Looks like a good one for somebody...

[Donny B.]

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1154754

[johnl]

Nice car, but I'd say the rear bumper is not original.  Look at the over rider bows.  As I recall '67's were a one year only and had a definite slop to them as they came towards the center.

[.]

John,
Early 67's had the older style rear overriders.

[johnl]

John,
Early 67's had the older style rear overriders.

 

Good deal, I just learned something I never knew..   

[.]

And they also used the 1966 style seats.
 

[-Alex-]

OK, off the topic:


"1957 Cable brake standard model
1962 cable brake standard model "

Really?  I thougt that last year for cable brake model was 1949?

But they sell up to 65 beetles brake cables...

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=VWC-111-605-721

[.]

1962 was the last year for cable brakes.
They were still available on "Standard 111" models after 1949.

[Rick Meredith]

John,
Early 67's had the older style rear overriders.

Actually... John is right. The rear over riders were one year only for 1967 and sloped downwards from the bumper guards towards the center of the car,  to where they turned towards the blades. This was to clear the the corners of the '67 decklid.

There were 2 types of front seats fitted to '67s. They were identical except that later seats had a side release like the '68 and later high backs did.

[Dan Mazur]

Yeah! 67 low back rear backrest realease seats!!!!

[deano]

I guess that is why I like '67s so much. They are a one-year only car, but within that year, so many things changed as they went on. There are a bunch of mid-year changes. For the VW pervert, there is so much to brag or complain about, few are ever satisfied, even the door hinge pins are different! And then, if you really want to go on the wild side, then try jumping into a '67 'vert! Have fun.This looks like it could be a very nice car.

[Donny B.]

Actually... John is right. The rear over riders were one year only for 1967 and sloped downwards from the bumper guards towards the center of the car,  to where they turned towards the blades. This was to clear the the corners of the '67 decklid.

If you look in Garwood the early '67s had the same rear bumpers as the '66 as well as the seats.  The one year only over riders came on later '67s.

[Rick Meredith]

Uhh well Don my '67 has the no side release seats and the bent overiders. I'm pretty sure that it was original as it was only 10 years old when I bought it from the original owner. It was original paint and had no signs of being hit.

BTW What is Garwood?

[Bryan67]

Not all 67`s had the sloped overiders and side release seats. Early production did not. Simple as that.

[deano]

J T Garwood wrote two books on the VW Beetle. Basically, he details all the small changes made from year to year, and what chassis number they started with. He also shows which interiors came with which exterior colors, and so on. Books are a must have, but they haven't been available in years. He is trying to come out with a CD version, but still have some security issues with duping...

[Cornpanzer]

VW didnt discover the interference problem with the new decklid til after production started, so there was a period where they used the earlier rear bumper.

[johnl]

VW didnt discover the interference problem with the new decklid til after production started, so there was a period where they used the earlier rear bumper.

I've thought about my post more and I do remember going to see the 1967 cars as soon as they were shown.  At the time they were noticably different.  I didn't like them (visually) at all as the headlights were odd and I didn't like the bulge on the rear deck lid.  I thought the cars sat rather high in the front which now I find laughable as I've always thought our '63 sits the same.

Regarding the rear bumper, the first '67 examples I ever saw and from that time forward any "new" '67 ALWAYS had the odd rear bumper.  Now, I'm not saying they didn't use both types, but I wonder if it was a deliviery issue to specific areas?

[Sam K]

My '67 was buillt on October 11, 1966 and came with the earlier style overriders. It also had several other earlier features such as the early type seat back releaselevers, ivory window crank knobs, and the "chrome" castle style radio knobs. The weirdest thing was that it didn't have backup lights but it was wired for them. The wires were in behind the insulation on the sides of the engine compartment.  

[johnl]

My '67 was buillt on October 11, 1966 and came with the earlier style overriders. It also had several other earlier features such as the early type seat back releaselevers, ivory window crank knobs, and the "chrome" castle style radio knobs. The weirdest thing was that it didn't have backup lights but it was wired for them. The wires were in behind the insulation on the sides of the engine compartment.  

Back in the day all of the examples I saw were delivered from Dealerships in So-Cal.  I'm curious if you know where your car was originally sold?

[Donny B.]

-FYI-

The sloped over riders started with chassis number 117171365 per Garwood Volume Two page 690.  The seat backrest release were incorporated into the backrest at chassis number 117425908 per Garwood Volume Two page 683.

[Sam K]

My '67 was buillt on October 11, 1966 and came with the earlier style overriders. It also had several other earlier features such as the early type seat back releaselevers, ivory window crank knobs, and the "chrome" castle style radio knobs. The weirdest thing was that it didn't have backup lights but it was wired for them. The wires were in behind the insulation on the sides of the engine compartment.  

Back in the day all of the examples I saw were delivered from Dealerships in So-Cal.  I'm curious if you know where your car was originally sold?

I bought it in 1990 from my uncle, who bought it in late'68 from the original owners. It had the remains of a dealership sticker on the decklid when I got it but foolishly sanded it off. I think it came from somewhere in Colorado but I can't remember.

[Sarge]

My car was originally sold by Ballard Motors in Anaheim.  It was the 85,737th car produced for 1967 and came with the non-sloping rear bumper over-riders.
The seat back-rest release is the lever style at the bottom of the seat.  In all my years of selling parts, I found there to be an exception to almost every
"rule" and to never argue the point with a customer.

[johnl]

So the question remains was your "Colorado" car delivered to the East or West Coast and then shipped?  You state your car was an October 1966 build yet I saw what I believe to be August 1966 cars at So-Cal Dealerships with the unique bumper.

In doing years of research on my Chryslers I've found that sometimes even factory documentation can't provide the answers.  I have personal contacts at Chrysler Historical and even being in the center of documentation they can not provide a definitive answer.  So, maybe we'll never know, but I think researching stuff like this is almost more rewarding than actually owning the vehicle.  I've always said "If the cars could talk what stories they could tell you".   

[johnl]

My car was originally sold by Ballard Motors in Anaheim.  It was the 85,737th car produced for 1967 and came with the non-sloping rear bumper over-riders.
The seat back-rest release is the lever style at the bottom of the seat.  In all my years of selling parts, I found there to be an exception to almost every
"rule" and to never argue the point with a customer.

Jim, You are absolutely CORRECT.  There ALWAYS is the exception to the rule when it comes to how auto manufacturers did stuff.

[Sam K]

I've often wished that I could find more history on my cars too. I wasn't aware until recently that there was more than one plant in Eurpore that built  beetles for the U.S. market and that got me to thinking that maybe there were differnces depending on which plant thet were made.

[johnl]

I've often wished that I could find more history on my cars too. I wasn't aware until recently that there was more than one plant in Eurpore that built  beetles for the U.S. market and that got me to thinking that maybe there were differnces depending on which plant thet were made.

To take that a step further, what plant shipped to what port in the USA??  The answer to this question might be in front of us now.  To me this is why RESEARCH is so rewarding.   

[ST DRAGN]

Bumpers are correct for a early, model the SB-12 Hella's give it away...

[Rick Meredith]

Now you guys are gonna make me grab a flashlight and climb into the back seat of my car to find the VIN, 

[johnl]

Now you guys are gonna make me grab a flashlight and climb into the back seat of my car to find the VIN, 

Use a MATCH as it will save the batteries and is far enough from the gas tank you won't blow the neighborhood up...
 

[Rick Meredith]

Now you guys are gonna make me grab a flashlight and climb into the back seat of my car to find the VIN, 

Use a MATCH as it will save the batteries and is far enough from the gas tank you won't blow the neighborhood up...
 

The gas tank hasn't had anything in it since 1983   

[Zach Gomulka]

Or you can just look at the VIN tag behind the spare... Did you get one of those yet, Rick?