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On 18 Sep 2003 at 8:07, Big Al wrote: > The vin has > N O T H I N G > to do with the model number. > > i.e., > Over there is the model number ----------------------------> > <---------------------Over there is the vin number > > Not even close to related. > Nothing to do with each other. > nada. > Therefore it is MUST that everyone knows the VIN and the MODEL > NUMBER for their car if they want to restore it correctly. > > Hopefully this will straighten things out between VIN and MODEL numbers. Big Al is absolutely right, and this is a continuing source of confusion among type 3 enthusiasts, myself included. One cannot imagine a more confused, illogical system than the one they fell into. I can only assume that the system was devised by an illiterate adolescent child of one of VWs top executives as a summer job project. You just gotta wonder what s/he was smoking at the time. Big AL's web page is a lot prettier, but I have a text version of all the same info that I would be willing to send to anyone who wants it. I remain confused by most of the model designations. I'd like to see someone familiar with all the official suffixes explain each of them. The problem for me is that I'm sure I hear people talking about suffixes which I don't see on the official VW documents. The official suffixes that I see are S, N, A, L, TL, and T. As far as I can see, VW used these suffixes in the model table without defining them, and then never used them anywhere else in the parts lists. Parts for particular models are called out by M codes, but there is nowhere that I see that correlates particular (groups of) M codes with particular suffixes. All of this is made particularly difficult by the fact that few of the cars I've ever seen in the US ever had a badge of any kind identifying them as being a particular suffix. The only badge identifier I've ever seen is the S, on cars before 68. -- Jim Adney jadney@vwtype3.org Madison, WI 53711-3054 USA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List info at http://www.vwtype3.org/list | mailto:gregm@vwtype3.org