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One day I was looking through my LMC Truck parts catalog and decided to decode my truck's VIN using the handy chart for the 1981-1986 trucks. Pretty much everything lines up exactly with what I have, except for the second to last letter, or the 7th digit from the end. What I have clearly printed in the door jamb, is a "K". I've checked at least a dozen times to ensure I'm not mistaking something else for it and it is 100% a "K". This digit signifies what assembly plant it was built at. The chart brakes it down like this:
N = Norfolk, VA
P = Twin Cities, MN
S = Pilot Plant (is this in Dearborn?)
U = Louisville, KY
Z = St. Louis, MO
There is no option for K. However, interestingly enough, a "K" option does appear for the 1987-1996 trucks. In that range of vehicles "K" stands for Kansas, City, MO. But my truck is an 86, or at least started life off that way. The 8th to last digit is a "G", which designates 1986, so how would it have been built at an assembly plant that did not exist yet? Is this catalog leaving something out?
The LMC catalogs have quite a few mistakes in them, so I wouldn't use them as gospel.
I just checked 1984 and 1985 Factory Service Manuals and they both show "K" for an assembly plant code letter. They differ a little, but they're both there.
My October 1985 built ('86) F150 is a K manufactured in Kansas City. The original windshield even had a Kansas City UAW sticker on it.
My driver’s side door has a sticker that says, “Assembled at Michigan Truck Plant”. But I’ve suspected that it’s not the original door for a while... I can finally sleep at night.
