How do you tell a 1977 Beetle from a Super Beetle?

A Beetle has a shock front suspension whereas a Super Beetle has McPherson struts. A Beetle has a flat windshield, Super has curved windshield from 73 on, but has a flat windshield in 71 and 72. Front hood on Beetle is narrow and comes to more of a point. Super looks wider and is more rounded. Supers are also known as Fat Chicks.

ALL Supers have the McPherson strut so just look under the front hood in tire well and see if it has the "shock" inside the coil spring. The standard Beetles all have the same style from the A pillar back as the supers. 73 and later also has a big curved dash.

Lastly, in 1977 the only Super was a convertible, 75 was the last year for a Super Beetle Sedan in the USA. All '77 convertibles are Supers. VW Beetle, Super Beetle history/FAQ, here is a link: http://www.superbeetles.com/faq.htm

http://www.vwshowtime.com/8_history/history_e2.html

The short answer is the only 77 Super Beetle was a convertible, no Super Sedans in 77, so if you have a US 77 Beetle Sedan it is not a Super Beetle.

71-72 Supers are AKA 1302, 73 and later known as 1303.

no actually the 1973 model (which i drive) is actually a beetle not a super because 73 was the year that VW changed to making only supers so you've got half beetles and the others supers but the only thing different is the front clip anywhere from dash board back is actually the same as a regular beetle but the other answer that i just improved is also correct they did go to the McPherson's strut for the front end so any where from 1974 on up are supers unless modified.