VW Beetle

[mick88]

Are there any VW owners, collectors, or enthusiasts on here?
A young lady from my work has purchased a 1970 Beetle with the intention of getting it on Club Plates and as I am helping her prepare it for a roadworthy certificate I need
a few pointers.


Cheers, Mick.

[V8Ian]

What do you want to know, Mick?

[mick88]

Where is a good place to access parts and bits n pieces, new and or used?

Are these seats original?
The guy who is going to do the roadworthy run his eye over it and seems to think they are not.

Cheers, Mick.

[Chops]

Excellent choice in vehicles she has [biggrin]
I wanted another one a couple of years ago, but they were just too expensive. They seem to have come down in price somewhat since then.

Mine was a lot earlier than that, but it does kind of look right. I'd be jumping onto a VW website and checking out what's what Mick.

[V8Ian]

1970 vw beetle front seats - Google Search (https://www.google.com.au/search?q=1970+vw+beetle+front+seats&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjf5LPR6dzVAhUMOrwKHRwtAbkQsAQIOg&biw=1094&bih=486#imgrc=HSTHazGoNTzf2M:)

You be the judge Mick. Does it use the original mounts or look butchered?

[bee utey]

You really need to find your local area VW club, someone is bound to have some standard seats stashed in a shed somewhere. Those seats look Japanese to me and welded to the original bases.

I recently spent some hours on an unmolested 1963 Beetle getting it back to a roadworthy state after 30 years in a dry shed. It seems that most repair parts are still available. Brake hoses, cylinder seals, brake linings, tail lamp lenses etc all replaced. I found an Adelaide local business that specialises in air cooled stuff, GHRI Motors. Link to a picture of their front yard (https://www.google.com.au/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x6ab0d00cbf29b07d:0x47ae340409d02f21!2m22!2 m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m 1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e11 5!4s//geo0.ggpht.com/cbk?panoid%3DPQM0EYzkD2XrhHE0c3xRmw%26output%3Dthu mbnail%26cb_client%3Dsearch.LOCAL_UNIVERSAL.gps%26 thumb%3D2%26w%3D520%26h%3D175%26yaw%3D171.85744%26 pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!5s+-+Google+Search&imagekey=!1e2!2sPQM0EYzkD2XrhHE0c3xRmw).

There's also a mob called Just Kampers (http://www.justkampers.com.au) who do mail order from Sydney.

[Tins]

1970 VW seats were vinyl, not cloth. I agree with Bee Utey, they look Japanese.

Is it really a 1970, off the compliance or build plate? They changed quite a lot around then, but the seats were still vinyl.

[mick88]

1970 VW seats were vinyl, not cloth. I agree with Bee Utey, they look Japanese.

Is it really a 1970, off the compliance or build plate? They changed quite a lot around then, but the seats were still vinyl.

It's more about the bases that I am interested.
On these welding looks a bit on the ordinary side which is why I thought they may be home modified jobs.
However doing some googling they look similar to standard bases.
The googler also tells me about 70-72 they changed to high back seats.
Regarding being fabric I just assumed they may have been recovered.
I will get her to check the compliance plate, I was just going on the what she said regarding the age.


Thank you for the input,
Cheers, Mick.

[JDNSW]

1970 may not have a compliance plate - I know that 1970 Landrovers don't!

[loanrangie]

I have a 74 Kombi, different animal but similar.

[Tins]

1970 may not have a compliance plate - I know that 1970 Landrovers don't!

Which is why I said build plate as well. There will be something somewhere that identifies it other than the rego label. There may be a chassis number lookup or something. The cars changed significantly at about that date.

[bee utey]

Australian sold Beetles should have compliance plates from 1969 onwards.


The Second Edition ADRs first came into effect on 1 January 1969. These ADRs were selectively applied under state/territory law. They were subsequently made part of the national standards by Determination No 2 of 1989 published by the Commonwealth Government Gazette (Special Gazette series) No S 291 dated 1 September 1989.


Australian Design Rules (https://infrastructure.gov.au/roads/motor/design/)

There are plenty of privately imported ones around though so no guarantees.

[101RRS]

A good VW forum TheSamba.com :: Volkswagen Classifieds, photos, shows, forums, and information (https://www.thesamba.com/vw/)

A good supplier of VW parts in Aust VW Camper, Vans, Beetle Parts Specialist (http://www.justkampers.com.au/)

Garry

[Xtreme]

Tooley Imports at Frenches Forest (Tooley Imports (http://www.tooleyimports.com.au/manufactures/)) are a good source of quality VW parts.

[pop058]

My money is on that significantly more than half the Landie nuts on this site are ( closet ) Vdub freaks as well[bigwhistle]

[Chops]

My money is on that significantly more than half the Landie nuts on this site are ( closet ) Vdub freaks as well[bigwhistle]


Haha,, don't worry,, I'm no closet freak [biggrin]

[loanrangie]

Haha,, don't worry,, I'm no closet freak [biggrin]
No you are already out [emoji14] .

[Chops]

No you are already out [emoji14] .


[bigwhistle]

Just something about old stuff [wink11]

[crash]

If you want a no fuss club to get club plates through look up Victorian Red Plate Club Victorian Red Plate Club Inc (http://www.redplateclub.com.au)

[mick88]

If you want a no fuss club to get club plates through look up Victorian Red Plate Club Victorian Red Plate Club Inc (http://www.redplateclub.com.au)

Crash that is a very interesting read.
With three hundred members the club kitty would be rather plump.

Cheers, Mick.

[crash]

Crash that is a very interesting read.
With three hundred members the club kitty would be rather plump.

Cheers, Mick.
I think they are going along nicely. They do donate a lot back to other clubs, and sponsors a team that enters in fundraising rally.

[mick88]

Well found an id plate on it but it didn't have a build date.
Some more research revealed it's a 1968 according to this chart, as it's 9 digit number starts with 118-xxxxxx.
This chart might be of use to anybody else in the same boat...or vee dub!


Thank you to all who offered information, and direction.
Cheers, Mick.

[Cutch]

No way are they original seats. Most replacements will be wider than original making it difficult to reach the handbrake. And all original seats were vinyl. There is no recline on the original seats but from distant memory there was a rotating block under the frame that gave about 3 or 4 recline options.

I haven't looked for a while but original seats if you can find them aren't cheap.

[loanrangie]

No way are they original seats. Most replacements will be wider than original making it difficult to reach the handbrake. And all original seats were vinyl. There is no recline on the original seats but from distant memory there was a rotating block under the frame that gave about 3 or 4 recline options.

I haven't looked for a while but original seats if you can find them aren't cheap.

Same with Kombi seats, they must stuffed with unicorn hair especially the rear most as they are like gold if you can find one - of which i need one for my kombi.

[Chops]

Same with Kombi seats, they must stuffed with unicorn hair especially the rear most as they are like gold if you can find one - of which i need one for my kombi.


Spotted a twin glass today,,, looked good too.

[pop058]

Spotted a twin glass today,,, looked good too.

Split window ??

[Chops]

Split window ??


Yep 👍

[Chops]

Actually, it looked to have more windows than normal even,, it was almost like it just had 4 corner posts holding up the roof,,, it caught my eye,,, and lots and lots of seats 💺

[Gordie]

split screen I think is the vernacular the vw people use...and $$$$$. re all the windows, it is a camper model like a land rover dormobile....translation complete.

[pop058]

Actually, it looked to have more windows than normal even,, it was almost like it just had 4 corner posts holding up the roof,,, it caught my eye,,, and lots and lots of seats 💺

sounds like a 23 window. quite rare and very cool.

128530

[Chops]

Ohhhh, that could be,, I can't exactly remember the roof windows, but it caught my eye big time, so I'm thinking they were there.

[JDNSW]

I had a Kombi ute - early model with opening windscreens - you could open them out horizontal, hinged at the top. Useful for roo shooting. (although the sliding door windows were less useful.)