412 vin number - 463...

[jhelgesen]

Hey Guys, maybe you know. I looked at tuna's website, trying to find info on the 412 I brought home. It lists vin's starting with 461,462,465 and 466. Mine is a 463. Any idea?

I was digging around, trying to find the block number on the engine to find if it was a 1.7 or 1.8.

Thanks

[jhelgesen]

oh yeah, build date is 06/73

[raygreenwood]

That lists it as a type 46...1973. Type 41= two door sedan. Type 42= 4 door sedan. Type 46= wagon/variant. Ray

[jhelgesen]

Ray, if I go by http://www.tunacan.net/t4corner/reference/models.shtml it should be a left hand drive, but doesn't match up with the models.

[Scott H]

John, the model number and the VIN are two different things, although some of the model number is incorporated into the VIN.
VW made it kind of confusing with the type/model/VIN thing.
In your VIN, the first digit `4' is the type, the second digit `6' is the squareback sedan and the third digit `3' is the year.
VW went to 9-digit VINs in '65 with the third digit alway being the model year. (In '70, the VINs went to 10 digits with the fourth digit being `2'.)
As far as the model, since your car is LHD it is either a 461 or a 465 model.
I'm still learning about Type 4s, so I'm not sure what the `L' designation is and whether we got it here in the US, so I'm not sure what yours is but I'm sure these others folks here can tell us.
A good example of the confusion with model/VIN/type numbers is on my '72 Super Beetle ... it is a model 113 and the VIN begins with 112 as seen on the window sticker here. (The VIN is the `serial no.' on the sticker.)

I hope that makes a little sense and helps some.

[Chris Hobbs]

If your 412 is a 1973 model, the engine should be a 1.7 liter. The 1.8 liter engine was introduced for the 1974 model year.

[raygreenwood]

Scott is correct. To see the actual model #...look in the trunck. See the silver plate on the left of the hood latch? Under "made in Germany"....you will see......TYP.....next to it ...it will say 41....42...0r 46. The extraddigit designating LHD or RHD...were strictly internal to VW...and did not appear on the car anywhere. My model based on the VIN....is 413. It is a type 41....1973....RHD 412 two door.

The 1.8 liter started optionally in August of 1973 with the EB series. That would make it a 74 model. very few carried over EA's in 1.7 trim. The EC's were all 1.8L. Ray

[jhelgesen]

Okay, looked in the trunk last night (tough when the car is on the other side of town) and it says model 46 on the plate. Is there any other plate in the car that says what options are on it? I found one sticker describing the paint in the trunk, and another under the sticker in the door jamb that says CARD 018 (white with red letters).

[raygreenwood]

The card # refers to the punch card/spec card fvor the diagnostic system at the dealer for that cars electrical harness. The model #'s will tell you nothing of options for these vehicles. Othere than sun roof, air conditioning, auto or manual transmission (I don't know how optional that was over here), and radio type....there were few if any options that had to do with the building of the car. Most other options...including air conditioning were dealer supplied, installed and warranted. They had nothing to do with VW. What is it you want to know? Ray

[Joe Vegano]

Do You want decoder VIN number? I know good website. Use this tool: http://www.vin-location.com.

[Marc]

Do You want decoder VIN number? I know good website. Use this tool: http://www.vin-location.com.

That tool tells you where to find the VIN on a particular vehicle, but nothing about its meaning. VIN "decoders" are of no use on older VWs since their VINs contain no information about the configuration anyway (other than year, body style, and LHD/RHD as Ray & Scott have mentioned).

[kharon]

Yup. Basically only way to get a list of factory options now (without original documentation) is to order a birth sertificate from VW museum. And even those have errors sometimes.

http://automuseum.volkswagen.de/en/cert ... heets.html

... and I can see they've raised the price again, now 75 euros. When I ordered mine 2 years ago it was 50e and delivery took 8 months. Documented though so not much of a problem.