Ford Manufacture Dates

The chart below allows you to ascertain the manufacture date of your Ford car and engine using the VIN number and engine number. Although an original engine will have the same manufacture date as the car, many cars have had engine swaps, so it is worth checking both. The manufacture date of the car is defined by the last two letters in the VIN number.
e.g. An early chassis number such as BBATRD13749 will have a manufacture code of RD which translates to March 1975 using the table below. The original engine number for this car would be RD13749 (the last part of the chassis number is always the original engine number), so the first two letters of the engine number defines the engine’s manufacture date. A later chassis number would have a format such as WFOAXXGABAFM12345 (with original engine number of FM12345). The manufacture code is FM which translates to March 1985.