Aircooled VW South Africa

Hey everyone I am new to VW and recently picked up what i was told was a '70 or '71 Super beetle that I will be redoing. However upon further inspection I think it is actually a '74. The VIN is 1342441090 and I am told that the 3rd digit tells the year. Is this right? The whole 10 digit VIN really threw me. Any help on what this VIN says about my car would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

First digit means type 1 (beetle).
Think second digit means version 3 of the beetle body, (called 1303 in other parts of the world).
If VIN is 10 digits long, and third digit is 4, it means between August 1973 and July 1974.
The rest is your serial number,meaning it was probably made between December 1973 and January 1974.

what is the difference in the 1303 and some of the other beetles. Also what are some of the differences between a super beetle and and a regular beetle. The suspension is the most obvious to me. But what if any are some of the others. Thanks for the VIN help by the way