Also, check out VinPower, offering software for VIN decoding.

Contents of this page:

VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS (VIN)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN CODE
MAKE CODES
VEHICLE TYPE CODES
PASSENGER SAFETY SYSTEM CODE
CARLINE CODES
PRICE CLASS / SERIES CODES
BODY TYPE CODES
ENGINE CODES
MODEL YEAR CODES
ASSEMBLY PLANT CODES
ENGINE NUMBERS
TRANSMISSION NUMBERS
BODY CODE PLATES

Some content of this page is noted as general information for Mopars, not necessarily specific to the "M" Body line.

VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS (VIN)   (back to top)

Pre-1981 Mopar VINs had 13 characters:

A - Car Line
B - Price Class
1 - Body Type
C - Engine Code
2 - Model Year
D - Assembly Plant
3 - Sequence Number
See below for Code Tables.

Post-1980 Mopar VINs had 17 characters:

1 - Country of Origin
A - Make
2 - Type of Vehicle
B - Passenger Safety System
C - Car Line
3 - Series
4 - Body
D - Engine
5 - "Check Digit"
E - Model Year
F - Assembly Plant
6 - Sequence Number
See below for Code Tables.

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN CODE  (back to top)

(post-1980, one number)
1 - United States

MAKE CODES  (back to top)

(post-1980, one letter)
B - Dodge
C - Chrysler
P - Plymouth

VEHICLE TYPE CODES  (back to top)

(post-1980, one number)
3 - Passenger Car
Anyone know of any other Vehicle Type Codes for post-1980?

PASSENGER SAFETY SYSTEM CODE  (back to top)

(post-1980, one letter)
B - Manual Seat Belts
X - Driver's Side Airbag / Passenger Manual Seat Belt

CAR LINE CODES  (back to top)

(pre-1981, one letter)
B - Caravelle
E - St. Regis
F - LeBaron
G - Diplomat
H - Volaré
N - Aspen
S - Cordoba
T - Newport/New Yorker
V - Duster
X - Magnum

(post-1980, one letter)
B - Gran Fury & Caravelle
F - Fifth Avenue & Newport
G - Diplomat

PRICE CLASS / SERIES CODES  (back to top)

(Price Class, pre-1981, one letter)
H - Hi Line
L - (unknown)
P - Premium

(Series, post-1980, one number)
1 - Economy
2 - Low
4 - High
5 - Premium
6 - Special

BODY TYPE CODES  (back to top)

(pre-1981, two numbers)
22 - Coupe "B" Pillared hardtop
24 - Coupe Hatchback
29 - Coupe
41 - Sedan
42 - Sedan "B" Pillared hardtop
44 - Sedan Hatchback
45 - Coupe Wagon

(post-1980, one number)
6 - 4 Door Sedan
Anyone know of any other Body Type Codes for post-1980?

ENGINE CODES  (back to top)

(one letter)
B
    (1971-1974) 198 slant six
C
    (1971- ) 225, 1 bbl slant six
D
    (1977-1979) 225, 2 bbl slant six, high performance
E
    (1971-1980) Special order slant six
F
    (1981-1982) 225 slant six, high performance
G
    (1971-1980) 318, 2 bbl V8, standard
    (1981-1982) 225 slant six, heavy duty
H
    (1971-1973) 340 V8, high performance
    (1978-1980) 318, 4 bbl V8
    (1981-1982) 225 slant six, heavy duty
    (1983) 225 slant six, standard
J
    (1973-1980) 360, 4 bbl V8
    (1981-1982) 318 V8, fuel injection
    (1983) 225 slant six, heavy duty
K
    (1971-1980) 360, 2 bbl V8, standard
    (1981-1982) 318 V8, 2 bbl carb, standard
L
    (1971) 383 V8, standard
    (1974-1980) 360, 4 bbl V8, high performance
    (1981-1982) 318 V8, 2 bbl carb, heavy duty
M
    (1972-1976) 400 V8, standard
    (1981-1982) 318 V8, 4 bbl carb, standard
N
    (1971) 383 V8, high performance
    (1974-1980) 400 V8, 4 bbl carb
    (1981-1982) 318 V8, 4 bbl carb, heavy duty
P
    (1972-1978) 400 V8, high performance
    (1984-1989) 318 V8, 2 bbl carb
R
    (1971) 426, "Hemi" V8
    (1984-1988) 318 V8, 4 bbl carb
S
    (1984-1988) 318 V8, 4 bbl carb, heavy duty
    (1989) 318 V8, standard
T
    (1971-1978) 440 V8, standard
U
    (1971-1978) 440 V8, high performance
V
    (1971) 440 V8 "Six-pack"
Z
    (1971-1980) Special order V8
    (1987-1988) 318 V8
4
    (1984-1989) 318 V8, heavy duty

MODEL YEAR CODES  (back to top)

( one number)
1 - 1971
2 - 1972
3 - 1973
4 - 1974
5 - 1975
6 - 1976
7 - 1977
8 - 1978
9 - 1979
0 - 1980
B - 1981
C - 1982
D - 1983
E - 1984
F - 1985
G - 1986
H - 1987
J - 1988
K - 1989

ASSEMBLY PLANT CODES  (back to top)

(one letter)
A - Lynch Road
B - Hamtramck
D - Belvidere
F - Newmark
G - St. Louis
R - Windsor
W - Kenosha
X - St. Louis #2
Anyone know of any other Assembly Plant Codes?

ENGINE NUMBERS  (back to top)

The Straight-Six 225

A - Series (model year)
1 - Displacement
B - Model (could be two characters)
2 - Build Date
3 - Assembly Shift

The V-8 318 and 360

A - Series (model year)
B - Manufacturing Plant
1 - Displacement
B - Model (could be two characters)
2 - Build Date
3 - Sequence Number

TRANSMISSION NUMBERS  (back to top)

	The A-230
	The Overdrive-4
	The Torqueflite

BODY CODE PLATES  (back to top)

Located on the left front fender side shield, wheel housing or left side of upper radiator support.

The service manual is conspicuously unclear about the placement of some characters, or whether or not Row 1 is at the top or at the bottom of the Body Code plate.  It directly contradicts itself more than once.  If anyone has corrections to this data based on another reliable source, please contact the webmaster.

Pre-1981 Mopar Body Code Plates were 6 rows high and 23 columns wide:

A - Engine Code
B - Transmission Code
C - Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
D - Lower Body Paint Color Code or fleet/special order Codes
E - Trim Code
F - Interior Paint Colors and Build Code
G - Vehicle Sales Order Number
H - Upper Body Color Code or Two-Tone Color Code
J - Vinyl Roof Code
K - Order Code (U=U.S.  C=Canada  I=International)
L - Factory Use Only
X - Open Space

Post-1980 Mopar Body Code Plates were 7 rows high and 23 columns wide:

A - Model
B - Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
C - 1st Body Paint Color
D - Trim
E - Engine (sales code)
F - Month
G - Day of Month
H - Order Number
J - 2nd Body Paint Color
K - Vinyl Roof
L - Transmission (sales code)
M - Order Code (U=U.S.  C=Canada  I=International)
N - Factory Use Only
P - Constant Date shown on attached proposal
X - Open Space

According to the 1987 Service Manual, section "P" on the plate above was sometimes long enough to require a second body code plate to overlap the first.