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V.I.N Decoder for MK1-2 Escorts
If you are buying a used (or pre-owned as some people prefer to say) RS and the club has no
record of the vehicle, even more caution than usual will be required as there are many ‘ringers’
about.
One of the first steps, if you are contemplating buying an RS, should be to check the identification
plates and don’t forget to check the log sheet as well to see if there are any discrepancies. You
must also somehow assure yourself that the car has not been stolen. If you buy a stolen car, even
In good faith, you may lose both your money and your car; and if you think I am pessimistic, I
can tell you I am aware of a couple of recent cases when this happened. Then you can start
checking the condition of the car. As a trader wrote In his advertisement, ‘buying an RS is a
serious business’!
All RS cars will have two plates under the bonnet. This article will primarily deal with the main
Identification plate, the one bearing the most Information. Lets presume your car still has the
plate(s) fitted. I’am generally very suspicious of any car with a missing or Incorrectly placed
plates! The first use of the identification plate is to tell you what the car is not: I still receive
regular applications for membership from people who have MKII RS2000/Mexico with BBAT
chassis number. Well, I can tell without any more details what these cars are, but they are not an
RS and it would be’ GCAT’ for a MKII RS. However a correct chassis number does not
automatically prove a car is genuine: the plate could have been taken from a written-off RS or
even stolen and affixed onto a mainstream ford. So knowing the differences between an RS and
an
‘ordinary’ Escort is advisable!
One of the most difficult cars to assess for originality Is the RS 1800, factory built from June
1975 to September 1977. Many examples were hand-built after that date, often from shells
supplied by Ford and homologated as ‘Escort RS, untll 1980. According to Graham Rodson (Ford
Escort RS, Ospery Auto History) a few of the first RS1800s were assembled partly at Halewood
and partly at what remained of AVO. He also writes that in 1976 and 1977, RS1800’s were
Mexico’s being engined and rebadged at AVO before being delivered to the customers.
There are two types of main identification plate as fitted to RS vehicles; the older type was
replaced by the VLN.(vehicle Identification Number) as defined in the 1.979 Motor Vehicles
Regulations to meet European Community legal requirements. This V.IPN. was to be fitted to
every new passenger or duel purpose vehicle made on or after 1.10.79 and first used on or after
1.4.80. So some of the MKII RS cars will have the new V.LN. plates while all the older vehicles
will br fitted with the older type. The format of the plates may be quite different, but the
Information contained, is basically the same so that one explanation will be sufficient. You do not
really have to be able to decipher all the ‘boxes’ and some are not used (reserved for vans etc...),
so I will limit myself to the essentials:
1. VERSION : Information I have here Is this:
A= RS2000, G=MEXICO, L=RSI600
The box on the Identification plate is left blank on recent RS cars as
It Is now only used for Italian vehicles.
2. VEHICLE SERIAL NUMBER:
This Is what most of us call ‘chassis number’. For vehicles fitted with V.I.N please Ignore the
first six digits- all WFOBXX tells you is that the car Is product of Germany and SFABXX that It
Is from Britain. The remainder is the basic chassis number and can be explained as follows:
a) 1st digit: Product source. G=Germany. B=Brltain.
b) 2nd digit: Assembly plant
A = Dagenham (when following a B)
A = Cologne (when following a G)
B = Halewood (when following a B)
B = Genk (when following a G)
C = Langley (when following a B)
C = Saarlouis (when following a G)
F = Aveley (when followlng a B)
c) 3rd digit: Model A=Escort (and Orion)
B=Slerra(and Cortlna)
E=Capri
d) 4 digit: Body Type. –
All TwIn-Cam(January 1968 to April 1971) and RS1600 up to November 1970 were produced at
Halewood and not Aveley- these cars had the shell type as a chassis number: BB48 for some early
Twln-Cams (thls Is actually the 1300GT shell Identificatlon)and BB49 later on.
RS1600’s produced at Aveley and all MKI RS2000 and Mexico have the BFAT Identification
and the AVO plate. Like the Twin-Cam, the Capri RS3100 was only produced at Halewood.
According to the chassis number BBECND all RS3100s were produced at Halewood (Liverpool)
in the single month of November 1973. RS3100s have a second plate bearing the words ‘Spa
special’ Back to the 4th dlglt!-
B = 3 door hatchback (RS1600i/Turbo)
C = 2 door coupe (Capri)
E = Sierra Cosworth
T = 2 door saloon (Escort)
AT = 2 door escort (MKII Escort)
AF = 4 door saloon (MKII Escort)
AD = 3 door estate (MKII Escort)
AV = van (MKII Escort)
e) The next two digits are codes for the year and month of manufacture
They are best explained by a table as below:
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
1968=H B R A G C K D E L Y S T
1969=3 J U M P B R A G C K D E
1970=K L Y S T J U M P B R A G
1971=L C K D E L Y S T J U M P
1972=M B R A G C K D E L Y S T
1973=N J U M P B R A G C K D E
1974=P L Y S T J U M P B R A G
1975=R C K D E L Y S T J U M P
1976=S B R A G C K D E L Y S T
1977=T J U M P B R A G C K D E
1978=U L Y S T J U M P B R A G
1979=W C K D E L Y S T J U M P
1980=A B R A G C K D E L Y S T
Obviously, this follows a pattern; the months with four different lines starting with C,B,J,L, and
the years following the alphabet with a new start in 1980.
I wonder If the words spelt with-in this table (JUMP’, ‘BRAG’) were International, though!
1) The 7th to 12th digits from the serial number. From 1972, Ford restarted the numbering
sequence at the beginning of each month. This means a low number does not imply your car was
one of the first made that year but only that month. I am sure some of you will be disappointed to
read this!
I found conflicting Information for the next 4 codes, but I trust you
will find the following correct:
3. DRIVE B or 2 = right hand drive
L or 1 = left hand drive
4. ENGINE HY = 3000 V6
K5 = 1600 BDA
L7 = 1600 GT Crossflow
LE = 1800 BDA ????
LE = 1600 OHC
NE = 1993 In-line OHC
G = 1100
J = 1300
T = 950’s
Kent engine :
1 = Low compression
2 = High compression
3 = increased performance (GT version)
EG: a 1600 sport (x-flow engine) has L3 as it's engine code L being 1600 and 3 meaning a GT
version
5. TRANSMISSION: B or 5 = Manual, floor mounted, 4 speed
F = Five speed gearbox
6. AXLE RATIO
A or Z = 3.54:1 B = 3.75:1 C = 3.89:1
D = 4.125:1 E =4.44:1 F = 3.84:1
L = 3.09:1 N = 4.11:1 R = 3.22:1
S = 3.44:1 W = 3.77:1 X = 4.125:1
Note: W, X and Z are strengthened axles.
9). TRIM. Trim colour is the first digit:
A = Black
B = Tan79
C = Cloud 74
F = Blue 79, Navy 83
G = Blue 81
H = Red79
J = Chocolate 76
K = Light tan 73, Indian red 81
L = Saddle brown 74
M = Green7l
N = Orange 77, red
P = Chocolate 76, Bitter chocolate 80
Q = Steel grey 83
T = Saddle brown 76, Shark grey 80
U = Black
W = Light Tan 76
Y = Non standard
The second digit Is the trim material. I have only very sketchy information on that, but you may
find this useful: 1 or 3 means cloth, A or E vinyl and 5 is sports trim. V = Non standard again.
Many of these colours and trims do not apply to the RS cars, but they may be of use, especially as
many Club members own other Ford cars as well as RS’s versions
P.S. The DVLC supply their own chassis number for vehicles they cannot identify (such as after a
theft when plates are missing and all other identification marks have been removed). This number
Is SAB... or SABLVLIII
These vehicles are usually also given a ‘Q’ registration. As we have no way of checking whether
these cars are genuine.
Extra Information supplied by Mr Hoarder inc pictures
Check the panel that fits between the number plates for rust (the only body part on a mk2
Escort RS2000 that doesn't suffer is the plastic nosecone).
Take someone with you to look at any potential purchases, this should ideally be someone
who knows about Mk2's and isn't easily impressed - a bit of a Devils' advocate if you like. It's
very easy to buy the first car you look at only to be disappointed when you get "under the
skin" of it when you get it home. A balanced opinion from a Mate can stop you from leaping
before you look.
A nice history folder is a massive bonus, things like stamped up service books, original bill of
sale, service invoices, tax discs and old MOT certificates go a long way to showing the car
has been looked after throughout it's life. (These cars do still come up by the way ! )
Major mechanical components are readily available secondhand, the only thing I can think of
that is in really short supply would be the brake servo (especially new).
Body wise, as I've said, rust is a huge problem.
Areas to concentrate on :
Innner wings - around the top strut mountings, the anti-roll bar mounts and where they join
the bulkhead and wings
Outer wings - the rust where they touch any other panel - as mud collects here and holds
moisture agaist them
Bulkhead and heater plenum these rust at their seams and lower down the bulkhead behind
the cam cover
Scuttle panel - rusts just under the front screen rubber
A posts - rot out between the hinges- these are double skinned and moisture creeps in
between the skins and bubbles the post outwards
Doors - the frames rot, the skins rot, the only bit that doesn't is the glass !!
Rear quarter panels/wheel arches - these are double skinned at the inner arch join, and rot
badly all the way around the arch, especially where they join the sills and rear lower corners
Sills- both inner and outer, have a good prod around their whole length - it's nice if you can
get the seats and carpet out to have a good look inside too.
Bulkhead sides (or kickpanels) these rot at the join of the A post and the floor.
Spare wheel well/Petrol tank well - these fill up with water and rot out badly
Back panel - this rot around the joins to the boot floor, chassis rail ends and the double
skinned area that the boot weatherstrip fits on to - pull the weather strip off to have a look.
B pillars and C pillars rot at the joins to the rear quarter, the B pillars often split by the door
aperture, and the C pillars rot out at their bases because of a badly designed drain channel
Chassis rails - check the whole length from front to rear, but the worst areas are over the
back axle and where the front spring hangers join on
Front panel - this can rot around the headlamp mounts - and the join to the slam panel
Slam panel - this rots at the join to the inner wings
Lower front X-member (under the Radiator) - rots at it's join with the inner wings.
Bootlid - this rots at the double skinned area where the skin is folded over the frame -
especially at the bottom edge.
Floors - these rot at their extremities and where the seats mount
I know this seems like a lot, basically if one car is suffering from all of the above - it's a
scrapper
Identifying the car as genuine is important, there are some ringers out there !
The RS body shell has a couple of differences.
Chassis number GCAT is important as this shows it was built in the correct plant (Saarlouis)
and is a 2 door Escort (unless it's an early RS1800, and there aren't many of them around,
they have BBAT at the start showing a Halewood car)
Inner wings have top plates, strengthening flitches and extra pieces at the base of the strut
turrets
The floor has a guide for the speedo cable (by the exhaust) and anti-tramp bar mounts, a
large centre exhaust hanger and the rear exhaust mount is in a different position to a
standard car
There is no rear anti-roll bar but a pair of Radius arms (which should be u shaped and not
tubular)
If it is a Custom or pre 78 model it should have a glove pocket with clock in the dashboard
Only base model RS2000's were fitted with non tinted glass
The front anti roll bar mounts have lowering plates welded on the bottom, and the mounting
holes are moved from standard to change the castor of the car
Front shocks have bolted on steering arms as opposed to the integral ones on a standard car
up to February 77 the top mount holes were 105 mm diameter, after 2/77 they were the
smaller 85mm size
Early cars had black headlinings, later models (when the Mexico was discontinued) has Putty
coloured ones this was at the point that the instruments changed from white to orange
needles.
If you are buying a used (or pre-owned as some people prefer to say) RS and the club has no
record of the vehicle, even more caution than usual will be required as there are many ‘ringers’
about.
One of the first steps, if you are contemplating buying an RS, should be to check the identification
plates and don’t forget to check the log sheet as well to see if there are any discrepancies. You
must also somehow assure yourself that the car has not been stolen. If you buy a stolen car, even
In good faith, you may lose both your money and your car; and if you think I am pessimistic, I
can tell you I am aware of a couple of recent cases when this happened. Then you can start
checking the condition of the car. As a trader wrote In his advertisement, ‘buying an RS is a
serious business’!
All RS cars will have two plates under the bonnet. This article will primarily deal with the main
Identification plate, the one bearing the most Information. Lets presume your car still has the
plate(s) fitted. I’am generally very suspicious of any car with a missing or Incorrectly placed
plates! The first use of the identification plate is to tell you what the car is not: I still receive
regular applications for membership from people who have MKII RS2000/Mexico with BBAT
chassis number. Well, I can tell without any more details what these cars are, but they are not an
RS and it would be’ GCAT’ for a MKII RS. However a correct chassis number does not
automatically prove a car is genuine: the plate could have been taken from a written-off RS or
even stolen and affixed onto a mainstream ford. So knowing the differences between an RS and
an
‘ordinary’ Escort is advisable!
One of the most difficult cars to assess for originality Is the RS 1800, factory built from June
1975 to September 1977. Many examples were hand-built after that date, often from shells
supplied by Ford and homologated as ‘Escort RS, untll 1980. According to Graham Rodson (Ford
Escort RS, Ospery Auto History) a few of the first RS1800s were assembled partly at Halewood
and partly at what remained of AVO. He also writes that in 1976 and 1977, RS1800’s were
Mexico’s being engined and rebadged at AVO before being delivered to the customers.
There are two types of main identification plate as fitted to RS vehicles; the older type was
replaced by the VLN.(vehicle Identification Number) as defined in the 1.979 Motor Vehicles
Regulations to meet European Community legal requirements. This V.IPN. was to be fitted to
every new passenger or duel purpose vehicle made on or after 1.10.79 and first used on or after
1.4.80. So some of the MKII RS cars will have the new V.LN. plates while all the older vehicles
will br fitted with the older type. The format of the plates may be quite different, but the
Information contained, is basically the same so that one explanation will be sufficient. You do not
really have to be able to decipher all the ‘boxes’ and some are not used (reserved for vans etc...),
so I will limit myself to the essentials:
1. VERSION : Information I have here Is this:
A= RS2000, G=MEXICO, L=RSI600
The box on the Identification plate is left blank on recent RS cars as
It Is now only used for Italian vehicles.
2. VEHICLE SERIAL NUMBER:
This Is what most of us call ‘chassis number’. For vehicles fitted with V.I.N please Ignore the
first six digits- all WFOBXX tells you is that the car Is product of Germany and SFABXX that It
Is from Britain. The remainder is the basic chassis number and can be explained as follows:
a) 1st digit: Product source. G=Germany. B=Brltain.
b) 2nd digit: Assembly plant
A = Dagenham (when following a B)
A = Cologne (when following a G)
B = Halewood (when following a B)
B = Genk (when following a G)
C = Langley (when following a B)
C = Saarlouis (when following a G)
F = Aveley (when followlng a B)
c) 3rd digit: Model A=Escort (and Orion)
B=Slerra(and Cortlna)
E=Capri
d) 4 digit: Body Type. –
All TwIn-Cam(January 1968 to April 1971) and RS1600 up to November 1970 were produced at
Halewood and not Aveley- these cars had the shell type as a chassis number: BB48 for some early
Twln-Cams (thls Is actually the 1300GT shell Identificatlon)and BB49 later on.
RS1600’s produced at Aveley and all MKI RS2000 and Mexico have the BFAT Identification
and the AVO plate. Like the Twin-Cam, the Capri RS3100 was only produced at Halewood.
According to the chassis number BBECND all RS3100s were produced at Halewood (Liverpool)
in the single month of November 1973. RS3100s have a second plate bearing the words ‘Spa
special’ Back to the 4th dlglt!-
B = 3 door hatchback (RS1600i/Turbo)
C = 2 door coupe (Capri)
E = Sierra Cosworth
T = 2 door saloon (Escort)
AT = 2 door escort (MKII Escort)
AF = 4 door saloon (MKII Escort)
AD = 3 door estate (MKII Escort)
AV = van (MKII Escort)
e) The next two digits are codes for the year and month of manufacture
They are best explained by a table as below:
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
1968=H B R A G C K D E L Y S T
1969=3 J U M P B R A G C K D E
1970=K L Y S T J U M P B R A G
1971=L C K D E L Y S T J U M P
1972=M B R A G C K D E L Y S T
1973=N J U M P B R A G C K D E
1974=P L Y S T J U M P B R A G
1975=R C K D E L Y S T J U M P
1976=S B R A G C K D E L Y S T
1977=T J U M P B R A G C K D E
1978=U L Y S T J U M P B R A G
1979=W C K D E L Y S T J U M P
1980=A B R A G C K D E L Y S T
Obviously, this follows a pattern; the months with four different lines starting with C,B,J,L, and
the years following the alphabet with a new start in 1980.
I wonder If the words spelt with-in this table (JUMP’, ‘BRAG’) were International, though!
1) The 7th to 12th digits from the serial number. From 1972, Ford restarted the numbering
sequence at the beginning of each month. This means a low number does not imply your car was
one of the first made that year but only that month. I am sure some of you will be disappointed to
read this!
I found conflicting Information for the next 4 codes, but I trust you
will find the following correct:
3. DRIVE B or 2 = right hand drive
L or 1 = left hand drive
4. ENGINE HY = 3000 V6
K5 = 1600 BDA
L7 = 1600 GT Crossflow
LE = 1800 BDA ????
LE = 1600 OHC
NE = 1993 In-line OHC
G = 1100
J = 1300
T = 950’s
Kent engine :
1 = Low compression
2 = High compression
3 = increased performance (GT version)
EG: a 1600 sport (x-flow engine) has L3 as it's engine code L being 1600 and 3 meaning a GT
version
5. TRANSMISSION: B or 5 = Manual, floor mounted, 4 speed
F = Five speed gearbox
6. AXLE RATIO
A or Z = 3.54:1 B = 3.75:1 C = 3.89:1
D = 4.125:1 E =4.44:1 F = 3.84:1
L = 3.09:1 N = 4.11:1 R = 3.22:1
S = 3.44:1 W = 3.77:1 X = 4.125:1
Note: W, X and Z are strengthened axles.
9). TRIM. Trim colour is the first digit:
A = Black
B = Tan79
C = Cloud 74
F = Blue 79, Navy 83
G = Blue 81
H = Red79
J = Chocolate 76
K = Light tan 73, Indian red 81
L = Saddle brown 74
M = Green7l
N = Orange 77, red
P = Chocolate 76, Bitter chocolate 80
Q = Steel grey 83
T = Saddle brown 76, Shark grey 80
U = Black
W = Light Tan 76
Y = Non standard
The second digit Is the trim material. I have only very sketchy information on that, but you may
find this useful: 1 or 3 means cloth, A or E vinyl and 5 is sports trim. V = Non standard again.
Many of these colours and trims do not apply to the RS cars, but they may be of use, especially as
many Club members own other Ford cars as well as RS’s versions
P.S. The DVLC supply their own chassis number for vehicles they cannot identify (such as after a
theft when plates are missing and all other identification marks have been removed). This number
Is SAB... or SABLVLIII
These vehicles are usually also given a ‘Q’ registration. As we have no way of checking whether
these cars are genuine.
Extra Information supplied by Mr Hoarder inc pictures
Check the panel that fits between the number plates for rust (the only body part on a mk2
Escort RS2000 that doesn't suffer is the plastic nosecone).
Take someone with you to look at any potential purchases, this should ideally be someone
who knows about Mk2's and isn't easily impressed - a bit of a Devils' advocate if you like. It's
very easy to buy the first car you look at only to be disappointed when you get "under the
skin" of it when you get it home. A balanced opinion from a Mate can stop you from leaping
before you look.
A nice history folder is a massive bonus, things like stamped up service books, original bill of
sale, service invoices, tax discs and old MOT certificates go a long way to showing the car
has been looked after throughout it's life. (These cars do still come up by the way ! )
Major mechanical components are readily available secondhand, the only thing I can think of
that is in really short supply would be the brake servo (especially new).
Body wise, as I've said, rust is a huge problem.
Areas to concentrate on :
Innner wings - around the top strut mountings, the anti-roll bar mounts and where they join
the bulkhead and wings
Outer wings - the rust where they touch any other panel - as mud collects here and holds
moisture agaist them
Bulkhead and heater plenum these rust at their seams and lower down the bulkhead behind
the cam cover
Scuttle panel - rusts just under the front screen rubber
A posts - rot out between the hinges- these are double skinned and moisture creeps in
between the skins and bubbles the post outwards
Doors - the frames rot, the skins rot, the only bit that doesn't is the glass !!
Rear quarter panels/wheel arches - these are double skinned at the inner arch join, and rot
badly all the way around the arch, especially where they join the sills and rear lower corners
Sills- both inner and outer, have a good prod around their whole length - it's nice if you can
get the seats and carpet out to have a good look inside too.
Bulkhead sides (or kickpanels) these rot at the join of the A post and the floor.
Spare wheel well/Petrol tank well - these fill up with water and rot out badly
Back panel - this rot around the joins to the boot floor, chassis rail ends and the double
skinned area that the boot weatherstrip fits on to - pull the weather strip off to have a look.
B pillars and C pillars rot at the joins to the rear quarter, the B pillars often split by the door
aperture, and the C pillars rot out at their bases because of a badly designed drain channel
Chassis rails - check the whole length from front to rear, but the worst areas are over the
back axle and where the front spring hangers join on
Front panel - this can rot around the headlamp mounts - and the join to the slam panel
Slam panel - this rots at the join to the inner wings
Lower front X-member (under the Radiator) - rots at it's join with the inner wings.
Bootlid - this rots at the double skinned area where the skin is folded over the frame -
especially at the bottom edge.
Floors - these rot at their extremities and where the seats mount
I know this seems like a lot, basically if one car is suffering from all of the above - it's a
scrapper
Identifying the car as genuine is important, there are some ringers out there !
The RS body shell has a couple of differences.
Chassis number GCAT is important as this shows it was built in the correct plant (Saarlouis)
and is a 2 door Escort (unless it's an early RS1800, and there aren't many of them around,
they have BBAT at the start showing a Halewood car)
Inner wings have top plates, strengthening flitches and extra pieces at the base of the strut
turrets
The floor has a guide for the speedo cable (by the exhaust) and anti-tramp bar mounts, a
large centre exhaust hanger and the rear exhaust mount is in a different position to a
standard car
There is no rear anti-roll bar but a pair of Radius arms (which should be u shaped and not
tubular)
If it is a Custom or pre 78 model it should have a glove pocket with clock in the dashboard
Only base model RS2000's were fitted with non tinted glass
The front anti roll bar mounts have lowering plates welded on the bottom, and the mounting
holes are moved from standard to change the castor of the car
Front shocks have bolted on steering arms as opposed to the integral ones on a standard car
up to February 77 the top mount holes were 105 mm diameter, after 2/77 they were the
smaller 85mm size
Early cars had black headlinings, later models (when the Mexico was discontinued) has Putty
coloured ones this was at the point that the instruments changed from white to orange
needles.
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