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Sam's V.I.N. Decoding Guide

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So you're wondering what those 17 letters and numbers at the base of your windshield mean, are ya? Or maybe you're wondering whether you've got a T-Bird Sport, or Cougar XR-7, or whether that 5.0 between your fenders was originally a 3.8. Well here's a handy guide to decode the VIN in your '83-'88 T-Bird or Cougar, or your '84-'92 Mark VII:

Special thanks to Jeff Robb, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, for forwarding this info on to me!

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Position	What it means	How it affects your car
1	Country of Assembly	1 = USA
2 and 3	Manufacturer and Type	FA = Ford Passenger ME = Mercury Passenger LN = Lincoln Passenger
4	Restraint Type	B or D = Manual Belts C or L = Airbag & Active Belts
5	Identification Code	P = Passenger Car ('81-'89) M = Lincoln or Mercury  P = Ford Make ('90-'93)
6 and 7	Model Code	46 = All T-Bird models, '83-'86 92 = All Cougar models, '83-'86 60 = T-Bird, Cougar, '87-'88 61 = T-Bird Sport, '87-'88 62 = T-Bird LX, Cougar XR-7, '87-'88 64 = T-Bird Turbo Coupe, '87-'88 98 = Mark VII (all models), '84-'86 91 = Mark VII, '87 92 = Mark VII Bill Blass edition, '87-'92 93 = Mark VII LSC, '87-'92
8	Engine Code	D = 2.3 EFI/Turbo ('83) W = 2.3 EFI/Turbo P = 2.3 EFI/Turbo T = 2.3 Turbo/Intercooled 3 = 3.8 V6 CFI (USA/Canada) or 2bbl carb (Canada Only) C = 3.8 V6 2bbl ('84-'86) C = 3.8 V6 EFI ('87-'90) 4 = 3.8 V6 CFI/EFI ('87-'92) R = 3.8 V6 F = 5.0 V8 (CFI/EFI) M = 5.0 V8 HO (Mark VII) L = 2.4l I6 Turbodiesel (Mark VII)
9	Check Digit	Only Ford knows what use this number is
10	Model Year	D = 1983 E = 1984 F = 1985 G = 1986 H = 1987 J = 1988 K = 1989 L = 1990 M = 1991 N = 1992
11	Assembly Plant	H = Lorain, Ohio Y = Wixom, Michigan
12 thru 17	Sequence number	This number is given to cars as they come off the line - 000001 would be the first car, 250000 would be the 250,000th car, etc