TheSamba.com :: View topic - Official Oval Beetle Engine Finder Thread

Sat Jun 21, 2014 6:17 am

Mine was built on April 11 and left the factory April 12.

As far as the motor not matching it is a separate sheet like above that says my vin and says the motor number given does not correspond to the vin.

Sat Jun 21, 2014 5:16 pm

We saw this topic last week, so we searched for the serial numbers on these engines. They consist of bare cases to long blocks all the way up to completes. Some are running, however, most are frozen.

These serial numbers are available:

3731064
2981372
2720026
3876288
3107205*
1488937*
38669777
1/1147737
1104504
1659316
1317381
3780629*
2110219*
1799018*
2977592*-
153821*?
1193766
1295468
2468297
3056779*
163720?
2594055
2564405

1639593 was running
1297577 runs
1679414 runs

I hope this helps someone in the community.

• Indicates complete engines

? Indicates miscommunication between viewer of serials numbers and stenographer.

Fri Jun 27, 2014 9:11 am

I have an August of 1958 36hp long block.It appears to have been rebuilt recently and never installed.The case number begins with 248xxx..was going to use it in my 57 oval rag built in December of 1956 but decided to look for the correct date code engine.

Wed Aug 05, 2015 4:17 pm

I have an opportunity to buy this engine, supposedly 20,000 original miles and has been stored out of the car for 20 plus years. It's complete with all tin and heater boxes as well.

Eng # is 1768465 and has a "W" stamp just below the #, supposed to be a 1955 36 hp.

I see the "W" stamp a lot, but I do not know what that means.

Wed Aug 05, 2015 4:53 pm

1768465 is March, 1957.

If it really has such low mileage and was stored well it should be a nice engine.

Thu Aug 06, 2015 6:47 am

Thanks for the info. How about the W stamp? Is that a just a factory assembly mark or something?

Thu Aug 06, 2015 8:45 am

Yes, I believe it's an assembly stamp.

I did some searching and a few people have said in the past the W may mean it was built in the Wolfsburg plant.
I do not know if that is accurate.

Thu Aug 06, 2015 11:05 am

Thank you Everett, it is an incredible find, but I am getting the info and pictures second hand. It looks like they did not pull the rocker arms off, so it potentially has been sitting for a long time with valves open and springs compressed, and that makes me nervous, especially for the money he's asking.

Mon Aug 10, 2015 5:58 am

Hey all,
Not building a perfect numbers matching car but if I did run across a possible same era 36hp case I'd be a happy VW'er.

Seeking engine between 1-1030 000 and 1-1060 000

So mid April '55 thru early May '55

UPDATE: So, this forum works... I posted this and within a week I got a response. We made a deal and it was supplied to me. Now the case is at a reputable vw performance shop getting checked out. I'll update again if the case is no good and I need another. Thanks samba family!

Thanks,
Jon

Tue Sep 29, 2015 7:52 pm

I am looking for an early 1957 April motor. The car was built on the 11th.

I think I would like from 1797568 - 1813000 give or take a few in April.

I have 1909548 which I think is June. Motor runs but my need a case half. The side with out the serial number. I have a weird trap door bolted between the oil pump and the oil pressure relief valve. Just noticed it wasn't supposed to be there.

Fri Oct 02, 2015 9:05 am

Jrb572 wrote: I am looking for an early 1957 April motor. The car was built on the 11th.

I think I would like from 1797568 - 1813000 give or take a few in April.

I have 1909548 which I think is June. Motor runs but my need a case half. The side with out the serial number. I have a weird trap door bolted between the oil pump and the oil pressure relief valve. Just noticed it wasn't supposed to be there.

You should search for a march engine, too. Engines where often build a month or more earlier. My oval has July engine and chassi, was buildt in August.

Its easier to get engines from mid 57 and newer, they have better oil feed, and are better engines. So I think the old cases where scrapped when they came in for refurbishment at VW.

Mon Nov 14, 2016 12:01 pm

Have an almost complete 25hp engine. It's August 1953 with number 1-06429XX. Maybe someone can use it, otherwise I'm taking it apart.
Regards, Jan

Tue Jan 17, 2017 4:36 am

Available :
1 412 261 may '56 (long block)
1 480 876 jul '56 (short block)
1 564 710 sep '56 (case only)

Located in Belgium

Tue Apr 25, 2017 1:31 am

Martenni wrote: Available :
1 412 261 may '56 (long block)
1 480 876 jul '56 (short block)
1 564 710 sep '56 (case only) --> SOLD

Located in Belgium

Wed May 24, 2017 5:24 pm

I have a May 7, 1955 VW Deluxe Oval. And, I have a Genuine VW Parts Exchange Factory Rebuilt Engine booklet that identifies the chassis of my oval as being associated to a specific engine. The booklet is dated March 14, 1966.

Back in the mid 70's my dad yanked what I believe is the engine that is specified in the booklet and the original trans and sold it to fund the installation of a 1600 engine (AE868805) and trans. He converted the electrical system to 12 v at that time.

I want to return the car to as close to original as I can.

My question to the forum is do I try to find the motor that is called out in the booklet or do I install a period correct Late April to early May 1955 engine?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Wed May 24, 2017 8:17 pm

Kjell Roar wrote: Jrb572 wrote: I am looking for an early 1957 April motor. The car was built on the 11th. [snip]

You should search for a march engine, too. Engines where often build a month or more earlier. My oval has July engine and chassi, was buildt in August. [snip]
Has anyone mapped out just how much earlier the engine number is, compared to the Bug VIN, based on when a car was built? I would guess that the days of lead time would tend to be era specific, within a working range. Inventory is money earning nothing, but real world production issues dictate some inventory is kept based on potential interruptions.

I have a Feb. '57 Bug. The previous owner bough it in the late '80's and restored it in the early '90's. He told me he had the original (to his knowledge) block rebuilt. If I scale the Feb '57 chassis and engine numbers (and assume that the factory was running 24/7) then my engine was built 19-1/2 days into the month and the car 20-1/2 days into the month. Roughly 1 day difference between the chassis number and the engine number. Is that likely the original block to the car? Is there a way to find out if my engine is original to the car without waiting the for a birth certificate?

If people with known original engines had a place to share block and VIN numbers privately I suspect a map of engine lead time could be created.

Wed May 24, 2017 11:32 pm

RanManTucson wrote: I have a May 7, 1955 VW Deluxe Oval. And, I have a Genuine VW Parts Exchange Factory Rebuilt Engine booklet that identifies the chassis of my oval as being associated to a specific engine. The booklet is dated March 14, 1966.

Back in the mid 70's my dad yanked what I believe is the engine that is specified in the booklet and the original trans and sold it to fund the installation of a 1600 engine (AE868805) and trans. He converted the electrical system to 12 v at that time.

I want to return the car to as close to original as I can.

My question to the forum is do I try to find the motor that is called out in the booklet or do I install a period correct Late April to early May 1955 engine?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

I think it's worth trying but it's probably long gone...
I'd focus more on a search for an engine # from the same time period.

Thu May 25, 2017 6:32 am

Thank you for the feedback EverettB. I will go period correct then.

All, I am looking for an engine; preferably complete with tin, dog house, generator, etc;

April thru early May 1955:
20-1 023 850 < Desired Engine Number < 20-1 053 993
Please let me know if you can help me out.

Thu May 25, 2017 8:53 am

RanManTucson wrote: Thank you for the feedback EverettB. I will go period correct then.

All, I am looking for an engine; preferably complete with tin, dog house, generator, etc;

April thru early May 1955:
20-1 023 850 < Desired Engine Number < 20-1 053 993
Please let me know if you can help me out.

Those are Bus engine numbers, Bugs have a -1- prefix, but I agree you want something before 1-1054 000 or so and probably something in the 1-105X XXX range if possible

Sat Jul 29, 2017 12:49 pm

I also have a may 9th-12th 55 bug. I have a engine number of
1-1050xxx. It is so close in my opinion but when I look at
The fact that there were 131,172 engines built from January 1955
Thru end of May 1955. But the same period of time only built
110,419 cars! Engine production stayed ramped up through the end
Of 55,(including model year 56's). So,....... how the heck do we know
Which engine number is considered matching for our car?????

Best I can do is divide the actual built engines by that month and extrapolate
That my engine based upon completion date on my birth certificate should be 1-1060xxx. This is based on the completion date of the car. Since car was built in 4 days, if I use the start of build date, the engine number should be 1-1057xxx.

If I am using samba charts correctly, there were 878.8 engines built a day for May 1955. That's based upon the month having 31 days. It does not take into account work days. I divided amongst all 31 days FYI.

Surely someone has more answers?