Paul – Thanks for the info on the chassis number. Looks like my chassis is one built in May of 1973, a regular Bug, not a super beetle, the previous owner thought. I also found the chassis and engine number on thesamba.com It also states the engine as one built after Aug 1971, which must be the 1972 model year.

 

Edsnova – How can I tell…

My engine number is AB399145. According to a site called vw-resource.com/year, it lists the motor as a 1972 (Aug 71 to 31 July 72) 44bhp(DIN)1300 motor. The other sites don’t even list an engine number with an AB prefix. I’m really puzzled. I looked for several days, on and off, to try an find what the motor is. I…