So apparently this one I snapped on my way to work one day was a '66!
Yep—and that's not all, Rob. Something bothered me about the red Bug that you photographed, so I went out to the garage and checked the bonnet of mine. The "1300" brassard on mine is on the
left side of the bonnet, and it slopes
upward (left to right).
Two possible explanations for the difference: (1) the brassards might have been dealer-installed items (we know about those, right?); or (2) if the red Bug is a restoration, the person restoring it became confused and mounted it on the opposite side. (Possible, though unlikely, since my insignia has lugs that fit through holes drilled through the bonnet.) I'm reasonably confident that mine is in its original position, for I bought the car from my (now former) in-laws in El Paso in 1978, and I know the insignia went back to its original location after restoration in '94-'95.
BTW, the red Bug is a nice one. If it's unrestored, it's special, and if it has been re-done, it appears to be a good job. I just looked at the photo again, and I think it's a restoration—the weltings between fenders and body appear to be (painted) red. All of the original welting supposedly was the same color, irrespective of the color of the car itself. Might have been gray, I can't remember. Fanatical restorers tried to get the original welting. I didn't fight the problem; I went for the California look with black welting and black gaskets on windshield and rear and rear-seat windows. The metal was repainted the factory Bahama Blue (very light blue that looks green in certain light, a color that reappeared as "Aquarian Blue" on the 2004-2005 New Beetle).
