Paul; I learn something new about VWs everyday. Looked it up when I got home. First SC with a spare tire rack in the treasure chest is SN 971 550, which just happens to be the very first US 1963. Single cabs prior to that carried the spare behind the front seat. Spare tire racks are a relatively rare item for single cabs since most of them have probably met their demise over the years. Also, (according to Bentley) not possible to retrofit the spare tire rack to earlier single cabs. Sammie