i was wondering how do i tell what year my car is. the driver side door has been changed so i cant go by that.

 

take a pic if the car, data plate on the fire wall, and give the VIN number. post them here

Gene

 

What year do you think it is?

What year does the registration say it is?

- Eric

 

Oh god. This should be good

 

Look for the Fisher body tag under the hood. I should be on the firewall or the cowl.
Look for the "style" number. The first two digits are the year. Example, 63-3247 is a 1963 car.

 

Based on your other posts, it seems you have a G-Body Cutlass.... Therefore, the 10th digit (actually a letter) in the VIN will translate to the year....... B=1981, C=1982, etc. The letter "I" is not used, therefore 1988=J

 

Really?....Really?.....wow.

 

i found the old regesteration today. its a 83.

 

Now, how do you tell what engine is in it?

Assuming of course that the engine is no longer the original?

 

Why would the driver's door help you to know the year in a newer car?

I know '60's F_rds had the VIN plate on the door, but later cars had it on the front edge of the dashboard.

- Eric

 

Eric, the newer model cars had the build month/year printed on the GAWR sticker that was glued to the door. Example below. My 1983 Regency Brougham had one of those. I remember the body shop had to transfer it when they replaced the door after the car had been t-boned. It's not the 'best' way to identify the model year - I'd still go by the VIN. But I don't think the new model cars had cowl tags once they started using the RPO stickers you find in the glove box or bottom of deck lids.

 

Octania. my car has the stock 307. if you look on the front of the block between the thirmastate mount and the water pump you will see numbers stamped in the block. a 307 is a 5.0L and a 350 is a 5.7L.