Here is a chassis code from a nice looking 1976 car on the samba:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=635041

It indicates the car was begun on the friday of the 41st week...VIN not indicated on this listing.

Looks like the workers were getting sloppy towards the end. Shouldn't that chassis number above read 4159013? Friday of week 41 was October 17, 1975.

IIRC, the chassis number and the VIN did not follow each other exactly. In other words, the chassis number was assigned and bodies made available for assembly. Depending on how the bodies were stored and allocated, any given VIN could have a chassis number higher or lower than those around it (as an example, see below).

Anyway, it's far from stock now, but my '76 has chassis number 502-9038. So what is that, Tuesday of week 50: December 16, 1975?

My VIN is 4762903947. If the total build for MY76 was 4100, then they assembled another 153 after they assigned mine. They probably shut down production for the Christmas holidays on Friday, December 19, 1975. Christmas Day fell on the next Thursday, in week 51. So it would follow that the last possible chassis number to be assigned might start with 505-9XXX or Friday of week 50.

If they didn't stop producton until, say Tuesday, December 22, they might still have assigned all of the chassis numbers by Friday of week 50 and finished up the assembly on Monday and Tuesday of week 51. The last ones put together would still have the week 50 designation. Speculation on my part. Wadda think?

Digging a little deeper . . . from our 914 Info section:

4762903937, 495-9009 . . . .Friday, December 12, 1975
4762903947, 502-9038 . . . .Tuesday, December 16, 1975 (mine)
4762903992, 504-9011 . . . .Thursday, December 18, 1975
4762904063, 504-9004 . . . .Thursday, December 18, 1975

There is a VIN 4762904099 listed in our files with no chassis number. We need to see the chassis numbers for some of the 37 cars between 4063 and 4100.

Thanks,