The red one is definitely a '61, but all I know about it's history is that it was crashed in 1970 and has supposedly been sitting ever since. There are a few sources of the ID numbers, but the one I used on the engine in that red bug was actually the engine page from the Samba and the other engines I took a screen shot from another site that listed both US and international market numbers. I did notice that the Samba page that includes VIN and front axles numbers shows it as a November 1960 engine like you pointed out. I'm not an expert on the subject matter, but my big book says that engines for the '61 production cars were made starting in August of 1960 and can be identified from late 1960 year model engines by the removable generator stand, as well as a few other details, but that's the easiest to see. It's a great question though and I may have to send off for a birth certificate just for the sake of learning. Thanks for bringing it up, I'll be sure to follow up on this and see if we can get a more definitive answer in the future. As to starting the engine, it clicked, but wouldn't turn over. The cables are terrible so I'm going to slap some new cables on it and try again, but first paying jobs have to get caught up! Maybe next week. Thanks again for the insight and have a great day.

Times have certainly changed since we were young! Thanks for sharing.

A 1965 surely had no 1500 engine, for the 1500 was introduced in 1966.

Glad it was helpful!

Thanks!

Absolutely, they were common enough back in the day. Besides the cars ending up in the crusher, another reason they are less common now is that the factory exchange program died long ago and aftermarket builders have continued to this day. Thanks for the input and have a great day!

I still see a lot of them on the road today in California. In California the weather did not rot cars like it does in the midwest or eastern United States. I know someone who put over 1,000,000 miles on a 1956 Beetle. During the million mile mark the engine was exchanged with a rebuilt short block 7 times.

You’re not wrong! As long as it has compression (no valves stuck open) then I’m sure I can feed it enough gas and spark to make some noise!

Makasih

Thank-you sir. It helps that I had a great father teaching me about cars ;)

I’m certain you are right. When the U.S. cars moved up to larger displacements and dual port heads, much of the global cars stayed with the smaller engines and single port heads. It can get a bit fuzzy at times which is why the good charts will give you options for US cars versus South American vs German. Thanks for the info!

@@CowboyGarage I should mention that there's a very good chance that that engine might not have been original to the car. Way back in the day, a lot of Jordanian army officers were given Volkswagens as personal transportation. Then in the late 1980s, when the Jordanian army decided it was about time they decommissioned the fleet and got its officers newer and better rides, they also decided that instead of scrapping all those Beatles - along with the huge parts inventory they had stockpiled for them - they might as well refurbish them and auction them off to the general public as surplus. Mine was one of those so-called _army_ vehicles; it was a beat up specimen, and even though it had changed hands multiple times before it got to me, most of its components were factory. For over three years, I drove that car hard, winter, summer, rain or shine. I even drove it from Amman to Aqaba and back in 105 F heat, doing 70mph for much of the way, with nary a hitch. Heady times!

@@sjanzeir wow, very cool bit of history! I love studying history so thank-you very much for sharing that. It’s always good to learn something new!

​@@CowboyGarageMy mother had two VW's. One was a durable and reliable 1965 with a 1500 engine. She had it for 27 years. We called that car old faithful. The second VW was a 1971 with a 1600 dual port engine. The 1971 VW was all hot garbage. The 1600 dual port had a tendency to suck the #3 exhaust down into the crankcase every 30,000 miles. That 1971 engine in 120,000 miles was a rebuilt exchange engine for four times. Four times she had to replace that engine.

@ericknoblauch9195 wow! I think I’d have been looking for another ‘65 to trade that ‘71 for! Thanks for sharing.

You are correct. That’s why I use the plastic brush. I’ve seen numbers rubbed off when using a steel brush on brittle magnesium cases before. The worst was watching a guy use a steel brush on a drill, it was like an eraser 😂

Right on, what vehicle is your 1200 going in? These are fun little engines to build and I really appreciate the modularity of the VW design philosophy. I’m mostly into old American cars and trucks, but everyone needs an old VW or two in their collection 😁

Just the engine for now. I grew up working and owning classic cars and trucks. 65 GMC truck, 68 vw bus, 65 Chevelle Malibu SS, 68 firebird, 67 fastback mustang 2+2, 72 Camero, 65 mustang couple and a couple 70 mustangs one for parts

@@TimsWorkshopTJY I was just browsing your channel, you seem to have quite the eclectic mix of projects, just like what I'm used to. I have a variety of old cars, trucks, boats and motorcycles along with the normal newer stuff that keeps the place running.

That’s definitely the easiest way!

Thanks! When I’m back to my office I’ll see if I can nail down your engine for sure, but these are all mostly interchangeable so engine swaps are not only possible, but they are actually very common. I’ll have some kind of answer for you tonight or tomorrow

I’m betting it will, but it’ll be fun to find out either way. The car was last registered in 1977 and has supposedly been sitting ever since.

Good to know. I will definitely be building the engine that I’m using. Thanks