The
1966 model year Beetles were first released to the public on 1st August 1965
and continued to be sold until 31st July 1966 - when the newer 1967 model Beetles
were launched. In this time, 1,021,300 of these Beetles were produced - one
of the best-selling years so far!
The 1966 Model year has many improvements over the earlier years, most importantly the new 1285cc '1300' engine. This was created by adding the 69mm stroke crank from the Type 3 1500 models in place of the 64mm 1200 item. Cam bearing shells were also added. This, along with new heads, an increase in the compression ratio (now 7.3:1) and several other minor changes gave about 40bhp (50hp SAE) - an increase of over 11% when compared to the old 1200 Beetles! A Solex 30PICT/1 carburettor was used on this engine.
Due to all this extra power, VW felt that the brakes would be strained, so they fitted steel 4Jx15 5-bolt wheels with vents in to keep them cool, along with 5.60x15 crossply tyres. A flat hubcap was also added to this wheel (the same as on early Type 3s) to update the look of the car. To show-off the new engine and to make the 1300 models stand out from the cheaper 1200, a '1300' script was added to the rear decklid. For safety, anti-burst door locks were used. The front windscreen and side windows had already been made larger for the '65 models so the rest of the 'externals' were left alone.
New low-maintenance ball-joints were fitted to the front suspension instead of the old link-pins which allowed a service interval of 3,000 miles. Improved torsion bars now had 10 leaves in each tube, and distance between tubes increased from 120mm to 150mm. Tapered roller wheel bearings replaced the old style ball bearings used previously.
In the inside of the car, there were a few changes. The front seats gained safety latches to stop them moving forward in an accident, while the rears were made to fold down and could be secured with a strap. The pattern of the seat covers was also changed, the seats now had a weave pattern on the central faces with a smooth border along the edge. A vent was added to the centre of the dashboard to help aid windscreen demisting, while the gearstick and handbrake were painted black to match the new black plastic steering wheel. This steering wheel also had the chromed half-ring horn button as seen on the early 1960s VWs. Hazard flashers where fitted to cars exported to the United States. The indicator arm now had a headlight flasher/dipper on the back. A slightly bigger rear-view mirror was also new for this year.
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All 1966 model Beetles had the chassis number starting with '116'. The first 1966 model Beetle had the chassis number 116-000-001 and the last 116-1021-300. The prefix for the 1300 engine was 'F' with engine numbers between F0,000,001 and F0,940,716.
Facts and figures:
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Thanks to my original 1966 VW1300 owner's manual for these superb pictures!