Difference between VW beetle 1302 (1971-1972) vs 1303 (1973 up)

[bbikbow]

Hi all,

I'm planning to restore my 1972 1302 bug type 1, i would like to ask what are the differences between between VW beetle 1302 (1971-1972) vs 1303 (1973 up), my main concern would be the body, fender, baggage, engine compartment, accessories. but would appreciate knowledge on the mechanical aspect.

I'm hopping some guidance from y'all masters

[meranda]

You are referring to the Superbug with coil spring front suspension?
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1961 beetle cabrio
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1968 1500 Beetle A Project!
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[wimkever]

See :
https://www.superbeetles.com/
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a beetle is like a cocker spaniel, always funny but sometimes not listening

[bbikbow]

@Meranda yeah with the spring coil up front

[kpf]

The biggest difference is in the dashboard and windshield. The hood is shorter on the 73. The mounting of the strut to the spindle is different. The rear fenders got the the bigger tail light housings in 73. All of this is based on US-delivered cars. I’m not sure what happened in other parts of the world.
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1971 Super Beetle

[Glenn]

Everything from the dash to the front bumper is different.
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Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

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[GArBa]

the whole roof panel is a different stamping front to back. besides the obvious difference at the windshield, the 1303 roof has a different arrangement of the fresh air inlet slots below the rear window.
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[Glenn]

[nbvolks]

[bilbo939]

[Michael Ambrozik]

Don't forget the front seat mount and release is diferent.

[infiniteLoop]

With the front suspensions , the scrub radius is different along with the front tracking width. I believe the 02 is narrower and has the greater scrub radius. If a company is only keeping a design for one year and does it twice in a row, it's probably not good. The 02 should have the louvers in the cowl while the 03 has them in the hood. The 02 has more of the classic look with the flatish windshield while the .03 has what I would call a outlandish dash with the one hump for the gauges.

[TK-CS]

[infiniteLoop]

Thanks for the correction. Once in a while I try to source a better ash tray which also differs.

[Lingwendil]

[Glenn]

[T-F-E]

The 1302 is a very fun car. And it is my favorite Beetle. Some of these things may be regional since I mostly know about the local cars and should not be seen as some sort of a teachers edition. This is just what I have observed on the cars I have owned and the cars that my friends have owned. The 71 is the last year for the old steering wheel with the horn ring. The 72 for the new padded steering wheel. The 72 also has a slightly bigger rear window, so the earlier one will not fit. 72 also got the weird computer diagnois system. Where I live (Norway) it was the first year for the DVDA distributor, and the intake manifold with the vacuum line that goes up to the top of the aircleaner. In Europe we got the 1302 with the 1300DP engine and 4.375 gear ratio. The 1302S had the 1600DP and the taller 4.125 gear ratio and disc brakes in the front. A version called 1302A was also available. This was a stripped down version with the 34hp 1200 engine. Where I live it is extremely rare, if anyone was sold here at all. But in other countries they are more common. Some countries like Italy have much cheaper taxes for cars with smaller engines. All of this also applies to the 1303 if I am not mistaken.
The 71 has 2 sets of louvers in the engine lid and the 72 has 4. The suspension is identical except for the rear spring plates. The 71 has the single plates while the 72 has the dual plates. I prefer the single. I find it much easier to dismantle the suspension with them.
72 was also the first year you could get the marathon wheels.
Both the 71 and the 72 has louvers on the front hood up by the windshield.
The 1973 1303 has the shorter front hood without the VW logo. And a small shiny trim piece between the hood and the door. And of course the big curved windshield, the elephant feet tail lights and the weird big dashboard. The 73 has the same suspension as the 72. In 74 the front struts got changed to the same type you find on the Golf. They are easy to recognize since they are mounted to the spindle with 2 bolts. The old ones had 3. Because of this change I think the front track width of the 74 is a little bit wider.
I don't remember when the "big" wheels came but they were not a available on the 1302.
There was probably also some differences in the interior but I don't know enough about it to say anything. Other than that the 1302 has the old "rail" type seat fasteners while the 1303 has a more modern 3 point fastener.
There were also some differences in paint colors for each year. 72 was the first year for metallic colors. And at least here yellow was not available in 71.
The 74 also got the big triangular holes in the fenders for the bumper brackets. And I also think this was the year that the rear apron got a bulge.
In 75 the turnsignals were moved to the bumper and the framehead was changed to make room for the rack and pinion steering. And this was the last year for the 1303 sedan. After 75 the 1303 was all convertibles.
That is about all I can remember at the moment. I hope there isn't too much wrong and false information in there. And hopefully most of it is the same inother places too.