If you own a Beetle up to and including the year of construction 7.1965, there is a chance that an old model of steering box is mounted that works with a spindle. To understand first of all what the differences are between the different steering boxes, you need a little more explanation:
With the old Beetle and Karmann Ghia, we talk about the spindle system, later we move on to the roller drive.
Volkswagen used spindle steering for the Beetle until 1965 and for the Karmann Ghia until 1961. The steering box is equipped with a toothed fork (spindle) that rotates around an axis (worm screw) for rotational movement. In the last years of construction, the roller control was used; similarly, only the tooth spindle was replaced by a roller with bearings (worm wheel). Volkswagen did not make this change to all models at the same time, hence the list below of when and for which model of VW which system was used.
Steering with spindle (sector type):
Convertible Beetle until 1961 (VIN 3 933 184 )
Export Beetle until 1961 (VIN 4 236 756 )
Beetle for the domestic market (standard model) until 7/1965
Karmann Ghia until 1961 (VIN 3 933 184 )
Roller steering (roller type):
Convertible Beetle from 1961 (VIN 3 933 185 ) until 7/1974
Export Beetle from 1961 (VIN 4 236 757 ) and later
Beetle VW 1200, VW 1300 and VW 1500 from 8/1965 and later
Beetle 1302 and 1303 until 7/1974
Karmann Ghia from 1961 (VIN 3933 185 ) and later
Volkswagen therefore replaced the steering box with a roller box from 1961, with the exception of Beetle models for the domestic market, which had to deal with the old model until 7.1965. A new steering box that works with the spindle principle is unfortunately not available as a new part, the overhaul also poses problems due to the lack of new parts. A new steering box with roller control (Paruzzi 01368) can easily replace the old spindle controlled box, except that you have the steering lever or drop arm that you can't transfer. The drop arm mentioned here is adjusted, similar in appearance to what was also mounted on the spindle steering box. It is equipped with a 24 mm connection, which requires a new steering box. In addition to that model, which is the same as the original (Paruzzi 04347), except for the diameter of the axle, you can also choose a fully chrome version (Paruzzi 04354) for those who want to customize their Beetle or Karmann Ghia down to the last detail.
Useful information from Paruzzi magazine and from our YouTube channel :
Look for more technical articles on the page Paruzzi Magazine