New to Forum....Need to find engine number

[OrionBuggy]

I just bought a buggy (fiberglass body custom chassis) VW Engine and front end. I was told its a 2 liter engine from former seller. It appears to be type 1 but cant find engine ID #. In the normal spot. Is it stamped anywhere else thats easy to find without disassembly? Also is there a # on front end that can tell me what year the front end is? If so where is it? And how do I look up the part # to match to a year model?
Thanks for your help

[stevethefolkie]

The # on the front end should be the part number - but I'd think it'd tie to either a king pin (pre 1967) or ball joint (1967 and later, if my memory isn't totally shot to hell) - that leaves a pretty wide gulf. The VIN's were on the tunnel under the rear seat - but with a buggy that probably doesn't help a heck of a lot.

If it's a 2.0 (type IV) engine the engine number should be right in front of the oil breather assembly - with the distributor back and to the left of the stamping area. If someone used an aftermarket set of cases all bets are off - sorry to say.

If it's a 2.0 type 1 engine chances are pretty good that it's aftermarket (I built a 2180 T1 and really wasn't happy with how much I had to clearance the stock cases to make things work - if I'd kept it I would gone to a set of aftermarket cases) - I know the 1835's were common - and I'm thinking there was a common oversize between those two - but apparently that data is archived and not available for viewing ....