Lincoln-Mercury 11-character warranty (vehicle identification) number (Mercury, Comet, Cougar, Lincoln), 1960–1969

Character by character

Where to find it: 1960 Mercury, and 1961 Mercury per its 1961 manual: patent plate riveted to the left front body pillar between the door hinges. 1960 Comet and 1963 onward: warranty plate on the rear (lock) face of the left front door; from 1963 the official title number is stamped separately (1963 Meteor and 1964 Comet: left front fender apron). Locations are as stated by the cited pages for their car lines.

Model year codes

Assembly plant codes

Body serial code codes

Engine codes

Where the sources disagree

• {"topic":"1963 Monterey body codes 53 and 54","claims":[{"claim":"The model table gives both 53 and 54 as \u00274-Door Hardtop\u0027.","source":{"id":"vin-ford-mercurystuff-1963-monterey","locator":"Model table, Monterey"}},{"claim":"The page\u0027s worked example decodes 53 as \u00272-Door Hardtop\u0027 (and its W as \u0027Pilot Plant\u0027, against the page\u0027s own plant table W = Wayne).","source":{"id":"vin-ford-mercurystuff-1963-monterey","locator":"Example 3W53Y 500001"}}],"resolution":"Neither 53 nor 54 is published for 1963; the example is not used."}
• {"topic":"1963 engine code U","claims":[{"claim":"U = 170 Six.","source":{"id":"vin-ford-mercurystuff-1963-meteor","locator":"Engine codes"}},{"claim":"U = 6 Cyl. 170 C.I.D., 1-V CARB. (Low Comp.), alongside 4 = the same engine low compression.","source":{"id":"vin-ford-mercurystuff-1963-comet","locator":"Engine codes"}}],"resolution":"The Meteor reading is published; the Comet row is treated as a transcription error (4 is the low-compression 170 on both pages)."}
• {"topic":"1965 engine codes C and 3","claims":[{"claim":"C = 289 4V premium and 3 = 289 4V low compression.","source":{"id":"vin-ford-mercurystuff-1965-ford-mercury","locator":"Engine Codes table"}},{"claim":"C = 289 2V and 3 = 289 2V low compression (A = 289 4V).","source":{"id":"vin-ford-mercurystuff-1965-comet","locator":"Engine Codes table"}}],"resolution":"Not published for 1965."}
• {"topic":"1966 Monterey S-55 body codes","claims":[{"claim":"Bucket-seat 63G and 76G are listed under 47 and 45 with the other Monterey fastbacks and convertibles.","source":{"id":"vin-ford-1966-ford-mercury-shop-manual","locator":"Mercury body serial codes, Monterey"}},{"claim":"S-55 is given as 49 = 63G and 46 = 76G.","source":{"id":"vin-ford-mercurystuff-1966-mercury","locator":"Body codes, Monterey S-55"}}],"resolution":"The factory manual reading is published; 49 and 46 are not."}
• {"topic":"1965 Comet example plate","claims":[{"claim":"The example is printed 5H 12F 500001 but decoded with engine T (6-Cyl 200); F is not in the page\u0027s engine table.","source":{"id":"vin-ford-mercurystuff-1965-comet","locator":"Example warranty number"}}],"resolution":"Not used as a golden example."}
• {"topic":"1964 Comet example plate engine letter","claims":[{"claim":"The Fig. 1 plate 4H12F 500001 labels its engine position \u0027Engine 170 CID 6-Cylinder\u0027.","source":{"id":"vin-ford-1964-comet-falcon-shop-manual","locator":"Comet Identification, p. 3, Fig. 1"}},{"claim":"The engine code table and the worked example on p. 4 give F = 8-cylinder, 260 cubic inch (U = 170 six).","source":{"id":"vin-ford-1964-comet-falcon-shop-manual","locator":"Comet Identification, p. 4, Vehicle Warranty Number example and Engine Identification Codes"}}],"resolution":"The code table (and the manual\u0027s own decode of the same number) is followed: F = 260 V-8."}