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NOTE: The information in this document is correct to the best of the author's knowledge. However, due to a change in employers the author will not be able to update/correct this document in the future. The author accepts no responsibility for any damage, injury, or other "loss" you encounter while working on your car.
[This door-tag information in this document was written by Andre Molyneux, with additional input from James Delahanty, Scott Griffith, and Troy Wecker. The axle ratio/RPM chart was lifted entirely from Scott Griffith.]
Converted to HTML by William Keller (wdklists@jps.net).
This installment of the FAQ covers the following subjects:
The vehicle door tag can tell you quite a bit about the color and options that your car left the factory with. One of these bits of information answers "What axle ratio does my car have?" which is very near the top of the list of frequently asked questions.
This information was distilled from various years of shop manuals and specification books. The original version of this document was based on a 1992 manual, so some bits may apply to '92 Mustangs only. Some information (such as trim codes and paint) change very often, while others probably haven't changed since '79. As a result, the info listed below is not guaranteed to apply to your vehicle, although most of it is probably accurate for the years listed. Buying the factory manuals for your year is the only way to be certain of having the correct information for your car (and even then there may be a few typos).
A handy source for all sorts of info on V8 powered 1979-1993 Mustangs is the 1979-93 V8 Mustang Specification Guide, available from:
DriveLinesThe Vehicle Certification Label is located on the driver's door lock panel (the rear edge of the door) on Mustangs. The label will look something like this (on late '80's-early '90's cars, anyway):
+--------------------------------------------------------------+ | MFD. BY FORD MOTOR CO. IN U.S.A. | | DATE: 06/91 GVWR: 4660LB/2113KG | | FRONT GAWR: 2599LB 1178KG | | REAR GAWR: 2092LB 948KG | | THIS VEHICLE CONFORMS TO ALL APPLICABLE FEDERAL MOTOR | | VEHICLE SAFETY, BUMPER, AND THEFT PREVENTION STANDARDS IN | | EFFECT ON THE DATE OF MANUFACTURE SHOWN ABOVE. +-----+ | VIN:1FABP50U1KG250710 |F0236| | TYPE:PASSENGER |R0163| | +------------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | B A R C O D E | | | | | | | +------------------------------------------------------+ | | 11 XXXXXX XXXXXX B1 XXXX | | EXTERIOR PAINT COLORS | DSO | | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | BODY | VR | MLDG | INT TRIM | TAPE | R | S | AX | TR | | 54D XX XXX YF XX H X M TJJJJ | | FOEB-58204A10-BB | +--------------------------------------------------------------+
Most of the information of interest is at the bottom of the tag. I'll break down some of them in detail. First, a bit of info about the VIN:
1981-1993 Vehicles have a 17 character VIN. Not sure about 1994 vehicles.
1 F A B P 4 2 E 2 K Z 1 0 0 0 0 1
| | | | | | | | | | | |
+-+-+ | | +++ | | | | +----+----+
World Mfg -----+ | | | | | | | +--Production Sequence Number
Identifier | | | | | | +---Assembly Plant
Restraint System-+ | | | | +-------Model Year
Type | | | +---Check Digit
Constant "P"----+ | +------Engine Type
Line, Series, Body Type-+
1979-1980 Vehicles have a 11 character VIN
X X X X X X X X X X X
| | | | | | |
Model year---+ | +++ | +----+----+
| | | |
Assembly Plant | | +- Order Number
| |
Body Type----+ +---Engine Type
The items of most interest here are probably the "Body Type" and "Engine Type" fields. For Mustangs, the body type codes are:
# Year(s) Body Type Body Code
-- --------- --------------------------- ---------
02 1979-1980 Base 2-Dr sedan 60F
03 1979 Base 2-Dr sedan hatchback 69F
03 1980 Ghia/Cobra 2-Dr hatchback 61R
04 1979-1980 Ghia 2-Dr sedan 60H
05 1979 Ghia/Cobra 2-Dr hatchback 69R
05 1980 Base 2-Dr sedan hatchback 61H
10 1981 Base 2-Dr sedan 66B
10 1982 L/GL 2-Dr sedan 66B
12 1981 Ghia 2-Dr sedan 66H
12 1982 GLX 2-Dr sedan 66H
13 1981 Base 2-Dr sedan hatchback 61H
13 1982 GL 2-Dr sedan hatchback 61H
15 1981 Ghia/Cobra 2-Dr hatchback 61R
16 1982 GLX/GT 2-Dr hatchback 61B
26 1983 L/GL/GLX 2-Dr sedan 66B
26 1984 L/LX 2-Dr sedan 66B
26 1985-1987 LX 2-Dr sedan 66B
27 1983 GLX/GT 2-Dr sedan convertible 66B
27 1984-1987 LX/GT 2-Dr sedan convertible 66B
28 1983 GL/GT/GLX 2-Dr sedan hatchback 61B
28 1984 L/LX/GT 2-Dr sedan hatchback 61B
28 1985-1987 LX/GT 2-Dr sedan hatchback 61B
40 1988-1991 LX 2-Dr sedan 66B
40 1992-1994 LX 2-Dr sedan LX2
41 1988-1991 LX 2-Dr sedan hatchback 61B
41 1992-1993 LX 2-Dr sedan hatchback LX3
42 1988-1991 GT 2-Dr sedan hatchback 61B
42 1992-1993 GT 2-Dr sedan hatchback GT3
42 1994 GT 2-Dr sedan GT3
44 1988-1991 LX 2-Dr sedan convertible 66B
44 1992-1994 LX 2-Dr sedan convertible LXC
45 1988-1991 GT 2-dr sedan convertible 66B
45 1992-1994 GT 2-dr sedan convertible GTC
Engine types are as follows:
3 3.8L CFI/2-Bbl V6 [1986]
4 3.8L SEFI V6 [1984]
A 2.3L
D 4.2L 2-Bbl V8 [1980-1981]
D 5.0L SEFI SHP V8 (Cobra, Super High Performance) [1993-1994]
E 5.0L SEFI HO V8 [1988-1993]
F 5.0L 2-Bbl V8 [1979]
F 5.0L HO 2-Bbl V8 [1982]
F 5.0L HO CFI V8 [1984]
M 5.0L HO 4-Bbl V8 [1983-1985]
M 5.0L HO SEFI V8 [1986-1987]
M 2.3L OHC SEFI I-4 [1988-1993]
T 2.3L OHC EFI Turbo/Intercooled I-4 [1984-1986]
T 5.0L SEFI HO V8 [1994]
Now for the codes near the bottom of the tag. The number above the words "EXTERIOR PAINT COLORS" is the exterior paint code. My manual lists 61 paint codes so I won't list them here - I assume that only a small fraction of them were available on the Mustang.
Now, looking left-to-right across the line that starts with "BODY" and ends with "TR".
Info from 1992 manual
---------------------
A Black
R Dark Blue
W White
Info from 1994 manual
---------------------
MM Saddle
RR Black
WW White
Code Trim Fabric Scheme Seat Type
------ ------------------ ---------
B or 1 Vinyl B-Individual
C or 2 Leather A-Sport
D or 4 Cloth A-Sport
F or 6 Cloth B-Individual
There are also color codes under here, but there's too many to list.
5 Radio Premium AM/FM Stereo Disc
6 Radio AM/FM/MPX, Electronic Premium Cassette
7 Radio AM/FM/MPX, Cassette
8 Radio Premium AM/FM Clock Cassette
9 Radio AM/FM, Clock Cassette Electronic Tune
F Radio AM/FM Stereo-Electronic
H Radio AM/FM Stereo/Cassette, Electronic
Y Radio Delete
On my car, these codes don't match up. I've got the bargain basement AM/FM digital radio, but my door tag shows "7".
B Sliding
C/D Removable
I suspect that you won't find code "B" on any '79-'93 Mustangs.
Conventional Lock Rear Axle Ratio
------------ ---- ---------------
G H 2.26
B C 2.47
8 M 2.73
7 - 3.07
Y Z 3.08
4 D 3.42
F R 3.45
5 E 3.27
6 W 3.73
2 K 3.55
A - 3.63
J - 3.85
This is probably a generic rear-ratio chart for Ford's rear-wheel drive cars. Just because a code appears on this chart doesn't mean it was necessarily available in the Mustang.
2 5-Speed Manual Overdrive (T5) [1984-97,1989-93]
5 5-Speed Manual Overdrive (T5) [1983,1994]
6 4-Speed Manual Overdrive (SROD) [1979-1983]
C 3-Speed Automatic (C5) [1982]
L 4-Speed Automatic Overdrive [1993]
P 4-Speed Automatic Overdrive [1994]
W 3-Speed Automatic (C5) [1979-91]
W 5-Speed Manual Overdrive (T5) [1988]
Next to the transmission code are four digits that are the suspension spring codes. The code is of the format:
XXXX
Front ^^
LR
^^
Rear LR
The springs are described by part numbers and "Catch-Words". I don't have any way in which to match these up to spring rates, so I won't list the codes. You'll need to cross-reference the part number tagged to the springs themselves.
That should cover most of the interesting information. From some of the other fields you can learn things such as:
Buy the manual if you really, really want to know these bits of arcane trivia.
Again, remember that this info came out of a 1992 Mustang shop manual. Some of the info given is probably also correct for other years and other models, but you can't count on it.
[This information courtesy of Scott Griffith]
Since this question comes up all the time, I decided to hack up a quick spreadsheet that shows the relationships here. Across the top are the available 8.8" axle ratios, down the side are the ratios in the stock T-5 tranny for each gear. The "factor", as I call it, is a simple constant for each axle ratio and each gear that, when multiplied by the engine speed in RPM, yields the speed in MPH. As an example, 4th gear with 3.27s at 5000 rpm is 5000*(.02238)=111.90 MPH. This is a useful set of numbers for those of us with 85mph speedos who sometimes play at high speeds.
I also included the RPM number for highway cruising at 65 in 5th, just so that you could have an idea of how high the motor would be buzzing. One other thing- this table is based upon a tire diameter of 24.6 inches, which just happened to be the diameter of the Yokohama A008Rs that I used to run. These numbers will obviously vary based upon the diameter of your chosen tires.
Follow this link for a version of the following chart using tables.
tire dia. 24.60 rear axle ratio T-5 ratios 2.73 3.08 3.27 3.55 3.73 4.10 4.30 4.56 1st 3.35 0.00800 0.00709 0.00668 0.00615 0.00586 0.00533 0.00508 0.00479 2nd 1.93 0.01389 0.01231 0.01160 0.01068 0.01017 0.00925 0.00882 0.00832 3rd 1.29 0.02078 0.01842 0.01735 0.01598 0.01521 0.01384 0.01319 0.01244 4th 1.00 0.02681 0.02376 0.02238 0.02062 0.01962 0.01785 0.01702 0.01605 5th 0.68 0.03942 0.03494 0.03291 0.03032 0.02885 0.02625 0.02503 0.02360 mph@5000 rpm 1st 40.01 35.46 33.40 30.77 29.28 26.64 25.40 23.95 2nd 69.45 61.56 57.98 53.41 50.83 46.24 44.09 41.58 3rd 103.91 92.10 86.75 79.90 76.05 69.19 65.97 62.21 4th 134.04 118.81 111.90 103.08 98.10 89.25 85.10 80.25 5th 197.11 174.72 164.56 151.58 144.27 131.25 125.14 118.01 rpm@65mph, 5th 1648.79 1860.17 1974.92 2144.03 2252.74 2476.20 2596.99 2754.02
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