TheSamba.com :: View topic - No, Seriously How many 1961 ragtops(sunroofs) were made?

Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:24 pm

I just bought a 61 ragtop and im starting the restoration process....Ugh. Anyway i think the rag top is sweet and they stopped making them and went to steel sunroof in 64. It is apparantly super impossible to find out how many there were made. Over 700,000 were sent here and a bunch of those were convertibles. I just want the "ragtop" or sunroof(as vw calls them) numbers. SOMEONE out there has to know this. Thanks for all the help i hope!

Mon Aug 04, 2008 8:44 pm

at least one, in my yard :D
Not sure of the number but you see them quite often, good luck on your quest, im sure someone on here knows the exact amount and prob the colors too. JEFF

Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:50 am

Volkswagen has never published this information. It is very likely they do not even have the figure.

If you really want to know, there is one way to find out. Just order a birth certificate for every 1961 Beetle. :lol:

Tue Aug 05, 2008 4:59 am

i've seen 2 so we're up to at least 3 now!

Tue Aug 05, 2008 9:29 am

A total of 148,144 sedans and ragtops were registered in the U.S. in 1961. Only a small percentage were ragtops, but I've never seen it broken down anywhere. There are certainly not many left.

Tue Aug 05, 2008 12:54 pm

I've read for most years, that the sunroof option productin was up to 10% of the total of Sedans. That's probably an estimate and I can't remember where I saw or heard that info.

Tue Aug 05, 2008 1:00 pm

10% is probably a very good estimate. Thanks for the info.

Tue Aug 05, 2008 2:40 pm

Buguyed wrote: .....Over 700,000 were sent here and a bunch of those were convertibles. I just want the "ragtop" or sunroof(as vw calls them) numbers.

You're joking right? There were only 12,005 convertibles built in 1961 for the entire world. There's no way a "bunch" were sent anywhere compared to the production figures of sedans & sunroof'd models

Tue Aug 05, 2008 7:31 pm

glutamodo wrote: I've read for most years, that the sunroof option productin was up to 10% of the total of Sedans. That's probably an estimate and I can't remember where I saw or heard that info.
That is just a wild guess. VW has never published the breakdown. If I said 5% of cars were sunroof cars, my guess would be just as accurate as that 10% guess.

Today, that % has risen. Roofs got cut off rotten cars and transplanted.

Tue Aug 05, 2008 8:14 pm

RareAir wrote: Buguyed wrote: .....Over 700,000 were sent here and a bunch of those were convertibles. I just want the "ragtop" or sunroof(as vw calls them) numbers.

You're joking right? There were only 12,005 convertibles built in 1961 for the entire world. There's no way a "bunch" were sent anywhere compared to the production figures of sedans & sunroof'd models

Glenn, where did you find that production number for convertibles? The archives shows 11,998. Not that it's a huge difference, but I'm curious as to your source.

It seems the more I look at these forums and see the different sources of information and all the discrepancies between them, I wonder if there truly is a definitive answer to any production-related question; not just how many convertibles or sedans were made, but all the incremental changes and upgrades during production runs that we love to argue about.

Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:11 pm

67 Florida Deluxe wrote: RareAir wrote: Buguyed wrote: .....Over 700,000 were sent here and a bunch of those were convertibles. I just want the "ragtop" or sunroof(as vw calls them) numbers.

You're joking right? There were only 12,005 convertibles built in 1961 for the entire world. There's no way a "bunch" were sent anywhere compared to the production figures of sedans & sunroof'd models

Glenn, where did you find that production number for convertibles? The archives shows 11,998. Not that it's a huge difference, but I'm curious as to your source.

What? You dare question my source?! I bet if Bill May had posted that production figure you wouldn't dare question it :twisted: Why you giving me such a hard time?

Joking aside, I just grabbed a book that was within arms reach from my desk. Anyway, I used "Essential VW Bettle Cabriolet" By Keith Seume. Bay View Books ISBN 1-870979-73-7 Alright. You happy now....jeeeez

Wed Aug 06, 2008 5:34 am

For what it's worth, I have on my Registrations/Production figures.

1961 Beetle Sedan Worldwide Production 815, 844
1961 Beelte Convertible Worldwide Production 12,006

These figures came from one of my books or a source I can't remember.

Also shows U.S. registrations 1961 Sedans 148,144
Convertibles 6,219

Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:06 am

RareAir wrote: 67 Florida Deluxe wrote:
Glenn, where did you find that production number for convertibles? The archives shows 11,998. Not that it's a huge difference, but I'm curious as to your source.

What? You dare question my source?! I bet if Bill May had posted that production figure you wouldn't dare question it :twisted: Why you giving me such a hard time?

Joking aside, I just grabbed a book that was within arms reach from my desk. Anyway, I used "Essential VW Bettle Cabriolet" By Keith Seume. Bay View Books ISBN 1-870979-73-7 Alright. You happy now....jeeeez

You neglected to tell me how much the book cost... Geeze, Glenn, try to be thorough in your responses :roll: !

Thu Aug 07, 2008 7:43 pm

i knew it was around 12k converts made but that is clearly a bunch considering i have only 1 bug so jeeze make me look small!!!!!

Thu Aug 07, 2008 8:15 pm

my first restoration was a 61ragtop. it was a baja and i cut up a 62 og bug no engine to get the 61rag built :shock: yeah I was young and dumb for destroying the 62 og paint and interior. but i had to have that cool ragtop.. my 61 ended being sold to some kids and they wrecked it. dont know if it got revived or not.. by the way what s the production numbers on 62 convertibles i remember it was sort like 12,300? just wondering how rare are early 60s convertibles. seems like theres a lot of verts for sale right now. summer and the bad economy are my suspects. that 61 ragtop brings back alot of memories...i had that slammed on 5spokes and painted porsche guards red. goodtimes in high school ..

Thu Aug 07, 2008 9:31 pm

hsosa1 wrote: what s the production numbers on 62 convertibles i remember it was sort like 12,300? just wondering how rare are early 60s convertibles. seems like theres a lot of verts for sale right now. summer and the bad economy are my suspects.

1962 Karmann production = 10,129 units

Fri Aug 08, 2008 5:18 am

Buguyed wrote: I just bought a 61 ragtop and im starting the restoration process....Ugh. Anyway i think the rag top is sweet and they stopped making them and went to steel sunroof in 64.

1967 was last year for ragtop sedan,not 1963. they went to steel sunroof on Deluxe Beetle for 1964,but still offered the ragtop for 1964-1967 Standard Beetles. please redo your thinking on last year ragtop made on VW Beetle.

Fri Aug 08, 2008 7:35 am

bill may wrote: Buguyed wrote: I just bought a 61 ragtop and im starting the restoration process....Ugh. Anyway i think the rag top is sweet and they stopped making them and went to steel sunroof in 64.

1967 was last year for ragtop sedan,not 1963. they went to steel sunroof on Deluxe Beetle for 1964,but still offered the ragtop for 1964-1967 Standard Beetles. please redo your thinking on last year ragtop made on VW Beetle.

I agree totally. We, by our very nature as proud Americans, tend to think about and see the world only from our limited USA scope.
I think we all (most) know that the rag ended with the 67 but for us it was 63 and that's the way our thought pattern goes.

The number of rags from 64 - 67 weren't they high of a quantity for the vast amount of production was deluxe versions by that time.

Question, how does the Australian / New Zealand fit into this equation? They did not change body styles to the bigger windows and kept their old presses going on the early sixty bodies until their end of production in 1968. Did they ever get a metal sunroof in these or did they keep the fabric roof all the way through?

Dave

( I started a new topic with this question http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=312193 )