by Jim Adney
The VW part numbering system is extremely logical and was designed to help make it easy to assign new part numbers as well as remember old ones. Each part number consists of nine digits divided into three groups of three. You may find it helpful to think of them in the following way: TCS-MSS-###.
T stands for the Type of car that the part was first designed for, so it would be a 1 for a Beetle, 2 for a Bus, or a 3 for a Type III.
C stands for Chassis, so for a squareback this would be a 6, while notches and fastys got a 1 here, and Type 3 Ghias got a 4. If the part was the same on all the type IIIs this digit is a 1.
S stands for Side, odd numbers were for the left side, even on the right. If there was no handedness involved S = 1.
So, if you look through the Type III parts lists you will find that there are more parts that start with 311 than any other number.
The second group of three digits describes the portion or logical division of the car that the part was used on. All the VW chassis types used the same divisions.
M stands for Main group number. All the parts of a car are divided into 10 Main groups numbered from 1 to 0. The 10 main groups are described in the list at the bottom of this page.
SS stands for Subgroup number. This leaves the possibility of dividing each Main group into as many as 100 Subgroups although most main groups had many fewer than that. The subgroups for each main group are also shown in the list at the bottom of this page. Note that subgroup 98 was always for repair kits for that main group.
The last three digits were just assigned in sequence from 001 on up. Where possible, these numbers were kept unique to a certain kind of part. Thus a 113-105-271 is a beetle flywheel, 211-105-271 is a bus flywheel, and a 311-105-271 is a type III flywheel.
As a final addition, most part numbers will have some letters at the end. These signify variations over time. The first part will have no suffix, the next will have an "A", then B, C,... Z, AA, AB,.... There are also color and size code suffixes that are needed for some parts, but I'm not going to get into that here. Sometimes a later suffix will superceed an earlier one, but this is not generally true; you need the parts list to tell for sure.
As a guide to understanding the part numbers I have put together a listing of the main and sub-group numbers as used on the Type IIIs.
It is useful to know that when these parts are sorted in a listing at a dealer or parts house, they will be sorted first by MSS, then by ###, and finally by TCS. This may seem a bit awkward, but once you see it and understand what it does, it will seem natural.
This list includes the main group, each subgroup, and the parts list illustration numbers(s) that apply to them.
1 ENGINE
00 replacement engines 1
01 crankcase, studs 2
01 cylinders, cylinder heads 3
05 crankshaft, rods, bearings 4
07 pistons 5
09 camshaft, valves 6
15 oil pump 7
15 oil filler 8
17 oil cooler 9
19 air cooling 10
19 engine cover plates 11
19 cooling air control 12
22 fuel pump, fuel lines 13
29 carburetor 32 PHN 14
29 carburetor 32 PDSIT 15
29 air cleaner and intake manifold for single carb engine 16
29 air cleaner for twin carb and fuel injection engine 17
29 intake manifold for twin carb engine 18
29 linkage for twin carb engine 19
29 EGR for injection engine 20
29 intake manifold for injection engine 21
33 fuel pump & computer for injection engine 22
33 cold start valve for injection engine 23
33 deceleration valve for injection engine 24
41 clutch 25
99 engine securing parts 26
98 repair kits --
2 FUEL TANK & EXHAUST
01 fuel tank 27
01 activated charcoal container 28
51 mufflers, damper pipes 29
55 heat exchangers 30
55 warm air ducting 31
59 fresh air ventilation 32
61 Eberspaecher stationary heater 33 M119 --315 048 101
61 Eberspaecher stationary heater 34 M119 315 000 001--315 220 883
61 Eberspaecher stationary heater 35-1,-2 M246 316 000 001--319 500 000
61 heater booster 36 M60 319 108 900--319 500 000
61 Eberspacher stationary heater 37-1,-2 M246 310 2000 001--310 2500 000
61 Eberspacher stationary heater 38-1,-2 M60 311 2000 001--311 2500 000
61 Eberspacher stationary heater 39-1,-2 M60 312 2000 001--
98 repair kits --
3 TRANSMISSION
00 replacement transmissions 40
01 transmission case 40
11 gears, shafts 41
21 transmission case, (AT) 42
23 clutches & torque converter, (AT) 43
25 valve body, oil strainer 44
98 repair kits --
4 FRONT AXLE & STEERING
01 front axle beam 45
05 front suspension 46
11 front torsion bars 47
13 front shock absorbers 47
15 steering gear 48
15 steering wheel & column 49
15 steering drop arm & damper 50
98 repair kits --
5 REAR AXLE
01 swing axle, equalizer spring 51
01 double joint axle 52
01 rear wheel, hub, brake drum 53
07 rear axle housing (AT) 54
11 rear suspension 55
13 rear shock absorbers 55
17 differential 56
19 differential (AT) 57
98 repair kits --
6 BRAKES
01 road wheels 58
09 shoes and backing plates 59
11 master cylinders 60
11 wheel cylinders 61
11 reservoir & lines 62-1, -2
11 front brake lines 63
11 rear brake lines 64
15 disk brake calipers 65
98 repair kits --
7 LEVERS & PEDALS
00 frame 66
05 frame head 66
07 bumpers 67
11 hand controls 68
13 hand controls (AT) 69
21 pedal cluster 70
23 pedal cluster (AT) 70
98 repair kits --
8 BODY
05 front section 72
09 quarter panels 73
13 rear section 74-1, -2
17 roof 75
19 fresh air fan 76
21 front fenders 77
21 rear fenders A77
23 front hood 78
27 rear hood & door 79
31 doors 80
37 door components 80
45 windowglass and weatherstrip 81
47 quarter window parts 81
53 moldings 82
57 instrument panel fittings 83
57 mirror, visor, grab handles 84
57 safety belt 85
63 linings and floor coverings 86
67 trim panels & headliner 87
77 steel sliding roof 88
81 front seat 89
81 front seat backrest 90
85 rear seat 91
98 repair kits --
9 ELECTRICAL
03 generator 92
05 distributor 93
05 coil, ignition switch 94
11 starter 95
19 gauges 96
37 fuse box, connectors 97
41 head, fog, & back-up lamps 98
43 license plate lamp 99
45 tail lights 100
47 interior light 101
49 side marker light 102
51 horn 103
53 flashing indicator, front
installation parts for trailer operation 104
53 turn signal switch 105
55 windshield wiper parts 106
55 windshield washer unit 107
55 windshield wiper motor 108
57 speedometer & cable 109
71 wiring harnesses 110
-- grommets 111
71 connectors 112
-- heatable rear window 113
-- seat belt warning system 113
98 repair kits --
0 MISCELLANEOUS
This article may be freely reproduced and
distributed as long as this copyright notice and attribution is
included.
© Jim Adney 7/04, jadney at
vwtype3.org
