By Robert Emslie
I know that many of you have been clamoring for a succinct and easy to use guide to Volkswagen tail lamp eras and it turns out that Hella has the answer. You’re welcome.
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Jeff Glucker
One used to be able to get a full education of the Beetle’s evolution simply by flipping through the pages of a JCWhitney catalogue.
I got my Super in 1986 found an old JCWhitney catalog in a stack of old mags from 1970. Used it to order floor mats.
From then on I got a JCW Catalog every week of my life.
All those tail lamps protrude from the fender. When did they go to Hella flush?
COTD. (or maybe even the week?)
Just a FYI this info is wrong, elephant foot was 73 and up.
Looks like it’s based on production year, not model year.
Exactly.
But if that were the case, the 1968 taillight should really be labelled as 1967.
Would that be European spec or export?
I’d say “Model Year” is US spec, and “Production Year” is the German way of telling generations.
Both ways have their flaws:
“PY 1972” won’t distinguish whether it was built before (MY ’72) or after the summer break (MY’73).
“MY 1973” won’t distinguish whether it’s actually produced in August 1972 or June 1973.
Year wise they were the same overall shape, US spec had 3 elements and European had two.
Cool, didn’t know that.
Lots of incorrect info, actually. The lights labelled as ’58 actually started in MY 1956 in the US, and there were a couple of variations between ’49 and ’56 (heart taillights for example). Additionally, they omit the ’71-’72 lights, which were a larger version of the ’68-’70 lights.
Also, on my ’71 the turn signal was red. No amber on mine
This is a German ad though, so it having amber turn signals is a given. Red turn signals haven’t been legal for a very long time as far as I know. The only exceptions I’ve seen are grey market imports from the US.
I got my Super in 1986 found an old JCWhitney catalog in a stack of old mags from 1970.
Used it to order floor mats.
Form then on I got a JCW Catalog every week of my life.