Beetle identification and opinions

[dshutts]

Hi all.

I'm new to the forum and have had a great time reading through the many informative and entertaining threads.

I have a 60's era 1500 beetle that I'm looking to restore as a project and want to get all my ducks in a row before I jump into what I know will be a long expensive process. I'm having trouble identifying the exact model year / engine type. The body doesn't seem to be in bad state and it was running before I parked it in the garage some years ago. The plate shows it being a 114 - which I read to mean 1964, but the bumpers don't seem right for that year? The engine shows SF which I understand to be SA built but I can't find online references for the SA engine numbers.

My intention is to strip it down, replace all hoses, rubbers, redo the engine / carb, properly respray and get it as close to stock as I can. Any suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks.

[Riaan.N]

Welcome! That looks like a pretty decent beetle to restore. There is a wealth of information on this forum and with its members, so this is definitely the right place.

I’m sure some of the more knowledgeable forumites will soon pitch in.

[retrovan]

From the photo the vin looks to start with a 2

Now I am no vin # expert, but I thought the beetle should start with a 1

maybe I don't look right.

We will wait for our vin expert @fig to comment.

But please give us the 1st few numbers of your vin as on the Vin tag.

Herman

[dshutts]

Thanks guys. I am confused on the VIN because as per the factory plate it says MODEL "114" then the serial number which is 218373433. But on my reg docs the VIN is stated as 118******* - where would I find the VIN on the car itself?

Looking forward to stripping it clean. The interior upholstery is in good nick. The original headliner is almost perfect!

[Jdt1976]

I don't think the plate is correct.

The Vin is under the rear seat on the chassis.
There are also other numbers on the front suspension and rear of the car that you can date it but I would first see why the plate and papers are not the same.

[John Alves]

looks like a 68 to me

[John Alves]

speedo is from a later beetle

[calooker]

The vin number is stamped on the tunnel under the back seat infront of the gear rod coupling cover.
You have a 1968 beetle

[dshutts]

Thanks everyone for the input.

I'm going to start stripping the interior and identifying any rust that needs to be taken care of. Are there any particular problems / points of interest on the 68 that I should keep an eye out for?

[John Alves]

You Have a clean car, I doubt you will find any serious rust, you can start by removing sound deadening sponge material in areas shown, this will prevent future rust

[John Alves]

Most famous 68 ever, I wonder what happened to that car

[fig]

Thanks guys. I am confused on the VIN because as per the factory plate it says MODEL "114" then the serial number which is 218373433. But on my reg docs the VIN is stated as 118******* - where would I find the VIN on the car itself?

Looking forward to stripping it clean. The interior upholstery is in good nick. The original headliner is almost perfect!

Model 114 refers to a RHD beetle.
A 218xxxxxx VIN belongs to a 1968 panelvan, so that VIN plate doesn't belong to your car.
A 1968 beetle VIN will have 9 digits starting with 118xxxxxx.

As others have said, the VIN is stamped on the tunnel under the rear seat. The stamped VIN overrules any plate riveted to the car. Best remove any incorrect plates to avoid issues at roadworthy/police clearance.

[John Alves]

1968 beetle VIN will have 9 digits starting with 118xxxxxx.

yep, both my 68 beetles start with 118