VW Beetle History & Spotter's Guide 1938 to 1978

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The true history of the Volkswagen is fascinating and is a must-watch part of this video. The spotter's guide is vital for anyone even thinking about restoring one of these old bugs. Without this information you're going to have trouble knowing what you want and how to spot it.
While setting out on my own restoration project I found a great need to set the record straight on all the big and small differences for year to year and by the time you get through this video you'll be an expert.

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13 окт 2024

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Комментарии : 72

@davidtosh7200 2 года назад

For Canada and US markets, there are 10 changes for 1952 VW Beetle from 1951 models. Changes are: 1). Glass vent windows added on the doors; formerly vent flaps on the front quarter panels, 2). Two brake/turn signal/taillights was introduced; formerly one taillight at the rear deck lid, 3). 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gears are synchromesh transmission; formerly crash box, 4). T shaped handle for the rear (engine) deck lid, 5). Glove compartment gets door; formerly open bin, 6). Dashboard and speedometer are redesigned (the needle is parked at 0 at the lower left of the dial; formerly at the upper right), 7). Two spoke “bat wing” steering wheel and more plastic element was added; formerly 3 spoke steel steering wheel, 8). Hydraulic brake was introduced; formerly mechanical brake, 9). Oval horn grilles was introduced: formerly round shaped, 10). Smoother bumpers with small vertical guards was introduced; former smaller fluted bumpers, 11). 15 inch tires replaced 16 inch tires, 12). Window cranks makes 3 and the half turns; formerly 10 and the half turn, and 13). Turn signal lever is mounted on the left side of steering column; formerly a switch on the dashboard.

@JohnDisque Год назад

These are great things to know. Thank you for your time and input. Peace

@ericbitzer5247 Год назад

Wow, you really know these cars! Great info.

@88icryspy 2 года назад

Fantastic video. Been looking for a spotting guide for a while and you broke everything down so well. Love the humor in it too.

@JohnDisque 2 года назад

Thank you. I'm glad I could help you. This one took a lot of work. Peace

@Rubster760 3 года назад

This was very informative John. Great job on the video. I really enjoyed learning the history of the VW Beetle. I actually just took a picture with Herbie from The Love Bug. I’m ready to start spotting them and breaking them down. Thanks for the upload. 🤩👍.

@JohnDisque 3 года назад

Thanks Rubster, This one took a lot of work and research. Plus it deals with some controversial issues with the whole Adolf-thing, so there's no doubt the folks at RU-vid will hold it up until they check it out and make sure I'm not promoting anything shady. If you're considering a restoration project all I can say is: keep in fun. As with pool... I have seen people lose their minds by taking it too serious and when things go wrong it seems like the end of the world. Ya gotta breathe and a shot of vodka never hurt anyone. Peace!

@jimborambo5866 20 дней назад

Loved this video! Surprised it doesn't have many views though

@JohnDisque 14 дней назад

Hi Jim..., As apparently you can tell... I put a lot of work into this and the video has done OK but..... It's just the way it goes on RU-vid... You kind of have to be the first one to do it if you want the million-views videos. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Peace

@edwardlacika3022 Год назад

Thank you very much for a wonderful history lesson.

@JohnDisque Год назад

Hi Ed, Thanks for joining us and thanks for your time. Peace

@zone47 11 месяцев назад

This was a really good comparison between years, I learned a lot from this video! Thanks a bunch. I'm looking at a 64 later today and this helps.

@JohnDisque 11 месяцев назад

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I spent some time looking for a 64 because it was the year I was born. Good luck in your search.

@ericbitzer5247 Год назад

Great information in this video. When I was growing up in the 70's and 80's, these were so ubiquitous. I was into fast cars, but I always loved the VWs. They sound like no other. I think the Karrman Ghia is one of the most beautiful cars ever designed. If my eyes ever get fixed and I can drive again, I might want to find one of those. Thank you for the information on these wonderful cars. Before this I could barely tell one from the other.

@johnnyr6391 2 года назад

Well done! Great info! Always wanted to know the differences as the years progressed. Glad that my 66 is one to hold on to! Thanks for the tip!

@JohnDisque 2 года назад

Hi Johnny. Thanks - I worked hard on this video. Yup - your 66 is definitely a keeper and will continue to rise in value. Peace

@vtmiller 3 года назад

Well done and thank you. Super helpful, entertaining, and informative.

@JohnDisque 3 года назад

Thanks VTMiller. This one took a lot of work and research. I don't know why it hasn't had a lot of success but I'm guessing it's the political stuff with Germany. When this happens and you get a comment like this it makes it all worth it. Peace!

@footballgeorgiebest 3 года назад

I really enjoyed that video, with your knowledge I would love you to make one about the VW Bus, Splitscreen, Bay...onwards as a follow up.

@JohnDisque 3 года назад

I will consider that and don't see why not. May-as well tackle the whole 9 yards. Thanks for your input. Peace!

@rongreen8962 Год назад

I remember flip-up turn signals between the windows on each side of the car. Did I miss this in the video?

@JohnDisque Год назад

No you didn't miss anything. This must've been some option on later model bugs I never heard of them but I'm capable of making mistakes. If you find out anything more about this - let me know. Peace

@glennhansel9411 8 месяцев назад

@@JohnDisque flip up turn signals were used one some of the earlier models, up to model year 1960

@ingeposch8091 6 месяцев назад

@@JohnDisque nope! they were present on the beetle from the very start up to about 1960...

@DalyTheThird 5 месяцев назад

Semaphores.

@briangode1381 5 месяцев назад

I would like to see on automobiles nicer designs as I repeat turn signals put where they could be seen if used at all bigger mirrors all vehicles made so that nothing at all could be driven over sixty miles per hour seen on this I pad automobiles 1958 1960 or so all around were bigger windows while impossible to eliminate all blind spots we surely could do mucho nicer safer less computers no abs brakes foot pedal only power brakes I once did mucho quick slam on them car passing in front of me as I was coming out of drive way why do we drive on a parkway then park in a driveway or walk on a boardwalk did you ever butter fly or the kitchen sink I have seen some automobiles so full of electronics killing battery power you have no battery use to drive anywhere why do cars have bumpers that donot bump to protect cars or bumper gaurds donot protect bumpers I would love to see mucho simplicity more often as I do my dating we two love the simple things sorry less of around since when and what ever became of honesty doing things properly since when now mucho often our in sane society has is become mucho insane girls on dating have become so rediculous picking on boys every little detail dinero looks employment automobiles fashions clothes worn when no one cares what they wear but a senior in a dress at times the whole society goes dinky Dow I would love to dress mucho often more so feminine only cause problems more so I donot need true I agree with others volks who say should clothes be sex labled since both sex have their own versions of the things 100x no but my opion others well if we all oke up to reality in this insane world society put our values where they belong priorities also maybe then we would all get along nicer this world has mucho big mouths critics judgemental not enough volks have their own lives or better things to do misery loves company miserable volks has been said are usually negative I am no expert or doctor Phil physcologist tho I know plenty in 78years mucho volks have fears of rejections failure or as I do each day varies in business found dinero paid driving traffic or otherwise you win lose or draw the good bad ugly always any where dinky Dow locos one thing for sure I almost always learn something daily I donot do as others average idiots so called I look everywhere down up all over take what I get if possible mucho are too picky what they pick up or stupid talk something is nicer than nothing Ben Franklin was right a penny saved is a penny earned how mucho time wasted by some who only pick up certain things I learned what to do how best nay 24hours each day some days only small pickings I take any way one never knows next time or surprises when lest expected or just going anywhere enjoy yourselves it is later than you think

@Ana-cc5jb 4 месяца назад

Thank you for this documentary, truly well done

@JohnDisque 3 года назад

***IMPORTANT --- There's a lot of old VWs out there for sale with no title. Q - Should you buy it? A - It depends on what you're going to do with it. If you're parting it out to sell the parts or using the parts for an old car that you do have the title to.... Yes.... If you're planning to restore the car with no title.... My best advice is NO. It is true that most states will give you a certificate of ownership for the car so you can get it registered and legal. (They WILL NOT give you a title)... but here's the problem.... If someone comes up with the title years later.... and that person matches the DMV records... your certificate of ownership gets immediately voided and you are required by law to hand the car over to the title-holder. There have been scams with people selling their neighbor's cars and scams with the title-holder giving the car to a scammer selling the car and knowing the title-holder was going to reclaim it once you were done restoring it. At that point you have a valid lawsuit on the person who sold you the car but in most cases the buyer does not get enough information on the seller or doesn't check their ID and is long-gone by the time you realize you've been scammed. AGAIN - I would highly recommend NOT restoring a car that you don't have the title to.

@ericbitzer5247 Год назад

Great advice!

@sathindrensanthirathelagan 2 года назад

Bang up job there - excellent effort - not sure if I missed the detail on the McPherson struts replacing the torsion bar - the Super Beetle breakaway. That and the automatic transmission - but guess that's for another video

@JohnDisque 2 года назад

Hi Sathindren, Thanks for your kind words. I didn't have a ton of focus on the mid 70s Beatles and saw it more as an end of an era so I didn't get super-detailed on that part of the history.... The biggest tell was that ventilation window. The video was getting long and the point that VW couldn't get the car rekindled in the US was made so I left well-enough alone. Peace

@ingeposch8091 6 месяцев назад

HEIL HERBIE!! the most reliable car ever built... a well maintained beetle will never let you down.

@JohnDisque 5 месяцев назад

Raw simplicity definitely has a strong appeal in today's world. I mean - there's not much to it that can break down and when it does it's not hard to figure out what it is. A basic set of tool and a tire-jack and you should be good to go. I've always wanted to restore one of these and I love that the body is an open canvas that you can do anything with and make any statement.... from elegant and classy to bold and tacky. Peace

@nathanrykers7588 Год назад

Awesome story

@JohnDisque Год назад

Thanks Nathan. This one took a whole lot of research but it was fun. Peace

@AM2024uk 5 месяцев назад

Amazing dude well done you 😊

@Redslotman1 7 месяцев назад

Great video

@JohnDisque 7 месяцев назад

Thanks Slotman, I'm glad you got something for your time. Peace

@Shewent2008Jared Год назад

This is awesome

@JohnDisque Год назад

Hi Jared... I worked hard on this and it's everything when someone digs it. Thanks for stopping by. Peace.

@buqwik525 9 месяцев назад

Thanks for your well presented history lesson of the VW. Other "historical " history had to do, was the Japanese influx of cheaper cars for the masses. 1968, the Deutch Mark increased, thus making the VW more expensive vs. the Japanese Yen. Also, the Japanese cars, Toyota, Datsun, Honda et al, offered a more powerful cooled engine which was quieter, better fuel economy, heating and appearance, for significant less money than a VW. However, the Japanese cars rusted out very quickly. Keep in mind also, by 1968, us" Baby Boomers " , now entering the work force, bought these cars as a secondary"commuter car". I sold my Datsun B110 to a fellow who ran in into the back of a Buick. The Datsun folded up like a lawn chair. End of story... Again, Thank you for your VW presentation. Cheers!!

@dyer2cycle Год назад

Kudos to not being afraid to (politically incorrect)show Fuhrer involvement...should have showed a couple shots of Kubelwagen and Schwimmwagen wartime derivatives of the Beetle as well...

@JohnDisque Год назад

Well - the truth is the truth. I don't like all of it.... no one does but it doesn't change it. Tip-toeing around it or lying about it isn't going to get anyone anywhere. It would only result in repeating past mistakes and I'm seeing a lot of that nowadays. The fact that the car has a long, shaky, strange history is one of the things that make it fascinating and this video would suck without this truth.. Peace

@custm42435 2 месяца назад

i have a 1974 with a/c. im surprised you didnt touch on a/c on them as not many people know it or the curved windshield being a major change.

@xicano001 2 года назад

78 was the last year they were sold on the US but they kept producing them and selling them into the 90s. I remember a cousin visiting with his brand new bug in 1993. Let me know if I am wrong about the production in Mexico.

@JohnDisque 2 года назад

Yeah - If you go to Mexico today Bugs are everywhere and the continued manufacturing of the care in Mexico really put a lot of people to work and helped their economy. As you know the Bug returns to America but then goes under again and who know where the status is today? I didn't want to produce the whole afterlife history of the car because the video was getting long enough and it's a bit confusing. I think it was what it was and we should leave well-enough alone. Peace

@glennhansel9411 8 месяцев назад

@@JohnDisque Final air cooled beetle produce in Puebla Mexico July 2003

@ericbitzer5247 Год назад

How can you punch buggy with that car in the beginning with all those colors?

@karlpeterson9334 6 месяцев назад

VW based liaison vehicles Kubelwagen and Schwimmwagen (amphibious) around 50,000 war production during the war. These are the ultimate collector's VWs.

@gamingwithpax822 2 года назад

Does anyone know when they started to add windshield defroster vents on the dash and when they started to have an external gas can too? I have what’s left of an old Beatle and there’s not much left to help identify the year

@JohnDisque 2 года назад

Looks like 1966 for the vents. Not sure about the can.

@brucegillies1694 7 месяцев назад

Some info is INCORRECT !

@JohnDisque 7 месяцев назад

You know what they say about people that leave negative comments on videos but can't explain what they're whining about? Yep.... they have no content, no subs, no scrotum and they're just born-haters jealous of your ability to produce. We're so sorry uncle Bruce.... but it's time to grow up.

@keithad6485 Месяц назад

That multicoloured beetle in the thumbnail image. I remember that beetle from the 70s, Called a Harlequin Beetle, have not seen one for over forty years.

@karlpeterson9334 6 месяцев назад

Then why do I see Wolfsburg crest on pre-1960 bugs?

@greenmtnman7714 Месяц назад

My folks had a '75 with fuel injection & it had just one exhaust pipe.

@jennelynemarsh7256 Год назад

i just bought a 1971 beetle needs rust work but runs great

@markhillyer721 3 года назад

First Hondas 1976. A new breed came in.

@JohnDisque 3 года назад

Yeah - I remember all the tiny cars that came in when VW was tanking and some of them sold because they weren't associated to a dead era. That's the problem with trends and associations.... They're all or nothing. Ya better cash in when it's working because tomorrow you're old news.

@ericbitzer5247 Год назад

One of my teachers when I was still really young, drove one of those bubble Hondas and got creamed by a 66 Newport. She and her passenger went in the rescue squad with the Honda destroyed. The Newport had a scraped up bumper and a broken headlight.. I'll never forget that.

@Rubster760 3 года назад

First 🤩👍Like.

@JohnDisque 3 года назад

Hahahaha! Congratulations! I'm gonna send you a bank shot calculator! Do you remember that scam? It's just a clear piece of plexiglass with some lines on it. LOL And THEY BOUGHT THEM! Ha!

@rss608 6 месяцев назад

I owned a 77 standard beetle. paid $6k for it new. I never saw any of the 78's in this country with the bumper turn signals. toyota was producing better faster cheaper econo cars so their sales just evaporated.... that is what happened.

@makingconnections777 Год назад

8:44 this is not a VW. This carmaker sued vw for copying them too closely

@karlpeterson9334 6 месяцев назад

Original engine 1200, 1966: 1300; 1967: 1500

@ingeposch8091 6 месяцев назад

err, the Volkswagen factory was restarted by the British army! and the first order of 20.000 beetles was done by the British occupation force... they were abled to outrun the US Jeeps at the time. 😝

@karlpeterson9334 6 месяцев назад

Sales for the beetle dropped because the air cooled engine could no longer compete with others for performance and fuel economy. Japanese sales took everyone over and starting in 1973 VW was replacing the old line with a modern line, which had it's own issues for several years. No VW sedans were sold in 1978: the convertible bugs lasted through 1980. I know these cars better than you: I read the books, I owned the cars, I worked on them and I scrounged salvage yards for parts. I would guess that 1 in 20 VW beetles worldwide still exist. Those that no longer exist were from natural attrition, mainly rust, wrecked, or just plain worn out. Japan made better more desirable cars than the old bug. Your claptrap of reasons of greed returning don't hold water. Simple was not enough anymore: demographics dictated having cars that could go further, faster, and safer. The impact of the VW in the import market in the late 1950's, being the lion's share of what came from Europe, caused Detroit to create compact cars to capture a new market for more fuel efficient cars, creating the niche of compact/subcompact cars that we have today. By 1973, the writing on the wall said that the subcompacts coming massively from Japan became the imports everyone wanted because of better quality, started by VW's lead, and the 1936 'cutting edge' technology was thoroughly obsolete. Ironically, VW makes some of the most complex cars on the market, the total opposite of the product that first came to the automotive world. Please don't pull things out of your backside as to why people buy cars without actually doing research. Rebellion might have been part of it, but the hippies came about around 1965. With the typical American automobile looking like 3000 lb. anchors on wheels and getting too big for budgets of the youth, that is why small imports, especially the VW beetle, became increasingly popular to the point where America was pushed into making smaller cars for competing for the low budget market. I could go on, but I made my point. Good reference book: Small Wonder: the amazing story of the Volkswagen, 1970 by Walter Henry Nelson. This is my main source material. I have several others, primarily service and shop manuals.

@brucegillies1694 10 месяцев назад

Too much B.S. !

@JohnDisque 10 месяцев назад

Do you need a tissue?

@brucegillies1694 Год назад

A lot of crap , political opinions and theories , stick to real facts ....

@JohnDisque Год назад

There's no politics in here. I gave you a mountain of information for free and you still choose to be a whiny troll?