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Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:19 am

Got the birth certificate for my 1959 (1960 model) Karmann convertible yesterday.

No real surprises. Two M-codes I did not see in the technical Type 1 section yet:

M 559 Upholstery leatherette (on later cars it was a “front apron with louvers”?)
M 571 Top cover black

Has anyone figured out by now what M 358 means?

My car has an Eberspacher heater installed but does not have the M 60 code I guess it was installed afterwards.

Destination was New York, USA. I guess this is the port it was shipped to. Would it be possible to find out what dealership or city it went to by contacting VWoA or maybe the Karmann factory? Anyone has any experience with that?

Thanks

Marcel

Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:18 pm

Could this be one of the earliest birth certificates? When I was 15 going on 16 I had a 1968 bug. I read in some magazine that you could write the factory, and they would give you info about your car.. so I did. It looks like they got my letter in Aug '85, and wrote me back in Oct '85

I also asked them about an owner's manual, of which they sent me a fresh, new copy (which I still have!!) Check out the envelope they sent the manual in:

I love the post mark.. the 50th year..

I wonder what ever became of my '68... do we have VIN registry?

I found all this stuff because my son and I are starting his '71 standard project, and this was in the Hanyes manual I always hung on to.. SO GLAD I DID!!!...

Remember, this was all FREE in 1985

Eric

Tue Nov 17, 2009 5:52 pm

Would I be able to get a certificate for my Vanagon? After doing a search on the thread, I haven't found anybody trying to obtain a certificate for such later model VW.

Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:32 pm

I think they'll do it for any VW.

Wed Jan 06, 2010 9:23 am

in the intrest of not reading 17 pages of old info what is the easiest way to get my birth certificate

Wed Jan 06, 2010 9:25 am

slow36hp wrote: in the intrest of not reading 17 pages of old info what is the easiest way to get my birth certificate

read the 17 pages. you'll figure it out after at least the first 15.

Wed Jan 06, 2010 10:29 am

slow36hp wrote: in the intrest of not reading 17 pages of old info what is the easiest way to get my birth certificate
The first post in the thread is kept updated.

Wed Jan 06, 2010 10:29 am

super helpful there 17 pages of conflicting info over the last 5 years. i was asking to find out from someone who has done it recently

Wed Jan 06, 2010 10:31 am

I did it last year using the online form and payment option (credit card) with no trouble.

Fri Jan 15, 2010 12:15 pm

Not meaning to sound stupid :roll: but does anyone know/can confirm that it will work for a Brazilian bus??? :?

Fri Jan 22, 2010 5:35 am

hey kids...i received my birth certificate yesterday, january 21, 2010.

this is what i did...i searched for the vw museum on google which allowed me to hit the "translate" button without having to copy and paste all the time...
i ordered it on december 11, 2009 through their website using my debit card. a few hours later, i received a phone call from my bank (which i expected) asking if i authorized a transaction in germany. i confirmed it and that was the end of it. 35 euros was deducted from my checking account on that date...$51.45usd...with "vw automuseumwolfsburg" as the recipient. a couple days later a deduction of $1.54 popped up on my checking account. the transaction description said "vw automuseumwolfsburg foreign transaction fee."

when i filled out the form on their website, there wasn't any place to add a note as i wanted to verify my engine number. i was a bit disappointed by this. so, a few weeks later i reread this thread and it was mentioned an email could be sent regarding engine verification.
so...in the first week of january, i went to their website and found a contact email. i stated (in english) that i ordered a birth certificate and wanted to see if my engine matched. i provided my name and engine number in the email. i never received a reply. however, this showed up with the birth certificate...

there doesn't seem to be any surprises. i knew the og color was coral red. what's interesting is that the bug was sent to los angeles. as far as i know, the car spent all of it's life in ohio...and was sold by a dealer in lima, ohio. (as told by the previous owner). i was expecting new york or something.

the M350 code mentions "find enclosed." well, this also came with the paperwork...

i wonder if vw changed the equipment list over the years (???) as it lists a 12-volt system...but on the birth certificate it has the M067 6-volt code. also, my car does not have seat belts, hazards, flashers and reversing light.

at the bottom it mentions "possible" equipment.

overall, i'm pretty happy with the info. looks like it took 6 weeks to get it (holidays???). $55usd is kinda expensive, but that's long forgotten as it's really nifty to see the car was born on june 24, 1957! if the changeover was done in august of that year...does this make my car one of the last ovals?

hope this info helps...tim

Fri Jan 29, 2010 11:27 am

Just sent for my 66 bus, the bulkhead was missing when I bought the bus.. No M-Code.. Its pretty easy to order.. Now I am excited...

Fri Feb 12, 2010 8:47 am

I ordered mine today

I am curious on how much documentation wolfsburg is going to have on aussie built cars

we will see

Sat Feb 13, 2010 1:19 pm

Just got mine for my bug.

The color is listed incorrectly. They have the og color listed as beryl green. The car is originally black. The vin is listed correctly which matches the body/pan/title.

Is there any way to get them to double check their records? I emailed but have heard nothing so far.

Sat Feb 13, 2010 1:42 pm

Lee. wrote: Just got mine for my bug.

The color is listed incorrectly. They have the og color listed as beryl green. The car is originally black. The vin is listed correctly which matches the body/pan/title.

Is there any way to get them to double check their records? I emailed but have heard nothing so far.

I had that happen on one of my cars. I emailed them, along with a photo of the paint code sticker in the trunk, and they emailed back saying that they double checked the data, and they could not verify what I had. I guess the old records are not perfect. I have gotten 6 if these certificates over the years, and this was the only time the info they sent was incorrect. It was a shame too, since this was on my Sports Bug, it would have been nice to see the M-code for that on the sheet.

Sat Feb 13, 2010 2:02 pm

I have swapped bodies on VW's before, and I transfered the VIN tag from the tire well to the replacement body.
This would throw the factory off on their color records.

I did put a Beryl Green body on in place of a black body once.
Back in the day, you could buy wrecked VW's practically nothing. Was nothing to swap a body if needed.

Tue Feb 16, 2010 5:21 pm

For what it is worth, I received the sheet I ordered one month to the day from when I mailed the letter to Germany. Got to love those Germans.

Wed Feb 17, 2010 5:09 am

Ordered mine online 1/25/10. Credit card payment went through today, so I guess I'll be receiving the certificate fairly soon...

Thu Feb 18, 2010 12:49 am

Do they have a way to coordinate the body number with the VIN?
Has anyone ever gotten a birth certificate based on the body number?
Or even a birth certificate that lists the matching body?
I don't know about the rest of you but on an emotional level I consider
the "actual" car to be the body, its where all the personality is (and as
has been discussed, the color is there).
Even though the VIN is engraved in the pan, the pan is just a semi flat
piece of metal with impermanent parts attached and, in and of itself,
is just a glorified part.
The VIN plate on my body matches the chassis but I don't think the body
number is correct so, like someone else already said, the VIN plate was
probably moved.
If the pan has been replaced and doesn't match the body I guess your
VW's identity is lost forever? An orphan?

P.S. When I say that the body doesn't match I mean that the body
number is from April '56 and the VIN is from May '56. Is it just a
coincidence that they are one month apart?

Thu Feb 18, 2010 7:54 am

It is normal that the body is made the month before the chassi went into production.