My Beetle's Background I know very little of the history of the car other than it hasn't seen the road since at least January 1997. During that time and 8th June 00, when I purchased the car, it had been garaged.
The registration was DQT-828 engine number is F1098306. That's a 1300cc.
The car itself is Australian made. By 1967 the Aussie version was quite different to other models being produced around the world. In 1965, when German cars got bigger windows, better wipers, lever operated heater, and better brakes, Aussie cars kept the older body, but gained the rounded topped front seats and the folding rear seat. The decision to keep the old body style was due to the large cost of re-tooling for the new body - the Australian market and its export customer base being too small to justify the expense. By 1967, this began to tell on the volume of sales of Beetles in Australia.
1966 Beetles received the 1300 engine and improved gearbox and brakes, but kept the link-pin front end. Perforated vinyl was used for the interior roof lining. These cars had a diagonal "1300" badge on the engine lid.
1967 cars featured whitewall tyres, sash seat belts, and new paint and trim colours. The badge on the engine lid now read "1300 De luxe" on the (guess what!) deluxe car, and "1300 Custom" on the austerity model. The Rear suspension was still swing-axle and the wheels 5-stud.
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My Background I'm 35 years old and have lived my entire life in the South East portion of Australia. 26 years in Geelong, 7 in Adelaide and 2 years in Warrnambool.
In my early years of driving I was a vehicular Anglophile. My first vehicle was a 1957 Morris 1000 then a Mini (later fitted with an original Cooper S 1275 engine) then an MGB. I suppose I was influenced by my English father who had a great love of British classics. Later I briefly owned a XJ6 Jaguar Series I.
Since that time I have had a succession of cars which have included everything from Alfa to a 76 351 Ford Cougar Villager wagon (owned while traveling across USA)to a rotary Mazda RX2.
More recently, without the luxury of a fully functional garage I have owned such practical cars as HJ Holden Premier (Australian Only Vehicle), Mitsubitshi Magna (a mid sized bland transportation device - comfortable though), a series of company cars and now a Holden Commodore.
Now having moved to Warrnambool onto a 5 acre property with a 3 car garage I can now start to tinker again with cars.
We needed another car and I wanted something that wasn't expensive and something that I could fiddle with as a hobby. For years I have always had a soft spot for the humble Beetle. Of all the cars I had owned with there various body and engine configurations I have never had a air-cooled rear mounted, horizontally opposed 4 cylinder car. Especially not one with a 30's style body, how could I go past the Beetle.
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