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Herd WebMaster
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Posted - 05/04/2007 :  07:34:54 AM  Show Profile  Visit Herd WebMaster's Homepage  Reply with Quote
GM Vin Information
By Scott Mueller

If any of you have the 1994 (GMP/94B-1) Service Manual for the Caprice/Impala/Roadmaster you should be aware that the VIN decoding information is incorrect! Both the Year and Carline/Series digits are decoded incorrectly. The '95 Service Manual is also incorrect with respect to the Carline/Series information.

Here are the true facts. The GM VIN system for '87 and up passenger cars (earlier VINs differed slightly) works as follows:
VIN Position Description
Position 1 Country of Origin:
1 = U.S.A.
2 = Canada
3 = Mexico
4 = U.S.A.
J = Japan
K = Korea
Position 2 Company built by:
G = General Motors/Suzuki
8 = Isuzu
Y = NUMMI
L = Daewoo
C = CAMI/GM of Canada
Position 3 Make or division:
1 = Chevrolet
2 = Pontiac
3 = Oldsmobile
4 = Buick
5 = Pontiac incomplete vehicle (PAS)
6 = Cadillac
7 = GM of Canada
8 = Saturn
A = Chevy Bus
B = Chevy incomplete vehicle
C = Chevy Truck
D = GMC incomplete vehicle (PAS)
E = Cadillac incomplete vehicle
H = Oldsmobile Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV)
J = GMC Bus
K = GMC Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV)
L = Buick incomplete vehicle
M = Pontiac Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV)
N = Chevy Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV)
T = GMC Truck
Y = Pontiac Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV)
Positions 4 & 5 Carline/Series: ('91+ B-car only)
1991:

BL = Caprice Sedan/Wagon
BN = Caprice Classic/Caprice Classic LTZ Sedan
BR = Roadmaster Estate Wagon
BP = Custom Cruiser Wagon
BB = Coachbuilder (Limo/Hearse) Wagon
1992:
BL = Caprice Sedan/Wagon
BN = Caprice Classic/Caprice LTZ Sedan
BN = Roadmaster Sedan
BT = Roadmaster Limited Sedan
BR = Roadmaster Estate Wagon
BP = Custom Cruiser Wagon
BB = Coachbuilder (Limo/Hearse) Wagon
1993:
BL = Caprice Classic Sedan/Wagon
BN = Caprice Classic LS/Caprice Classic LTZ Sedan
BN = Roadmaster Sedan
BT = Roadmaster Limited Sedan
BR = Roadmaster Estate Wagon
BB = Coachbuilder (Limo/Hearse) Wagon
1994:
BL = Caprice Classic Sedan/Wagon
BN = Caprice Classic LS/Impala SS Sedan
BN = Roadmaster Sedan
BT = Roadmaster Limited Sedan
BR = Roadmaster Estate Wagon
BB = Coachbuilder (Limo/Hearse) Wagon
1995-1996:
BL = Caprice Classic Sedan/Wagon, Impala SS Sedan
BN = Roadmaster Sedan
BT = Roadmaster Limited Sedan
BR = Roadmaster Estate Wagon
BB = Coachbuilder (Limo/Hearse) Wagon
Position 6 Body style:
1 = 2-door coupe/sedan
2 = 2-door hatchback/liftback
3 = 2-door convertible
4 = 2-door station wagon
5 = 4-door sedan
6 = 4-door hatchback/liftback
7 = 4-door liftback
8 = 4-door station wagon
Position 7 Restraint codes:
1 = Active (manual) belts
2 = Active (manual) belts w/driver & passenger air bags
3 = Active (manual) belts w/driver air bag
4 = Passive (automatic) belts
5 = Passive (automatic) belts w/driver air bag
6 = Passive (automatic) belts w/driver & passenger air bags
Position 8 Engine type: ('91+ B-car only)
P = LT1 5.7L - 260 HP @ 5000, 330 lb-ft @ 3200
W = L99 4.3L - 200 HP @ 5200, 245 lb-ft @ 2400
7 = L05 5.7L - 205 HP @ 4400, 300 lb-ft @ 2800 (9C1 Police)
7 = L05 5.7L - 180 HP @ 4200, 300 lb-ft @ 2800
E = L03 5.0L - 170 HP @ 4000, 255 lb-ft @ 2400
Position 9 Check digit:
This is a VIN checksum used to verify VIN legality.
Position 10 Model year:
A = 1980
B = 1981
C = 1982
D = 1983
E = 1984
F = 1985
G = 1986
H = 1987
J = 1988
K = 1989
L = 1990
M = 1991
N = 1992
P = 1993
R = 1994
S = 1995
T = 1996
Position 11 Plant:
A = Lakewood, GA
B = Lansing (Reatta), MI
B = Baltimore (Truck & Bus), MD
B = Pupyong, KOREA
C = Lansing, MI
D = Doraville, GA
E = Linden, NJ
E = Pontiac (Truck & Bus), MI
F = Fairfax II, KS
F = Flint (Truck & Bus), MI
G = Framingham, MA
H = Flint, MI
J = Janesville (Truck & Bus), WI
J = Janesville, WI
K = Leeds, MO
K = Kosai, JAPAN
L = Van Nuys ('82-'92 F-car), CA
M = Lansing, MI
N = Norwood ('82-'87 F-car), OH
R = Arlington (B-car), TX
S = St. Louis (Truck & Bus), MO
S = Ramos Arizpe, MEXICO
T = Tarrytown (Truck & Bus), NY
U = Hamtramck, MI
V = Pontiac (Truck & Bus), MI
W = Willow Run (B-car), MI
W = Iwata, JAPAN
X = Fairfax, KS
Y = Wilmington, DE
Z = Fremont, CA
Z = Spring Hill (Saturn), TN
Z = Fort Wayne (Truck & Bus), IN
0 = Pontiac (Truck & Bus), MI
1 = Wentzville, MO
1 = Oshowa 2, ONTARIO
2 = Moraine (Truck & Bus), OH
2 = Ste. Therese ('93-'96+ F-car), QUEBEC
3 = Detroit (Truck & Bus), MI
3 = Kawasaki, JAPAN
3 = St. Eustache, QUEBEC
4 = Orion, MI
4 = Scarborough, ONTARIO
5 = Bowling Green ('84-'96+ Corvette), KY
5 = London, ONTARIO
6 = Oklahoma City, OK
6 = Ingersoll, ONTARIO
7 = Lordstown, OH
7 = Lordstown (Truck & Bus), OH
7 = Fujisawa, JAPAN
8 = Shreveport (Truck & Bus), LA
9 = Detroit, MI
9 = Tillsonburg, ONTARIO
9 = Oshawa 1, ONTARIO
Positions 12-17 Sequence Number:
100001 = 1st vehicle
200001 = 100001st vehicle, etc.

I have included information on all of the codes I know that are used in ANY GM passenger car VIN, except the Engine (8th digit) and Carline/Series (4th and 5th digits). For these, I have included only that information which pertains to the '91 and up B-cars (Caprice/Roadmaster).

Note that the '94 B-car service manual you cite is incorrect in the year designation as well as the Carline/Series. Note that the year digit starts out with 1980 equal to "A", however I, O, or Q were skipped because they could be confused with other digits. Note that from '91 through '94 the "premium" Caprice model designation was always "BN", while the base car was always designated "BL". Thus for '95 and up it seems that Chevy has condensed all of the Caprice offerings (including the Impala SS) into the base Caprice designation "BL".

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