Question re the VIN/chassis/etc number chart

[mark1laura]

I apologize if there is already a thread regarding this but have not found it. Just need a little clarification. I assume that the month(or guesstimated week) that corresponds to an engine, axle, frame, body number refers to the date that particular engine, axle, frame, etc was completed in that particular area of the plant. It does NOT refer to the date that component came off the assembly line as a car ... because if that was the case all of the numbers would correspond to roughly the same time. I would also assume that the engine, axle, frame, etc numbers would correspond to dates that would be before the date that corresponds to the VIN as the VIN was recorded last? Also, the only way to determine if an engine is the original engine is to get the "birth certificate"? There must have been someone recording numbers as the cars rolled off the assembly line and that info is only available off the micro-fiche files from the fine folks in Germany???

[Bub]

I'd say you are 'more or less' correct. The date stamp or serial # of a part refers to when that part was made, regardless of the rest of production.

but the 2nd part- where the engine, axles, etc would all seemingly have dates PRIOR to the chassis age/ production may not hold 100% true. You'd think, and I assume, that it's almost always the case and probably more likely as time went on. But in the split/Oval production era I've learned that you can never say "Vw did xxx 100% of the time" as far as production goes.
There are so many documented cases where VW did something different at one plant or for a few weeks during production changeover or for whatever special reason.
the next part- the Birth Certificate- might be the official last word on what engine # a car came with. I mean, if if you have conflicting documentation it seems like without a good explanation we just have to accept that info about production straight from VW is the best source.
Even if another source may be very very reliable- not sure you can argue against what VW says should have been there on day 1. I mean, who else would know?
I owned a low mileage 58' Delux kombi years ago that had an exchange engine installed. It had the little 'recycle' stamp next to the engine #.
And yet the engine # matched what VW said the thing came with in 58'.
Interesting...was so many years ago it was before I knew to look at the little circle stamps on the generator stand.
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[mark1laura]

Many thx for the reply Bub as it gives me even more to consider. My 57 oval has a VIN that places it around the last week in Dec 56. The body and axles are end of Nov, beginning of Dec. which seem appropriate. I believed it had very low miles and all original but have discovered the engine number E16388 is an exchange engine which it certainly is as some of the pieces when taken apart were marked "exchange" and the pistons are 77.5mm Mahle. Sure hard to put the picture together without having the original owner as a resource.