In the door jam of our '97 F-150 it says it was built on 12/95. That seems a little early to me. Could someone check this please!

VIN- 1FTDX1765VNA05282

Thanx!

 

My 97 was built in "96"

 

Here is how to decode VIN:

1FTZF172XWKA33704

1FT...Z...F17...2...X...W...K...A33703
..1....2......3....4...5....6....7.......8


1. World Vehicle Manufacturer

1FM — Ford Motor Company, USA, multi-purpose vehicle
1FT — Ford Motor Company, USA, truck, completed vehicle
1FD — Ford Motor Company, USA, incomplete vehicle
1FC — Ford Motor Company, USA, basic (stripped) chassis
1FB — Ford Motor Company, USA, bus
1FF — Ford Motor Company, USA, motor vehicle equipment without engine/powertrain (Glider)
1MH — Mercury, USA, incomplete vehicle
2FM — Ford Motor Company, Canada, multi-purpose vehicle
2FT — Ford Motor Company, Canada, truck, completed vehicle
2FD — Ford Motor Company, Canada, incomplete vehicle
2FC — Ford Motor Company, Canada, basic (stripped) chassis
2FB — Ford Motor Company, Canada, bus
2FF — Ford Motor Company, Canada, motor vehicle equipment without engine/powertrain (Glider)
2MH — Mercury, Canada, incomplete vehicle
3FB — Ford Motor Company, Mexico, bus
3FC — Ford Motor Company, Mexico, basic (stripped) chassis
3FE — Ford Motor Company, Mexico, incomplete vehicle
3FM — Ford Motor Company, Mexico, multi-purpose vehicle
3FT — Ford Motor Company, Mexico, truck, completed vehicle
4M2 — Mercury, USA, multi-purpose vehicle
4M3 — Mercury, USA, incomplete vehicle
4M4 — Mercury, USA, truck, completed vehicle

2. Brake Type and Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) (all vehicles with hydraulic brakes)

A — 0-3000 Pounds
B — 3,001-4,000 Pounds
C — 4,001-5,000 Pounds
D — 5,001-6,000 Pounds
E — 6,001-7,000 Pounds (may also be "R")
F — 7,001-8,000 Pounds
G — 8,001-8,500 Pounds
H — 8,501-9,000 Pounds
J — 9,001-10,000 Pounds
K — 10,001-14,000 Pounds
L — 14,001-16,000 Pounds
M — 16,001-19,500 Pounds

3. Vehicle Line, Series, Body Type

E11 — Econoline Club Wagon
E31 — Econoline Club Wagon (Heavy Duty)
S31 — Econoline Club Wagon (Super Club Wagon)
E14 — Econoline E-150 (Cargo Van)
E24 — Econoline E-250 (Cargo Van)
E27 — Econoline E-250 (Commercial Cutaway)
E29 — Econoline E-250 (Commercial Basic)
E30 — Econoline E-350 (RV Cutaway)
E34 — Econoline E-350 (Cargo Van)
E37 — Econoline E-350 (Commercial Cutaway)
E39 — Econoline E-350 (Commercial Basic)
S24 — Econoline E-250 (Super Van)
S34 — Econoline E-350 (Super Van)
E40 — E-Super Duty (RV Cutaway)
E47 — E-Super Duty (Commercial Cutaway)
F07 — F-150 Flareside, 4x2
X07 — F-150 (SuperCab) Flareside, 4x2
F08 — F-150 Flareside, 4x4
X08 — F-150 (SuperCab) Flareside, 4x4
F17 — F-150 Styleside, 4x2
X17 — F-150 (SuperCab) Styleside, 4x2
F18 — F-150 Styleside, 4x4
X18 — F-150 (SuperCab) Styleside, 4x4
F27 — F-250 Styleside, 4x2
X27 — F-250 (SuperCab) Styleside, 4x2
F28 — F-250 Styleside, 4x4
X28 — F-250 (SuperCab) Styleside, 4x4
U22 — Explorer (2-door), 4x2
U32 — Explorer (4-door), 4x2
U24 — Explorer (2-door), 4x4
U34 — Explorer (4-door), 4x4
U35 — Explorer (4-door), AWD
U52 — Mountaineer (4-door) 4x2
U54 — Mountaineer (4-door) 4x4
U55 — Mountaineer (4-door) AWD
R10 — Ranger 4x2
R11 — Ranger 4x4
R14 — Ranger 4x2 (2-door SuperCab)
R15 — Ranger 4x4 (2-door SuperCab)
R18 — Ranger 4x2 (4-door SuperCab)
R19 — Ranger 4x4 (4-door SuperCab)

4. Engine Type

A — 2.3L EFI, four cylinder (Ranger 1997 and older)
6 — 4.6L EFI-SOHC (Windsor), eight cylinder (Econoline, F-150, F-250)
W — 4.6L EFI-SOHC, eight cylinder (F-150, F-250)
L — 5.4L EFI-SOHC, eight cylinder (Econoline, F-150, F-250)
S — 6.8L EFI-SOHC, ten cylinder (Econoline)
F — 7.3L Turbo-Diesel, eight cylinder (Econoline)
2 — 4.2L EFI-OHV, six cylinder (Econoline, F-150, F-250)
Z — 5.4L SOHC, gaseous fuel prep, eight cylinder (Econoline, F-150, F-250)
M — 5.4L SOHC natural gas, eight cylinder (Econoline, F-150, F-250)
X — 4.0L EFI-OHV, six cylinder (Explorer, Ranger)
E — 4.0L EFI-SOHC, six cylinder (Explorer, Mountaineer)
P — 5.0L EFI, eight cylinder (Explorer/Mountaineer)
B — 2.5L OHV-DI diesel, four cylinder (Ranger)
C — 2.5L EFI-SOHC, four cylinder (Ranger)
U — 3.0L, six cylinder (Ranger)

5. Check Digit

This is a generated number.

6. Model Year

V — 1997
W — 1998
X — 1999
Y — 2000
1 — 2001
2 — 2002

7. Assembly Plant

L — Michigan Truck (Wayne, Michigan)
S — Allen Park (Allen Park, Michigan)
H — Lorain (Lorain, Ohio)
C — Ontario Truck (Oakville, Ontario)
E — Kentucky Truck (Jefferson County, Kentucky)
K — Kansas City (Claycomo, Missouri)
N — Norfolk (Norfolk, Virginia)
U — Louisville (Louisville, Kentucky)
Z — St. Louis (Hazlewood, Missouri)
P — Twin Cities (St. Paul, Minnesota)
T — Edison (Edison, New Jersey)

8. Production Sequence Number - this is an alphanumeric code for the vehicle build sequence. This is also the vehicle serial and warranty number.

A00001-E99999 — Ford Division
J00001-L99999 — Lincoln-Mercury Division

D Beames
98 F150 4.2L

 

So Your VIN Decodes as This:

1FT - USA Made Ford Motor Company, Complete Truck
D - 5,001 to 6,000 LBS
X17 - F-150 (SuperCab) Styleside, 4x2
6 - 4.6L EFI-SOHC (Windsor Engine Plant), eight cylinder
5 - CHECK DIGIT
V - 1997
N - Norfolk, Virginia (Assemply Plant)
A05282 - If I am correct, it was the 5,282 truck off the line.

There you go.

D Beames

 

WOW! That's a lot of info! Thanx again.

But I still don't know why it says it was built in '95. That seems to early to me.

 

Well.. If you think about auto years, it isn't that bad. Yes, it does sound a little early. But think about it. The 95 Models get released in June/July of 94. Then, the 96's get realeased in June/July of 95. So they have to start production on those probably in early 95, if not late 94. So if you keep adding on, 97's get released (first editions, like your with a low Sequence number, like the first 10,000) in June/July of 96. There for production on those could have started in December of 95. To get the inventories built up before the release date. F150's are the #1 selling truck in Oklahoma (I don't know about any other states) for 26 years running. So, if you think about it, they have to build alot. So it wouldn't be too unusual for them to roll them off the line in late 96, early 97.

 

Close beames, here's the real reason 'nut--

The '97's started production in '95 as they were introduced in early '96 as '97's Huh????

Yeah... here's the deal: the government allows car companies to sell a model year as new, in this case '97's, as long as they only see one January 1st in the model run. '97's saw January 1st 1997 but were sold from roughly March of 1996 to September 1997. In order to sell in March '96, Ford started production in the last quarter of '95. Hence why you have a 12/95 mark on your '97 model year truck.

If you've noticed, there are some 2004's being sold as we speak, even though the model year usually doesn't go on sale until September. It's a marketing deal. You introduce a major redesign and make people feel "cool" 'cause they have a '97 way before other car companies' '97's are being sold. If you were really cool you'd sell on January 2nd one year and go until December 31st of the following year (729 days).

Hope you caught all of that.

-Kerry

 

Kerry,

That is basically what I had said. That is exactly what I was thinking. Just had very little sleep last night when I was posting that reply. Wasn't thinking too clearly. Thanks for the corrections.

D Beames

 

Good info guys. Thanks

 

Yeah, thanx a lot!

 

12/95 is pretty early. Ford's Job 1 date for the 1997 model year F-150 was Novermber 1, 1995.

 

Remember that 1997 involved quite a bit of retooling for Ford. The F150/Bronco pairing was dropped (sigh) and the F150/Expedition pairing was introduced, which required body and chassis changes. The "modular" engines were introduced. They even changed the bolt circle diameter of the wheels. Ford started on this way before November, 1995.