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Keith
Samba Member
Joined: August 15, 2005
Posts: 3632
Location: Brodheadsville, PA
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 Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 4:00 pm Post subject: On the subject of how screwy 55's are........ |
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We all have noticed how odd '55 ovals are, seeming to have many quirks with options and such. Can someone tell me why '55's have 3 different taillight designs and whats correct for American and Euro cars when it was built in '55 (early '55 and late '55). Theres the "heart taillights", the '55 only "bubble lense" light assemblies and the more common "egg" designs.
I have a '55 that was built somewhere between May and June of '55. It has bullet fenders, ribbed doors, and the twin bumper stops in the door openings, and wide mouth tank.
The car is all original including paint and I'm in the process of doing a ground up resto. One quirk I noticed with my car is the paint color. I did my research and found that the body, pan, engine and trans are all correct for the time of year it was built. But the og "almond" paint.. (L275 light beige) that it was painted from the facory was only available from January '54 to feb '55. The only other beige that was offered for '55 was L370 nile beige from march '55 to march '56 which is considerably darker than my OG paint. Can anyone shed some light on why my car was painted with the ealier color from the factory?
Any info on other '55 only quirks would be interesting as well. |
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Major Woody
Samba Enigma
Joined: December 04, 2002
Posts: 9016
Location: Portland, OR
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| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 4:35 pm Post subject: |
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| I don't know but I think L275 light beige is one of the best ever colors for an early beetle. I have a March 56 car that I am thinking seriously about painting that color, even though it would not be technically correct. |
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Riff Raff
Shivering Sambian
Joined: October 25, 2004
Posts: 3097
Location: Alberta
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| Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2005 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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Major Woody
My Beetle is a March 56 as well, March 26 ish as near as I can tell from the chassis number.
Does yours have the horizontal or the vertical ribs on the gas tank?
_________________
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge
- Daniel Boorstin |
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Major Woody
Samba Enigma
Joined: December 04, 2002
Posts: 9016
Location: Portland, OR
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| Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 8:16 am Post subject: |
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| Mine are vertical but that doesn't mean anything because the car was a basket case when i got it and the tank could easily be from a different car. |
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hkoch
Samba Member
Joined: June 27, 2004
Posts: 316
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| Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 2:41 pm Post subject: Re: On the subject of how screwy 55's are........ |
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[quote="ovalteen"]We all have noticed how odd '55 ovals are, seeming to have many quirks with options and such. Can someone tell me why '55's have 3 different taillight designs and whats correct for American and Euro cars when it was built in '55 (early '55 and late '55). Theres the "heart taillights", the '55 only "bubble lense" light assemblies and the more common "egg" designs.
I have a '55 that was built somewhere between May and June of '55.
ovalteen I have a 55 built in May of 55 I belive. Thats the date on the speedo. I havent sent for the brith certificate yet. It all OG and has the later snowflake taillights on it and sound just yours. Whats your VIN #? Mines 10900120. I just like to see how close they are. |
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Keith
Samba Member
Joined: August 15, 2005
Posts: 3632
Location: Brodheadsville, PA
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| Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 5:38 pm Post subject: |
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| my chassis number is 10905049 |
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Wiggy
Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2003
Posts: 6606
Location: Downingtown, PA
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| Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 6:11 pm Post subject: Re: On the subject of how screwy 55's are........ |
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| ovalteen wrote: |
We all have noticed how odd '55 ovals are, seeming to have many quirks with options and such. Can someone tell me why '55's have 3 different taillight designs and whats correct for American and Euro cars when it was built in '55 (early '55 and late '55). Theres the "heart taillights", the '55 only "bubble lense" light assemblies and the more common "egg" designs.
I have a '55 that was built somewhere between May and June of '55. It has bullet fenders, ribbed doors, and the twin bumper stops in the door openings, and wide mouth tank.
The car is all original including paint and I'm in the process of doing a ground up resto. One quirk I noticed with my car is the paint color. I did my research and found that the body, pan, engine and trans are all correct for the time of year it was built. But the og "almond" paint.. (L275 light beige) that it was painted from the facory was only available from January '54 to feb '55. The only other beige that was offered for '55 was L370 nile beige from march '55 to march '56 which is considerably darker than my OG paint. Can anyone shed some light on why my car was painted with the ealier color from the factory?
Any info on other '55 only quirks would be interesting as well. |
You should do a search on here for these answers. I swear I'm going to post a sticky on 55's.
Pay attention, cause this is tricky:
Taillights - All EUROPEAN 55's should have heart taillights for the entire model year.
US, Canadian and Guam models should have Bubble (or "egg") taillights until May of 55. In April, and only April of 55, a US car could have optional bullets and "snowflake" taillights, with semaphores deleted.
Beginning in May of 55, your car should have the snowflakes, no semaphores and should have bullet turn signals. You should also have the towel rail bumpers as well. They were optional back to 54 but were standard when the semaphores were deleted in the US. Thats why the snowflakes were raised in May/June of 55 so that the taillight could be seen over the towel rail.
_________________
Kevin "Wiggy"
My 58 Ghia Vert
My 51 Split 11G
My 57 Deluxe
My 56 Oval |
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Wiggy
Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2003
Posts: 6606
Location: Downingtown, PA
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| Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 6:14 pm Post subject: Re: On the subject of how screwy 55's are........ |
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[quote="hkoch"]
| ovalteen wrote: |
We all have noticed how odd '55 ovals are, seeming to have many quirks with options and such. Can someone tell me why '55's have 3 different taillight designs and whats correct for American and Euro cars when it was built in '55 (early '55 and late '55). Theres the "heart taillights", the '55 only "bubble lense" light assemblies and the more common "egg" designs.
I have a '55 that was built somewhere between May and June of '55.
ovalteen I have a 55 built in May of 55 I belive. Thats the date on the speedo. I havent sent for the brith certificate yet. It all OG and has the later snowflake taillights on it and sound just yours. Whats your VIN #? Mines 10900120. I just like to see how close they are. |
The date on the speedo has nothing to do with the month of manufacture of your car. I have a December 51 split with an original 3/51 speedo.
Based on the chassis number, your car was built in June.
_________________
Kevin "Wiggy"
My 58 Ghia Vert
My 51 Split 11G
My 57 Deluxe
My 56 Oval |
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Russ
Samba Member
Joined: January 12, 2003
Posts: 1560
Location: Langley B.C.
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| Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2005 10:08 pm Post subject: |
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i have an april 55 with the egg taillights and over riders,i am putting the euro blades on them just so i can see the taillights.
it is a screwy year but i guess that's why i like it
russ
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Cruiser pedals for sale (see my ad's)
55 hardtop finally finished
65 beetle done:) |
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Wiggy
Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2003
Posts: 6606
Location: Downingtown, PA
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2005 7:17 am Post subject: |
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| Russ wrote: |
i have an april 55 with the egg taillights and over riders,i am putting the euro blades on them just so i can see the taillights.
it is a screwy year but i guess that's why i like it
russ |
Yeah, the overriders were optional in 54 and 55. If you get the birth certficate from Germany and it says you have "Ram Protection", thats the overriders.
_________________
Kevin "Wiggy"
My 58 Ghia Vert
My 51 Split 11G
My 57 Deluxe
My 56 Oval |
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hkoch
Samba Member
Joined: June 27, 2004
Posts: 316
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| Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2005 4:06 pm Post subject: Re: On the subject of how screwy 55's are........ |
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[quote="2splits"]
| hkoch wrote: |
| ovalteen wrote: |
We all have noticed how odd '55 ovals are, seeming to have many quirks with options and such. Can someone tell me why '55's have 3 different taillight designs and whats correct for American and Euro cars when it was built in '55 (early '55 and late '55). Theres the "heart taillights", the '55 only "bubble lense" light assemblies and the more common "egg" designs.
I have a '55 that was built somewhere between May and June of '55.
ovalteen I have a 55 built in May of 55 I belive. Thats the date on the speedo. I havent sent for the brith certificate yet. It all OG and has the later snowflake taillights on it and sound just yours. Whats your VIN #? Mines 10900120. I just like to see how close they are. |
The date on the speedo has nothing to do with the month of manufacture of your car. I have a December 51 split with an original 3/51 speedo.
Based on the chassis number, your car was built in June. |
I know that the date on the speedo is not awalys the month it was built. I just use it as a guideline when the birth certificate is not available. My 58 was built in 11/57 the speedo date is 10/57. |
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57hardtop15
Samba Member
Joined: October 09, 2003
Posts: 55
Location: Chandler, AZ
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| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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I have an April (18th to last of the month) US spec '55 with the snowflake taillights, overriders, batwing, 3 fold, no semaphores, no pea shooter cutouts, early tank, ribbed doors, etc...
It's No. 869321
_________________
1955 3 Fold US Spec Ragtop Beetle
1957 Hardtop Deluxe Microbus
1966 21 Window (at the body shop)
1967 Kombi (parting out)
1967 SO42 Westy (for sale)
1962 Beetle (lives in the barn) |
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coad 
Samba Scapegoat
Joined: September 12, 2002
Posts: 7569
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| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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| 57hardtop15 wrote: |
I have an April (18th to last of the month) US spec '55 with the snowflake taillights, overriders, batwing, 3 fold, no semaphores, no pea shooter cutouts, early tank, ribbed doors, etc...
It's No. 869321 |
I have 862452 (US Spec) which was built on 23 April, and it has eggs, overriders, and semaphores so you can see how much changed during that last couple weeks of April.
Anyone have a car between 862452 and 869321 and, if so, what's your car have? |
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Wiggy
Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2003
Posts: 6606
Location: Downingtown, PA
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| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 4:19 pm Post subject: |
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| coad wrote: |
| 57hardtop15 wrote: |
I have an April (18th to last of the month) US spec '55 with the snowflake taillights, overriders, batwing, 3 fold, no semaphores, no pea shooter cutouts, early tank, ribbed doors, etc...
It's No. 869321 |
I have 862452 (US Spec) which was built on 23 April, and it has eggs, overriders, and semaphores so you can see how much changed during that last couple weeks of April.
Anyone have a car between 862452 and 869321 and, if so, what's your car have? |
The snowflakes and bullets were options in APril 55. So, thats not representative of when the change occured.
_________________
Kevin "Wiggy"
My 58 Ghia Vert
My 51 Split 11G
My 57 Deluxe
My 56 Oval |
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Wiggy
Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2003
Posts: 6606
Location: Downingtown, PA
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| Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2005 4:23 pm Post subject: Re: On the subject of how screwy 55's are........ |
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| hkoch wrote: |
| I know that the date on the speedo is not awalys the month it was built. I just use it as a guideline when the birth certificate is not available. My 58 was built in 11/57 the speedo date is 10/57. |
Why don't you just check the chassis number? You don't need a birth certificate to figure out the month of build.
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Kevin "Wiggy"
My 58 Ghia Vert
My 51 Split 11G
My 57 Deluxe
My 56 Oval |
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jason mcintyre
Samba Member
Joined: August 14, 2005
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 7:36 am Post subject: 55 ovals |
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| well I have a chassis number 868970 and has original overriders, bullet turn signals, no pee shooter cutouts, ribbed doors, early wide mouth tank, no semaphores,batwing, has snow flake rear taillights, but i think these were put on after it was rearended. Unless somebody tells me otherwise. When i purchased this car a year and a half ago i was told that it is originally from penticton british columbia. Now the car is in harrison hot springs British columbia. |
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Wiggy
Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2003
Posts: 6606
Location: Downingtown, PA
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 8:01 am Post subject: Re: 55 ovals |
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| jason mcintyre wrote: |
| well I have a chassis number 868970 and has original overriders, bullet turn signals, no pee shooter cutouts, ribbed doors, early wide mouth tank, no semaphores,batwing, has snow flake rear taillights, but i think these were put on after it was rearended. Unless somebody tells me otherwise. When i purchased this car a year and a half ago i was told that it is originally from penticton british columbia. Now the car is in harrison hot springs British columbia. |
No. The snowflakes are correct if you don't have semaphores.
_________________
Kevin "Wiggy"
My 58 Ghia Vert
My 51 Split 11G
My 57 Deluxe
My 56 Oval |
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57hardtop15
Samba Member
Joined: October 09, 2003
Posts: 55
Location: Chandler, AZ
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 12:14 pm Post subject: |
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So in reality which '55 version is the least common?
I just recently acquired this '55 and this thread has been very helpful. I was starting to get worried about the snowflakes being on there when I noticed that the snowflakes are behind the overrider making them a bit hard to see.
_________________
1955 3 Fold US Spec Ragtop Beetle
1957 Hardtop Deluxe Microbus
1966 21 Window (at the body shop)
1967 Kombi (parting out)
1967 SO42 Westy (for sale)
1962 Beetle (lives in the barn) |
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Wiggy
Samba Member
Joined: April 17, 2003
Posts: 6606
Location: Downingtown, PA
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 1:11 pm Post subject: |
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| 57hardtop15 wrote: |
So in reality which '55 version is the least common?
I just recently acquired this '55 and this thread has been very helpful. I was starting to get worried about the snowflakes being on there when I noticed that the snowflakes are behind the overrider making them a bit hard to see. |
I tend to see more 55's with snowflakes than 55's with semphores. But not by a huge majority.
_________________
Kevin "Wiggy"
My 58 Ghia Vert
My 51 Split 11G
My 57 Deluxe
My 56 Oval |
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57hardtop15
Samba Member
Joined: October 09, 2003
Posts: 55
Location: Chandler, AZ
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| Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2005 1:42 pm Post subject: |
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thanks 2splits. while we are still on subject. when was the 3 fold discontinued?
_________________
1955 3 Fold US Spec Ragtop Beetle
1957 Hardtop Deluxe Microbus
1966 21 Window (at the body shop)
1967 Kombi (parting out)
1967 SO42 Westy (for sale)
1962 Beetle (lives in the barn) |
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