The VW Part Numbering System 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@vwtype3.org