Engine Number

I was looking at your "Changes through the years" page trying to find the date when my VW engine was made. The Engine number is AB 201915. Can you give me any idea as to where my engine would fit into those dates and number sequences?

I THINK your engine would probably be late �71 rather than early �72 - just going on the total engines built v the total chassis built in each year. VW always built more engines than chassis (for replacements), but assuming the missing engine numbers were 71 rather than 72 makes for a more even spread of engines v chassis.

It's interesting to see that Canada got 1300s - the US was almost entirely 1600 from 71 onwards. We still had 1300s in Australia too. I don't know if Canada followed the same pattern as Aus but from 71 onwards, 1300 engines were used in standard bugs and 1600 engines in Superbugs. - It makes it easy to pick one from the other from the back of the car (without seeing the bulbous front) - just look for the eyebrow vents to make it �71+ and then at the engine lid badge - "VW 1300" makes it a standard bug, and "Volkwagen L" or "Volkswagen S" makes it a superbug.

I bought a beetle engine in South Africa late last year which I am building into a spyder replica. The person (dealer) who sold it to me said it was a 1600 cc. I was with a friend also involved with cars who says this is a 1300. The engine number is SFD022728, which does not fit into any of the standard numbers I have seen on the net. Could you tell me if this is a authentic number and how I can find out what cc it is?

I haven't heard of SFD numbers...is it possible an engine builder has added his own stamp to the engine number? - I've seen an X or other letter added after the number by some rebuilders so they will know which engine rebuilds are theirs.

The only sure way to check the capacity is to remove the head on one side and take some measurements. 64mm stroke and 77mm bore is 1200cc, 69mm stroke and 77mm bore is 1300, 69mm stroke and 83mm is 1500, 69mm stroke and 85.5 bore is 1600.

The heads can be either single port or twin port - the twin port heads came in 1971 - and are in only two sizes of TPs - 1300 and 1600 (1300 TPs were not sent to the US).

It's very easy to mix-n-match parts on VWs so you could have an early engine, or a later engine retro fitted with SP heads and a generator.

The SP engine is a "torquey" engine - for the same capacity they pull better at lower rpms than the TP engines, but the TP engines make more total hp (at slightly higher rpms).

For info, if you have an SP engine then you can not use the larger 34PICT/3 carburettor - the sp manifold has a smaller flange and accepts the 30 series carbs or the modern replacement H30/31.

The H30/31 (with the right jetting) will work well with any engine from 1200 to 1600. So will the 30PICT/2. But the early 30PICT/1 will not work so well with 1500 and 1600 capacities...it has no power jet and will run lean (hot) at high rpms on the larger capacity sizes...it's best kept to the 1200/1300 engine size.

I have a Volkswagen Beetle with an engine number starting with the letters AUxxxxxxx. I tried to find that engine series number in your website but there's no number begining with AU. Lastly, what is the engine number series for Volkswagens made in Brazil?

I haven't seen or heard of any engines starting with AU - very strange.

I wonder if it's a rebuilder's ID - added when the engine was rebuilt - although then I suppose it should be something like AUDxxxxxxx or AUFxxxxxxxx, (before the normal D or F etc) so I don't really know.

Another possibility is that it's a case originally used on a VW industrial engine - I don't have the number series for those (VW built millions of 1200 and 1600 industrial engines).

I don't have the number series for Brazillian or Mexican made engines either - I'd love to know those.