VIN number info

[syfir]

Does anyone know what information can be gotten out of the VIN#? I'm looking at a Festiva but the seller isn't sure of the year and I'm trying to figure out if its fuel injected as well as the year.

[htchbck]

fuel injected is an easy enough check... pop the hood and if the intake has a dinner-plate-sized-flying-saucer-looking item on top of the motor, its carb'd, if not, then it is EFI. Assuming the car is all stock, then you can narrow the year down to either 88-89 or 90-93 by looking at the grill. If it has a narrow bar across the middle with a small ford emblem its either 88 or 89 (and probably carb'd as well, but not necessarily) if not then it is probably a 90+ (assuming noone swapped the grills)...

Or you could just go here: http://www.dmv.org/vehicle-history-reports.php

It doesn't tell you a whole lot about the car, but it will tell you the year and if its carb'd or fuel injected

[syfir]

Thanks for the info. I haven't actually seen the car yet is why I'm asking about the VIN#. I went to the DMV site and it said the engine is 1.3L I4 2BBL. I'm pretty sure 2BBL means it's carb'd but what does it actually mean? Also, I have never worked on a car without EFI before. I've heard carbs have issues with gasoline containing ethanol. Any truth to this?

[Pu241]

I've heard carbs have issues with gasoline containing ethanol. Any truth to this?

They did, but that was before your time.
Before the festiva carb was made, that issue was taken care of by using materials, mostly seals and plastic bits, that were not affected by alcohol.
The festiva carbs should be fine with ethanol at 10%, but that might not be true of E85.

[Smedley]

I can't find our book right now, so I can't remember all the codes, but here are the basics.

All Festiva VINs start with KNJ.
The next letter will be a B or a P, this is decade. B=80s and P=90s.
The next three digits will be T and 05, 06 or 07. This is the body type.
The next digits will be a K or H and I can't remeber what that means.
The next will be a number and I can't remember that one either.
The next digit is the year code. J=88, K=89, L=90, M=91, N=92, P=93.
The next digit is always a 6, I think that's the engine code.
The last six digits is the serial number.

Also, if it hasn't been painted over, there is a grey sticker on the driver's side door jamb that will tell you the build date. Just remember that they start building cars before the start of the calendar year. A car built 10/89 is probably a 90 model, but you have to read the VIN to be positive.

Hope this helps.

[mattswabb]

here you go

http://web.archive.org/web/20011223114756/fordfestiva.com/AboutFordFestiva/vindecode.htm