does anyone know how to read the codes on the side of the door to determin where your cavalier or sunfire was made?
1997 RedR - ZedR
http://www.j-body.org/faq//13/
My car may run 18s, but I can do your taxes in 10 seconds flat.
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thanks for the fast response man.... havent checked my 97 z yet, but my 98 4door was built in mexico.... explains why the rear deforst went on me last year i guess....
1997 RedR - ZedR
Mine is a Mexican too. They seem to have built it pretty well, considering what they had to work with.
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my canadian sunfire was made in lordstown, ohio
It's also in the VIN number.
Am I wrong in thinking this, but if it was built in Mexico, the first digit on the VIN number will not be 1?
correct, 1 or 4 is american, 3 is mexican
so my '98 z convertible is american and my '03 rusty falling apart 4-door is mexican... interesting...
ive seem to have noticed that most of the ones i have come in contact with that have been z24's or gt's seem to start with a 1. all the others i have seen start with a 3, indicating mexican made. i have yet to see one with a 4, but i have only relly been looking at 3rd gens.
1997 RedR - ZedR
My 98 sunfire and my sisters 4 door sunfire were made in lordstown ohio canadian sunfires.
convertibles start with a 4. at least all ive seen do, including mine
maybe it is like vw did with its glx line, everything but to top of th eline vehicle was made in mexico, thats why a 90's jetta will play la cucaracha unless it is a glx vr6, then it plays some different tone, weird huh?
Civic Eater wrote:maybe it is like vw did with its glx line, everything but to top of th eline vehicle was made in mexico, thats why a 90's jetta will play la cucaracha unless it is a glx vr6, then it plays some different tone, weird huh?
I always wondered that about my ex's jetta
In Loving Memory of Phil Martin December 14 2005
Alexis: Dustin, you're ghey, lol. I am better. I have tits, and tits rule all.
Tabs:
I've got a '98 Cavalier convertible that also starts with a 4. I hadn't picked up on that when I first checked the vin. (I was curious to know where it was made.) The FAQ seems to indicate that all convertibles came out of the Genasys convertible plant.
I have seen some speculation in another thread that maybe completed coupes were shipped out to be turned into convertibles?
I wonder if the 4 code was some indication that the after the main assembly was completed that they were to be sent out to be made convertibles? Or, maybe the 4 was for some special sort of prep? Front strut tower bar or some other structural difference between coupes and convertibles? Or, maybe they got pulled from the assembly line at a certain point to be shipped off to become convertibles?
Any other guesses?
(Maybe there's a huge landfill out there somewhere with a bunch of clipped 3rd gen roofs and rear glass? HAHA!)
I have a problem with that FAQ. It is saying that my car's sequence number starts with 500001 but the last six of my VIN are 224787 and if you look at the number the cavalier starts with it is 000001. Any reason this might come into play? I found out my car was built in Mexico so I'm thinkin about when it will start falling apart. 2005.... 2 years old..... I give it another 4 years
I thought all the Verts were made in lansing, MI...or some...
I do remember some knda cav made here...
All 3 of mine are lordstown made.
THEREAL2005Z24 wrote:ive never seen a 3rd gen that starts with a 4, and we see a lot of J-bodies at work.
the first # in my '98 Sunfire 'vert's vin is a 4.
silver03 wrote:Tabs:
Imaybe they got pulled from the assembly line at a certain point to be shipped off to become convertibles?
Any other guesses?
throughout my many moons on this site i know i read somewhere that verts were made along side the coupes/sedans up to a point and then they were shipped off to be assembled somewhere else. this is probably what the 4 denotes. i doubt they made a full coupe and then hacked it up.... too many of the parts are completely different.
for truth, seek out the LENKO! he is a god among Jbody mortals. if anyone on this board will know, it will be him
Yes, the Lenko is all-knowing... Back when I started reading this board (in the day of the bottle fed Zed) Lenko, Cannon Fodder, and Event dispensed the knowledge... I know Lenko is still here, and I think I've seen Cannon Fodder around.
What's up, pros? Care to weigh in on this one?
cannon still roams these hallowed halls, dispensing much deserved discipline as well as his wonderful wisdom.
i see event every once in awhile too.
both my 01 base model and my dads 04 optioned cavy were made in the us.....
Machzel08 (Teh Jew) wrote:http://www.j-body.org/faq//13/
From that FAQ:
The 11th character of the VIN indicates the assembly plant the vehicle was manufactured in.
M = Lansing, Michigan
7 = Lordstown, Ohio
B = Lansing, Michigan (Genasys convertible plant)
S = Ramos Arizpe, Mexico
C = South Gate, California (82 only)
J = Janesville, Wisconsin
K = Leeds, Missouri
All 3rd gen convertibles started out as partial coupes in the Lansing, MI plant... then were shipped "across the street" (might be "down the block", I don't know for sure.. haven't been to the Lansing plant) to the Genasys plant where ASC (who did all the second gen convertibles, I'm told) finished them off. So, all third gen 'verts will start with 4G. I know my two did
As for all the Canadian cars being made in Mexico... sorry, that's just an old joke made by some US JBO members
