

Thankyou, bmc350..

fugnbug · Post by **fugnbug** » Tue Mar 12, 2002 4:16 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bmc350:
<B>I have a feeling that the body, doors, rear quarter windows, etc, are not a 65 like the title says. How do I tell so I know to order the right parts?

Thankyou, bmc350..</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

A '65 should have the larger windows, windshield wipers that park on the driver's side, no emergency flasher switch, and the hi-beam switch should be located on the floor, and not on the turn signal switch. Provided your '65 is stock that is...

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1964 Bug
1966 Bug
1967 Bug
1974 Bug
*always under construction*

[This message has been edited by fugnbug (edited 03-12-2002).]

bmc350 · Post by **bmc350** » Tue Mar 12, 2002 7:16 pm

OK, so do you have a measurement of some sort on the rear quarter windows for a 65 or a 63? How many of those things listed work for earlier bugs? Where do the wipers park on a 63? I'm thinking mine might be a 63? The only reason I'm asking is because it has a ragtop and the person couldn't tell me if it was grafted in or not. It is titled as a 65. Thanks for the info.....

63ragtop · Post by **63ragtop** » Wed Mar 13, 2002 7:29 am

Doesnt it have a vin number plate behind the spare wheel? you can see from the numbers on that plate when it was manufactured. If I could only see the car, I could tell you what year it is by window size, but I dont have a specific measurement for the windows. Good luck on finding your answers

Chris_914 · Post by **Chris_914** » Wed Mar 13, 2002 9:32 am

A sliding ragtop is not original for a '65, '63 was the last year. I can't think of any other difference besides the windows at the moment, all my books are at home. Not possitive but I think the tail lights and license light was different to, they got bigger between 63 to 65. I'll check tonight and update if no one else has.

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Chris
75 914 2.0L
72 1302s Super Beetle
71 Squareback
97 K2 Golf

[This message has been edited by Chris_914 (edited 03-13-2002).]

Zen · Post by **Zen** » Wed Mar 13, 2002 12:37 pm

A while back I measured the pop-out windows on my 63 and my 69 for someone. The 63 windows were 12.25" top to bottom at the widest part of the outside frame and the 69 windows (which are the same size as 65s) were 14". I'll look this evening when I get home and see how that would compair to non-popouts.

If it has a ragtop and you can't tell if it was grafted in, it's either original (63 and back) or someone did an excellent job installing it . . . OR, it could be an original European car. They installed the sliding rag tops in European bugs through (I think) 1967.

Regardless of what the body is, in most (if not all) states, the car will legally be registered and titled by the chassis number. If it's a 63 body on a 65 chassis, the 65 title would be correct, but you would need to order window seals, door seals, etc. to fit a 63.

A lot has happened to some of these cars in the last 40 years and it's a challenge sometimes to figure out exactly what you have!

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Zen Hendricks

"You can observe a lot by watching." -- Yogi Berra
Scenic City Volks Folks, Chattanooga, TN -- Where Air Meets Water! http://www.volksfolks.org

Buggin_74 · Post by **Buggin_74** » Sat Mar 16, 2002 6:44 pm

hi all,

the easiset way to tell if you have big or small windows is to look at your quarter window frames.
on small window bugs the frame for the quarter window is perfectly vertical on 68 and later big window bugs the frame tilts toward the rear of the car at the top.
hth
-Joel

bmc350 · Post by **bmc350** » Sun Mar 17, 2002 8:02 pm

Thank you all for the helpful information. Going by the measurements that Zen gave. It looks like it is a 65 body. The rear quarters were 14 inches at the widest point, top to bottom. It does have a 63 License plate light though. Thanks again, bmc350