From the Samba list of VW "M-codes"

"M-197  12 Volt system and 45Ah battery        Seen on a 1959 Kombi
and a 1959 Double Cab delivered to Austria"

It appears that M-197 was the option for 12 V as far back as 1959.

Tom B.-what were they thinking?

On Dec 5, 2007, at 12:30 PM, Scott Daniel - Shazam wrote:

> A 12 volt system was optional in the Porsche 356 sports car before
> it became
> standard,
> But I've not heard that that was ever the case with VW.
> Anybody know for sure ?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
> Behalf Of
> Tom Buese
> Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 8:59 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: NVC - Delta Mark Ten
>
>> ..........VW went to 12
>> volts in '67.
>
> I believe that 12 v was a vw option before 67, but became standard in
> 67.
>
> Tom B.-6-12v-whatever it takes?
>