One thing that I realized is that I already have a 1303 in the form of Murbella.
While yes, she’s a convertible, she’s also has basically the same design elements of all 1973 and later Supers.
Getting a 71 or 72 Super as the source for my project would allow me to have the suspension elements that I already know relatively well, as well as elements of a standard Beetle in the form of the flat windshield and flat dashboard.
In a way, the first two model years of Supers are kind of the best of both worlds. You have elements of that would define the Super Beetles such as the curvier shapes up front and the MacPherson strut suspension but you also have all of the Standard Beetleness of the interior as well as an actual VW logo on the bonnet!
These cars don’t have the far uglier bumper setup of the 74 and later Supers and they also have what amounts to the two year only rear tail lights that harken back to the 68-70 ones.
The two louvered decklids also didn’t last long, being quickly by the 4 louvered ones.
On the parts sourcing end, the 1302s have their share of rare parts that were never made in any aftermarket capacity.
The control arms and spindles can’t easily be replaced. The rear tail lights and the decklid aren’t easy to get. You need to get used parts for these from now long dead 1302s.
But since the cars share so much with the Standard Beetles inside, there are so many repair options available that don’t exist for the 1303s.
Dashes? No problem? Complete front to rear new wiring harnesses? No problem.
And the older bumpers? Hell.. to find even moderately priced 74 and later bumpers will set you back an easy $700-$900 for decent ones. The 1302’s can take the good quality and even shitty quality replacements out there!
Do what it really comes down to is that while I love 1303 models, I can just as much love a 1302 for the differences between what I already have in Murbella.
So a 1302 is the now the source of my dream project!
And I’m lucky I found one with an original sunroof to boot!