To understand what your VIN means, and how it is decoded, read on.
VINs have groupings according to years, for decoding purposes. The groupings are as follows:
Decoding the 1990-1993 VINs
To see the decoding information for this year range, please go to the VIN decoding page in the 1990-1993 Year by Year pages
Decoding the 1981-1983 VINs
VINs for these years are 17 digits long, the first 11 contain info about the car, and the last 6 are the sequential production number (starting at 1000001 and incrementing from there)
| Digit | Values | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Country of Manufacture (1=US, 2=Canada, 3=Mexico) |
| 2 | a,c | Make (a=Imperial) |
| 3 | 3 | Type of vehicle (3=passenger car) |
| 4 | b | Passenger safety system (b=manual safety belts) |
| 5 | y | Car Line (y=Imperial) |
| 6 | 6 | Series (6=special) |
| 7 | 2 | Body style (2=2 Door Specialty Hardtop) |
| 8 | j,k | Engine (J=318 cid V8, EFI (1981-1982), K=318 cid V8, 1 2bbl carb (1981-1982), L=318 cid V8, 1 2bbl carb (1982), N=318 cid V8, 1 2bbl carb HD (1982), N=318 cid V8, EFI 1983), P=318 cid V8, 1 2bbl carb (1983), S=318 cid V8, 1 2bbl carb HD (1983)) |
| 9 | 0-9,x | Check digit |
| 10 | b,c,d | Year of the Car (b=1981, c=1982, d=1983) |
| 11 | r | Assembly Plant (r=Windsor Ontario plant) |
| 12-17 | 100001 and up | Sequential build number for the car (100001 = 1st car produced for the year) |
Decoding the 1976-1978 VINs
Vins for this Period are 13 digits, long, the first 7 giving information about the car, and the last 6 giving the sequential build number starting at 100001 and going up
| Digit | Values | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | c | Make (c=Chrysler) |
| 2 | s | Series/price class (s=special) |
| 3 | 2,4 | Number of doors |
| 4 | 1,3 | Body Style (1=Sedan, 3=Hardtop) |
| 5 | t,k,n | Engine (t=440 cid V8, k=360 cid V8, n=400 cid V8) |
| 6 | 6-8 | Model year (last digit of the year) |
| 7 | c | Assembly Plant (a=Lynch Road, b=Hamtramck, c=Jefferson Ave, Detroit, d=Belvidere, f=Newark, g=St. Louis, r=Windsor) |
| 8-13 | 100001 and up | Sequential build number for the car staring at 100001 and going up (100001 is the first car produced for the year) |
Decoding the 1966-1975 VINs
Vins for this Period are 13 digits, long, the first 7 giving information about the car, and the last 6 giving the sequential build number starting at 100001 and going up
| Digit | Values | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | y | Make (y=Imperial) |
| 2 | l,m,h | Series (l=Crown (1969-1970), m=Crown(1966-1969), Lebaron (1970-1975), h=Lebaron (1966-1969) |
| 3 | 2,4 | Number of doors |
| 4 | 1,3,7 | Body Style (1=Sedan, 3=Hardtop, 7=Convertible) |
| 5 | j,k,t | Engine (440-cid), (j=1966, k=1967-1969, t=1970-75) |
| 6 | 0-9 | Model year (last digit of the year) |
| 7 | 3,c | Assembly Plant (3=Jefferson Ave, Detroit (1966-1967), c=Jefferson Ave, Detroit (1968-1975) |
| 8-13 | 100001 and up | Sequential build number for the car staring at 100001 and going up (100001 is the first car produced for the year) |
Decoding the 1960-1965 VINs
Vins for this Period are 10 digits, long, the first 4 giving information about the car, and the last 6 giving the sequential build number starting at 100001 and going up
| Digit | Values | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9,y | Make (9=Imperial (1960-1964), y=Imperial (1965) |
| 2 | 1,2,3,9 | Series (1=Custom, 2, Crown, 3=Lebaron, 9=Custom Crown (Ghia) |
| 3 | 0-5 | Model year (Last digit of the year) |
| 4 | 4,3 | Assembly Plant (4=Warren Ave, Dearborn Michigan, 3=Jefferson Ave, Detroit Michigan) |
| 5-10 | 100001 and up | Sequential build number for the car staring at 100001 and going up (100001 is the first car produced for the year) |
Decoding the 1959 VINs
Vins for this Period are 10 digits, long, the first 4 giving information about the car, and the last 6 giving the sequential build number starting at 100001 and going up
| Digit | Values | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | m | Model year (m=1959) |
| 2 | 6 | Imperial |
| 3 | 1,3,5,5 | Series (1=Custom, 3=Crown, 5=Lebaron, 5=Custom Crown (Ghia) |
| 4 | 7 | Assembly plant (7=Warren Avenue, Dearborn Michigan) |
| 5-10 | 100001 and up | Sequential build number for the car staring at 100001 and going up (100001 is the first car produced for the year) |
Decoding the 1958 VINs
| Digit | Values | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | LY1 | 1958 Imperial |
| 4-7/8 | 1001 and up | Sequential build number for the car starting at 1001 and going up |
*Note that the 1958 Custom Crowns have 1957 VINs
Decoding the 1955-1957 VINs
| Digit | Values | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | c | Make (c=Chrysler) |
| 2-3 | 55,56,57 | Year |
| 4-7/8 | 1001 and up | Sequential build number for the car starting at 1001 and going up |
*Note that the 1958 Custom Crowns have 1957 VINs
Decoding the 1931-1954 VINs
The 1931-1954 VINs are 7 digits (with a few exceptions as noted below). There are unique ranges by year/series/country of origin, so you can generally determine those items from the vin (but not always).
| Year | Model | Range | Country of origin (if other than US) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Crown Imperial V8 (C-66) | 7817001-7817100 | |
| 1954 | Custom Imperial V8 (C-64) | 7775005-7780767 | |
| 1953 | Crown Imperial V8 (C-53) | 7816001-7816162 | |
| 1953 | Custom Imperial V8 (C-58) | 7765001-7773869 | |
| 1952 | Crown Imperial V8 (C-53) | 7815101-7815306 | |
| 1952 | Custom Imperial V8 (C-54) | 7753601-7763596 | |
| 1951 | Crown Imperial V8 (C-53) | 7814501-7815000 | |
| 1951 | Imperial V8 (C-54) | 7736501-7753512 | |
| 1950 | Crown Imperial 8 (C-50) | 7813501-7813906 | |
| 1950 | Imperial 8 (C-49-2) | 7146001-7159341* | |
| 1949 | Crown Imperial 8 (C-47) | 7813001-7813088 | |
| 1949 | Imperial 8 (C-46-2) | 7094001-7118581** | |
| 1948 | Crown Imperial 8 (C-40) | 7810908-7811430 | |
| 1947 | Crown Imperial 8 (C-40) | 7810167-7810907 | |
| 1946 | Crown Imperial 8 (C-40) | 7810001-7810166 | |
| 1942 | Crown Imperial 8 (C-37) | 7808401-7808850 | |
| 1941 | Crown Imperial 8 (C-33) | 7807501-7806033 | |
| 1941 | Crown Imperial Special 8 (C-30N) | 6624101-6642645*** | |
| 1940 | Crown Imperial 8 (C-27) | 7806551-7807401 | |
| 1939 | Custom Imperial 8 (C-24) | 7806201-7806507 | |
| 1939 | Custom Imperial 8 (C-24) | C24218 and up | Britain |
| 1939 | Imperial 8 (C-23) | 6742201-6750055 | |
| 1939 | Imperial 8 (C-23) | C23744 and up | Britain |
| 1938 | Custom Imperial 8 (C-20) | 7805501-7806033 | |
| 1938 | Imperial 8 (C-19) | 6734001-6742105 | |
| 1937 | Airflow Custom Imperial 8 (CW*) | 7803831-7803842**** | |
| 1937 | Custom Imperial 8 (C-15) | 7804001-7805201 | |
| 1937 | Imperial 8 (C-14) | 6719601-6733606 | |
| 1937 | Imperial 8 (C-14) | 9756331-9756825 | Canada |
| 1936 | Airflow Custom Imperial 8 (CW*) | 7803831-7803842 | |
| 1936 | Airflow Custom Imperial 8 (C-11) | 7803851-7803925 | |
| 1936 | Airflow Imperial 8 (C-10) | 7014901-7019398 | |
| 1936 | Airflow Imperial 8 (C-10) | 9850436-9850444 | Canada |
| 1935 | Airflow Custom Imperial 8 (CW*) | 7803799-7803830 | |
| 1935 | Airflow Custom Imperial 8 (C-3) | 7528551-7528675 | |
| 1935 | Airflow Imperial 8 (C-2) | 7012301-7014872 | |
| 1935 | Airflow Imperial 8 (C-2) | 9850401-9850430 | Canada |
| 1934 | Airflow Custom Imperial 8 (CW) | 7803751-7803798 | |
| 1934 | Airflow Custom Imperial 8 (CX) | 7901401-7901528 | |
| 1934 | Airflow Imperial 8 (CV) | 7010101-7012291 | |
| 1934 | Airflow Imperial 8 (CV) | 9850311-9850398 | Canada |
| 1933 | Imperial Custom 8 (CL*) | 7803551-7803705 | |
| 1933 | Imperial 8 (CQ) | 7529001-7542779 | |
| 1933 | Imperial 8 (CQ) | 9820601-9820669 | Canada |
| 1932 | Imperial Custom 8 (CL) | 7803301-7803527 | |
| 1932 | Imperial 8 (CH) | 7900001-7901362 | |
| 1932 | Imperial 8 (CH) | 9890001-9890039 | Canada |
| 1932 | Imperial Custom 8 (CL) | 7980101-7980111 | Canada |
| 1931 | Imperial 8 (CG) | 7800001-7803243 | |
| 1931 | Imperial 8 (CG) | 7980001-7980024 | Canada |
* 9500 Sedans and 1150 Deluxe Sedans built on New Yorker Bodies, Serial numbers in the New Yorker span
** 50 New Yorker Sedans modified by Derham
*** 894 Town Sedans built, all with New Yorker serial numbers, they used Crown Imperial engines, nameplates and wheel covers
**** 3 were built from left over 36 models
Decoding the 1926-1930 VINs
The 1926-1930 VINs have 6 Digits (except as described in the table). They used a coding scheme containing numbers and letters, where the letters stood for numbers as follows:
| W | = | 0 |
| P | = | 1 |
| C | = | 2 |
| H | = | 3 |
| R | = | 4 |
| Y | = | 5 |
| S | = | 6 |
| L | = | 7 |
| E | = | 8 |
| D | = | 9 |
This scheme was called the FEDCO scheme. When a car was stolen one of the letters was replaced with its corresponding number.
| Year | Model | FEDCO | Numeric |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | Imperial E-80 | EW000P to EW655S | 800001-806556 |
| 1927 | Imperial E-80 | EW655L to EW911R | 806557-809114 |
| 1928 | Imperial L-80 | EP000P to EP315C | 810001-813152 |
| 1929 | Imperial L*-80 | EP320W to EP542P | 813200-815421 |
| 1930 | Imperial L*-80 | EP542C to EP608R | 815422-816084 |
For 1929 and 1930 Canadian built Imperial L-80 the serial numbers are 00101-01322 (though not all the numbers were used).
Thanks to Bill Watson for compiling all this information and making it available for the website!
This page was last updated 22 January 2010. Send us your feedback, and join the Imperial Mailing List online car club today!
