Mitsu-Mopar VIN decoding

Beginning with their introduction in 1971 through 1980, the Mitsubishi imports used a 13-character Chrysler VIN format.   Some of the VIN positions, such as engine code and year, were very consistent in their definition.  Others, such as transmission and trim codes, changed from year to year, even model to model.  Because of this it would be impractical to build a single chart to cover all years.  Instead, I will start by covering several typical years, maybe eventually having a chart for every year.  If allowed, I may eventually present scanned images of the actual published charts.

Here is a 1977 VIN decoding template:

Position	Meaning	Values
1	Car line	6=Dodge Colt
		7=Plymouth Arrow
2	Price class	L=Low
		M=Medium
		H=High
		P=Premium
		S=Special
3-4	Body type	21= 2 door coupe
		23= 2 door hardtop
		24= 2 door hatchback
		41= 4 door sedan
		45= station wagon
5	Engine	K=1597cc / 97.5cid
		U=1995cc / 121.7cid
6	Model Year	7=1977
7	Transmission	1=Coupe manual
		2=Sedan manual
		3=Coupe automatic
		4=Sedan automatic
		5=Hardtop,S/W 4-speed manual
		7=Hardtop,S/W 5-speed manual
		7=Arrow 4-speed manual
		8=Arrow 5-speed manual
		9=Hardtop,S/W automatic
		9=Arrow automatic
8	Trim Code	numerous
9-13	Sequence Number	00011-99999

Beginning in 1981, all vehicles sold in the U.S. used a standardized 17-digit VIN.
Here is a VIN decode chart for the 1983 Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Sapporo.

Position	Meaning	Values
1	Country of manufacture	J=Japan
2	Sales Channel	B=Dodge
		P=Plymouth
3	Vehicle type	3=Passenger
4	Restraint system	B=Manual seat belt
5	Vehicle line	D=Challenger/Sapporo
6	Trim code	4=High
7	Body style	3=2-door hardtop
8	Engine	7=2.6 liter
9	Check digit	0-9 or X
10	Model year	D=1983
11	Assembly plant	Y=OYE Plant
12	Transmission	4=Federal 5-speed
		5=California 5-speed
		6=Canada 5-speed
		7=Federal automatic
		8=California automatic
		9=Canada automatic
13-17	Sequence number	00101-99999

List of other data tables

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