What gearbox should my classic VW have?

Even tricker to identify than the iconic aircooled VW engine which hangs from it, let us shine a light on what gearbox your classic VW has fitted, or at least what it would have come with when it was new.

If you want to decode your aircooled VW engine number, check out our blog here. 

In most situations, you will find the gearbox number stamped into a flat part of the gearbox case, on the right-hand side 'underbelly' as you look at the car from the rear. There are a few reasons the code might not be there though. For example, if the casing was retrofitted due to accident damage, or it was manufactured by a third-party supplier. 

Are you shopping for a new air-cooled VW gearbox case? Find them here.  

You can see the position of the gearbox number illustrated below, with the silver gearbox nose cone (which is fitted closest to the front of the vehicle) at the bottom of the photo. 

Your gearbox number is not the same as the casting number - which is likely to be a series of 9 numbers on the outside of the gearbox case. 

This guide is aimed at owners of aircooled Volkswagen models, Beetle, Karmann Ghia, Type 3, Type 2 Split and T2 Bay, plus a few other rarities and kit cars. Volkswagens were made at several factories around the world, and in some cases for many years after European production ceased. But for this article, we will be working with the details for German-built models and European production dates. 

We will cover VW Transporter gearbox codes and VW Golf gearbox codes in separate articles to follow. 

Along with the year it was made and hinting towards the vehicle it was originally fitted to the gearbox number will reveal the final drive ratio hidden inside. 

Why is the gear ratio important? By altering the gear ratios the cruising speed can be increased and the engine revs can be lowered. This is particularly useful if you drive a lot of distance and want to reduce the stress on your engine.  

Another useful thing to know if you're into driving these cars competitively is whether the gearbox has an LSD (limited slip differential) fitted. 

The earliest VW Type 1 gearboxes have a 5-digit numerical gearbox code. This was extended to 6 digits in the latter part of 1948. 

From September 1952 the gearbox code format was changed to A-X XXX XXX XXX, which then became A-XX within a few months and later A-XXX in June 1953 as the numbers grew. This format became A-XXXX in September 1956 and later A(B)-X XXX XXX XXX XXX in April 1959 which leads into the chart below, where A or (B) can be substituted for other letters. 

If you've got an alpha-numeric code on your Type 1 gearbox and want to know what it means, have a look at the chart below. 

If you are building a concours vehicle, or restoring a vehicle of historic significance you might want to ensure the gearbox age matches the engine and chassis.

You can calculate the age of an alphanumeric gearbox code using the following principle. 

CODE-XX-YY-Z-1234

Where XX is the date in the month the gearbox was made. YY is the month of the year, and Z indicates the year of manufacture (3 would indicate 1973). The rest of the numbers are identified above by 1234 and show where in the production schedule that gearbox fell, the higher the number, the later it was manufactured. 

For earlier models, you will need to refer to The Samba database where gearbox numbers are recorded in the 'rear axle' column. 

The gearbox fitted to the Type 2 Bay is of a slightly squarer design than the Type 1 box found in earlier Bus models and the Beetle etc.  They are most easily identified by the ribs across the top, which can be found in 3, 5 and 6 rib denominations. 3 ribs are typically from a 1600cc, 5 ribs are 1700cc and 6 ribs were first found in 2000cc models. 

All Type 2 Bay window gearboxes were for Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) and are sometimes referred to by their part number casting, namely the first 3 digits. The majority of the  VW Type 2 gearboxes are '002' but from August 1976 Volkswagen fitted '091 gearboxes' which are considered stronger, especially for performance use. 

Find out more about VW Type 2 suspension, and how to lower an aircooled VW bus here. 

We hope this guide has proved helpful for you. Please leave us a comment if we've solved a puzzle, and equally get in touch if we have created more questions that need answering.

If you are interested in aircooled VW chassis numbers we expect you'll find this article of interest. 

Andy