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1300a in pastel white
1300a in brilliant orange
my 1300a in marina blue
Whats it all about? This web page is all about a rare model of beetle called a 1300a. If that makes you think about small insects then you have come to the wrong web site my friend. If it makes you think about small cars then welcome!
1300a in pastel white
What is it? And why the “a”?
Well by 1972 VW had built millions of beetles and developed a range of models. But sales were dropping, and the new models such as the golf and polo, were still not available. In order to maintain sales VW in the 1973 model year started introducing a number of special editions, in particular the GT beetle or 1300S as it was known on the continent. There are other web sites dedicated to that model. But quietly alongside the special edition, VW in the UK introduced a new beetle to the range called the 1300a. It has to be recognised that VW had been building 1300 beetles since 1966, but they had generally only been available as a deluxe model and a major step up from the basic 1200. In August 1972 VW decided to introduce a 1300a model to sits between the 1200, and the deluxe 1300.
The Brochure
VW produced a brochure in the UK for this model which is very rare and it has taken me 2 years to find one. There are actually a couple of errors in it. Firstly the 1200 and 1300a are shown as having horn grills on the front wings. However, VW dropped this feature for the 73 (August 72 – July 73) model year. I can only conclude that the brochure was produced prior to the model change and that no vehicles with the change were available for the photo shoot. The second error is with regard to the spec. It refers to rear suspension being the same as the 1200, rather than the 1300.
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Why am I interested enough to write all this, you may ask?
Well, good point. But this car is an odd ball, and I like that. It was the last year of the old style body shell which I think looks a lot prettier than the later style. The first beetle I every saw was a 1300a so for me it’s a nice bit of nostalgia. Eventually that one rotted away badly. However, my brother bought it and has restored it, although it is no longer recogniseable as a 1300a.
1300a in brilliant orange
The Spec
Externally the 1300a looked similar to the 1200, the only give away being the four sets of grills on the engine lid. Not that 4 sets were needed for the 1300 twin port engine, but VW had introduced this lid as the standard one for all engines bigger than the basic 1200 in 1972. Other than that you would be forgiven for thinking it was a 1200. When it came to the mechanics the car was1300 deluxe. So it came with the 1300 engine and the rear stabliser bar (Z bar) which gave better handling. Inside though the car had the same spartan spec as the 1200. There was no door pockets or rear ash tray, the carpets were limited to the footwells and sills and a pair of rubber mats were provided for the floor. When it came to equipment again the model was exactly the same as the basic 1200. One speed wipers, no dimmer switch, no passenger sunvisor (presumable they had to wear sunglasses), and the interior light had only 2 positions on/off. The headlining was the basic square in the roof type and the rest of the interior was painted body colour. Speaking of which this was available in a choice of 3 colours, Pastel White, Marina Blue and Brilliant Orange.
My Project
In 2005 I managed to buy a 1300a beetle off a friend in the Lothians VW Club. At first I hadn’t realised it was a 1300a as the engine lid had been changed. But it was the same marina blue colour as the little old lady owned. I decided I would restore it back to its original condition. The car is a work in progress but I am getting there. The car had some accident damage at the front, the heater channels were rotten as was the back end, but overall, and compared to some other cars I have restored it was pretty good. As you can see I have taken the shell of the chassis to repair it properly. Where possible I have used genuine VW panels as the repair panels tend to be a poor fit in comparison. At the time of writing I am unsure as to whether I should make a few minor modifications/ add period accessories to the car. For example the car has been convert to disk brakes and the 1300 engine has been converted to a 1600, and as these changes are subtle and difficult to spot I am happy to keep them as they make the car nicer to drive. However, the original perlon carpets do not look as good as the square weave type, and I would like to add chrome trims to the engine lid grills, but I cant make my mind up if I should make these less subtly changes. You can check out progress on my restoration at http://my1300abeetleresto.blogspot.com/
my 1300a in marina blue
Can you Help?
I have no information as to how many were produced and the percentage of colours and if you have any further information please post me above. If you haven’t figured it out already all the information on this web site relates to beetles built for the UK market. I have no idea whether the 1300a was built for other markets and if it was, whether or not it was a one year only model. I suspect in Germany it was available before 1972, and certainly I have heard of a 1303A as well, which was a 1303 with a 1200 engine (must have been desperately slow that one). I suspect that VW UK must have commissioned a batch of 1300a models for the 1973 model year to see how successful they were, although I have no evidence to back that up. Any other information or gossip for that matter would be appreciated and I will add it to the page.
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