TheSamba.com :: View topic - This is a Beetle and that is a Super Beetle

Wed Oct 18, 2006 6:52 pm

okay, now that i see to bottom of the hood, it's definitly a Standard.. I'll go out in the yard and take a coupld pictures of each one head to head.

sorry to be a newbie and come out from lurking and say "you're all wrong", but hey..

Fri Oct 20, 2006 7:26 pm

Hey I got one for e-bay has a fuel injected 77 bug non super I thought according to john muir book they did not make the regular beetle for U.S. after like 74 or so It Is a regular beetle Old school dash pad flat windwinshield anyone on this one

Sat Oct 21, 2006 10:39 pm

If its a 77 and it's not a convertible, than it's a Standard, (not Super)

The last of the imported (into the US) Standard beetles were pretty well appointed, having many of the deluxe features the Super Beetle had. For most of the bugs I have seen of the 71-74 period, the supers have extra chrome trim on the window rubbers, door pockets on the inside, etc. When they discontined the super hardtop, the regular beetle got those things again- I believe.

Sun Oct 22, 2006 5:31 am

I guess in those later years they only made the super in conv

Sun Nov 26, 2006 10:42 am

tstone wrote: I guess in those later years they only made the super in conv

yes, because the convertibles were always based on the deluxe models. I know in the US since M71 (model year 1971), the Supers had extra things like vanity mirrors in the sun visors, map pockets in the door panels, a footrest for the passenger, chrome trim around the window rubbers, etc.. The Standard bugs before M71 had those things, but most of the Standard after M71 didn't. The Standard bugs in the US were stripped down, but not as stripped down as they were in other countries.

We once had a 75 Standard bug that was really stripped down.. It didn't have the flow through ventilation (vents in dashboard and in C-pillars), and it had a partial headliner, that only covered the ceiling, and not the B and C pilliars. I don't really know anything else about this reallyl cheap model, but I'm guessing that in Europe the bug could be had with as few options as possible.

After '76, it appears that the Standard bug got things like door pockets and chrome window trim, since most of the later models had those. Since the Convertible was based on the Super, it always had the extras, and those last years of the verts sold for a lot more than a regular bug, from what I understand

Sun Nov 26, 2006 10:45 am

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Sat Dec 02, 2006 12:23 am

whats so super about the super beetle???, they should have put like a bigger engine or dual carbs, or a turbo that came stock!! maybe lower the suspension a tad, wider tires, bucket seats, different exhaust....then it would be super yadamean!

Sat Dec 02, 2006 4:28 am

aah57 wrote: Whats the difference between the hoods? Is this a super or standard?

just for everyones refernce thats a 68-72 standard bug hood
they are heaps more narrow at the bottom than supers
73 on standards are the same except they dont have the vw badge infront of the grille

-Joel

Mon Dec 04, 2006 3:16 pm

Super beetle lights

Mon Dec 04, 2006 3:37 pm

paymonsbaja wrote: Super beetle lights

:?:

Standard lights also. They're the same.

Mon Dec 04, 2006 3:44 pm

Put the wrong pic in it .:oops:

Mon Dec 04, 2006 3:45 pm

ScottK wrote: paymonsbaja wrote: Super beetle lights
:?:
Standard lights also. They're the same.
Yep... Supers and Standards are the same from the doors back.

paymonsbaja wrote: Put the wrong pic in it .:oops:
There is no "right" picture.

Mon Dec 04, 2006 3:48 pm

This is a standard beetle lights "right" :?:

Yes... because that year VW didn't make a Super Beetle.

For every year Supers were produced they had the exact same tail lights as the standard Beetle of the same year.

Mon Dec 04, 2006 4:19 pm

:arrow: Sorry i did not know that :oops:

Thu Dec 07, 2006 6:57 pm

vugbug68 wrote: whats so super about the super beetle???, they should have put like a bigger engine or dual carbs, or a turbo that came stock!! maybe lower the suspension a tad, wider tires, bucket seats, different exhaust....then it would be super yadamean!

no silly, Don't you know anything? The super beetle had super powers that it could use to solve crime and stuff like that. The regular beetle would drive into a telephone booth and change into a super beetle, and no one ever knew the true identity of mild-mannered Clark Kent Standard beetle.

.....

Okay, back to reality. Technically the supers did have bigger engines than the regular beetle, becuase in European markets, the supers came with 1600's while the regular ones sometimes had smaller engines (even a 1300 was sold in the early 70's, I think). So technically they did have a bigger engine than what was available elsewhere. They also had higher trim levels than the Standard bugs did, with extra trim around the windows, map pockets in the doors, etc.. Though this is hard to see on the ground since most cars don't have original stock interiors, and often times parts from other years are on them.

Honestly, I think this thread had degenerated into the realm of people who should just consult a FAQ about Beetles vs. Super Beetles, or one should just use the search function.. However, there are probably young VW enthusiasts out there on the samba who don't have access to a lot of VWs in person, so it's inevitable that they'd ask silly questions.

Thu Dec 07, 2006 7:02 pm

paymonsbaja wrote: This is a standard beetle lights "right" :?:

Yes... because that year VW didn't make a Super Beetle.

For every year Supers were produced they had the exact same tail lights as the standard Beetle of the same year.

those ones pictured are 62 (or is it 63) to 67 beetle

Speaking of mangled Volkswagen knowledge, I thumbed through a copy of the Haynes Beetle/Karmann Ghia repair manual.. usually Haynes are pretty good at getting things right, but they really dropped the ball on this one.

They had several references to the (I kid you not) "1968 Super Beetle with Automatic Stick Shift" - as if the fact that it was a semi-auto made it also a Super Beetle.. They also talked about the standard beetle having rack and pinion steering, which I believe was only on the (super based) Convertible, right?

Sun Dec 10, 2006 6:29 pm

i think the super beetle was thought of to be more or less to conform to us safety restrictions . originally it was going to have air bags thats why the big dash came into play to fit air bags and for safety. the number one reason they stoped importing is that it could not pass us crash tests with out lots of $$$$$$ added to the price (O\_v_/O) devesvws

Thu Jan 04, 2007 12:49 am

Another reason VW went to the Super (besides the suspension upgrade) was to compete for their share of the compact car market. Standard beetles had meager trunk space and with the Super, VW boasted trunk space comparable to the Ford Pinto, who was a competitor on the compact sedan market.

Sat Jan 13, 2007 6:35 pm

I have a 71 bug. The VIIN and Chasis numbers indicate it is a regular beetle, but it has the flat spare tire, struts under the front end, and the vents under the front bumper all indicating a super beetle. any suggestions?

Sat Jan 13, 2007 6:45 pm

If it has struts... it's a Super.

1971-1972 Supers are known as 1302 and have a flat windshield.
1973-1979 Supers are known as 1303 and have a curved windshield.