audi VIN decoder

[Pirvu Eugen]

This is my car's sticker from the boot lid:

[Pirvu Eugen]

Iff i remember right....HD is an FWD transmision....soo....type 85 is also fwd....i know my car has genuine vin....

[UrS4boy]

Iff i remember right....HD is an FWD transmision....soo....type 85 is also fwd....i know my car has genuine vin....

*ALL* mid-1980's coupes were Typ85, FWD and quattro, that is NOT the question. The question is whether there is a tag like that for a 2 or 4 door Audi 80 sedan of the same mid-1980's vintage that has an "81" in the VIN but has the type listed as TYP 85nnnn.

In your case, there is an "85" in the VIN and the TYP is 855 3LA. VIN = 85, Type = 85. Yup.

FA048883 was built in Ingolstad, likely in the first week of October, 1984.

855 3LA is the designation for the FWD Audi Coupe GT with 100 kW (136 hp) 5 cylinder HY 10V engine and the 5 speed HD transmission.

LY5V = sapphire metallic paint

GN = is marine blue cloth sport seat combination that one of the interior options specific to the GT.

If that doesn't match your car, then the trunk(boot) lid has been replaced due to an accident with a used one from a Coupe GT.

[Pirvu Eugen]

Its exactly my original car......
Excelent info...as usual from you Dave!
Regards!
Eugen

[Val]

Again, I agree mid-1980's coupes are Typ85s. No question. What I am interested in is a pre-B3 A80Q quattro sedan (2 dr or 4 dr) designated as a "Typ85" when the VIN has WAUZZZ81.... in it. You are probably right but with me you need to hammer a stake in my heart/brain with hard evidence before I will shut up.

sorry for delay. Couldn't turn on camera yesterday evening with 2% battery.

[UrS4boy]

Okay. Thanks. I guess I will have to shut up now. (good luck with that). Definitely a WAUZZZ81Z with Typ85 as has been suggested. GA104098 was built around Christmas 1985 as a 1986 model year vehicle. That fits with Jens' Audi pages about the facelifted Typ81 B2 becoming the Typ85 after July 84 (i.e. starting in the 1985 Model year, i.e. the "FA" VIN'd cars). This ran until the end of March 87 ("HA" VIN'd cars).

Any chance of a photo of the build tag to go with those metal tag photos? Like this:

[UrS4boy]

Potential Reasons for Typ85s with 81Z VINs.

That's not me. Etka isn't always right.

ETKA is probably right but it definitely is confusing. I pushed a little harder and found that for the "A80Q" model designations between the first B2 81nnnn model designations and the first B3 8Annnn model designations, there were also 85nnnn and 89nnnn model designations. (I am not going to get into the "89" issue).

I think I also figured out why the VIN 81Z versus Typ85 issue. The 81Z VINs were for the Audi 80 4 cylinder cars with 81nnnn model designations while the 5 cylinder Audi 90s had 85nnnn model designation, initially also with the 81Z VIN (See the first image below). It wasn't until Aug. 1986 that the VIN used 85ZHAnnnnnn (See second image).

Another clue as to the fun that must have been going on in the boardroom, when you ask about the 1987 model year "A80Q"s, you get asked about two paths:

"81/85-H-299 000" or "89-H-300 001". I am sure Audi folks must have been fighting over model designations and/or were running out of numbers before finally going to "8A" for the B3.

[Val]

Okay. Thanks. I guess I will have to shut up now.

don't do that

Any chance of a photo of the build tag to go with those metal tag photos?

OK, here it goes.
None of DZ, UH and AEC codes exist anymore in this car

[UrS4boy]

OK, here it goes. None of DZ, UH and AEC codes exist anymore in this car

Okay. I am officially beaten, done, poke me with a fork. I had *hoped* that based on the metal tag with "Typ85", your "81Z" build tag would show an 85nnnn model designation as a 5 cylinder Audi 90. Instead, it shows 813565 which *was* an Audi 80 gte quattro, with the 82kW (112 hp) DZ four-cylinder with the UH five speed and AEX rear diff.

There is no way to make sense of the "Typ85" based on the data. Completely random IMO.

I tried, but failed. Beaten by illogical Germans.

[Val]

Forget typ81 as prefacelift and typ85 as facelift b2. That's not true. You can have 1986 fwd 90 but typ81 because of fwd. That's facelift. Pics will follow in couple days.
Imho, all b2 quattros are typ85 as a kind whatever the vin numbers are. Are there exceptions?
You said, all b2 coupes are typ85. Even fwd's?

[UrS4boy]

You said, all b2 coupes are typ85. Even fwd's?

All B2 coupes are Typ 85s, FWD, quattro and RWD.

Okay, kidding on the RWD.

ACO = FWD, 1981 to 1988 Model year (01/81 to 7/88), All Typ 85s. With model designations 85nnnn then change of body style to the B3 Typ 8B (model designation 8Bnnnn) (starting in 11/88 (3 month gap to change over the tooling I guess).

ACOQ = narrow body quattro Typ 85, 12/84 to 12/87

AQS = wide body "Audi quattro", Typ 85, 07/80 (WR engine) to 07/91 (RR engine).

[Klobsters]

I may have found something - could it be that:
typ81 = bolt pattern 4x100
typ85 = 4x108
It makes sense then I believe...

[UrS4boy]

I may have found something - could it be that: typ81 = bolt pattern 4x100, typ85 = 4x108 It makes sense then I believe...

Using the "A80" as a guide, there were indeed two rear drums styles, one 4 x 100 and one 4 x 108. The 4 x 108 refers to the 5 cylinder Turbo diesel.

At the front, there were two wheel hubs, one 823407615A, for the 4 cylinder cars and one, 853407615, for the "5 cylinder; 90:T-DIESEL". No mention of either 4 x 100 or 4 x 108.

Interesting that the second PN starts with "85". Could be the five cylinder cars got the larger 4 x 108 hubs and drums.

All that said, for example all of the 1986 "A80" (fwd) models were 81nnnn models, not an 85nnnn in sight.

[Klobsters]

As I know all the quattros, coupes, 5-cylinders had 4x108 bolt pattern while only 4-cylinder FWDs had 4x100, and that should apply to any B2 from 1978 to 1986. My 1986 80 has 4x100 and it's typ81, we should need someone with a 90 5-cylinder FWD to work out whether it's a typ81 or typ85, that's the only one I haven't seen in person.

[UrS4boy]

As I know all the quattros, coupes, 5-cylinders had 4x108 bolt pattern while only 4-cylinder FWDs had 4x100, and that should apply to any B2 from 1978 to 1986. My 1986 80 has 4x100 and it's typ81, we should need someone with a 90 5-cylinder FWD to work out whether it's a typ81 or typ85, that's the only one I haven't seen in person.

In the 1987 model year A80 (not quattro, fwd) listings *ALL* of the model designations up to VIN 81-H-299000 are 81nnnn regardless of the number of cylinders.

While still in A80 (not q), and still in 1987, if you go to VINs after 89-H-300001, *ALL* of the model designations are 89nnnn.

When you go to 1988 for A80 (not q), the VINs are 89-J-100001 to 520000, and *ALL* of the model designations are 89nnnn.

Now if you got to A80Q (quattro sedans and estates), for 1987, for VINs up to 81/85 H-299000, the 4 cylinder quattro models were designated 813nnn and the five cylinder models were 853nnn.

For 1987 A80Q with VINs after 89-H-300001, there is a confusing mixture of 8Annnn and 89nnnn model designations for both 4 and 5 cylinder cars. Not a 85nnnn in sight.

8A20nn seems to = 4 cylinder but so does 8930nn and 8931nn.

Similarly 8A27nn seems to = 5 cylinder but so does 8932nn and 8937nn.

This is doing my head in.