Aircooled VW South Africa

Greetings...

I recently bought a Beetle thinking it was a 64 model, has all the 64 trim but I noticed the first date of registration is 01.01.1965
It also does NOT have the "thick" doorpost like all the 64 and earlier Bugs I've seen. So if its correctly a 65 model, then I have the incorrect 64 parts on it, right?

Anything built after 1 August is registered as the next years model.
Yours might be a crossover model of sorts, using up old parts to finish stock while still being a newer model??? Others with more knowledge of the older cars should be able to help you here.

TheMish wrote: Mon Mar 11, 2019 2:31 pm Greetings...

I recently bought a Beetle thinking it was a 64 model, has all the 64 trim but I noticed the first date of registration is 01.01.1965
It also does NOT have the "thick" doorpost like all the 64 and earlier Bugs I've seen. So if its correctly a 65 model, then I have the incorrect 64 parts on it, right?

Photos and a chassis number will get you far.

What do you deem to be "'64 trim"?

If it has the larger windows, it's a '65+. Anything that can be replaced on a bug from that age usually has at some stage, so don't rely on certain components for an accurate dating.

Parts bins and changes were emptied and affected through production, so transition periods did commonly produce a few cars with variable traits.

The papers cannot be relied on to determine year model of the car. The VIN is the only definitive source of this info.

Volkswagen year models ran from August to July, so the 1965 model year started in August 1964.

Share your VIN and we can say for sure what you have. And pics, we love pics.

Up to the end of 1964 model year, VW VINs were sequential. Starting with the 1965 model year, VW changed to a 9-digit VIN format, where the first digit is type, the second digit specifies body style and the 3rd digit model year, while the remaining 6 digits are sequential production numbers for that year. A RHD 1965 Beetle will have a 9-digit VIN starting 115.