nht80-3.44 | NHTSA

DATE: 08/29/80

FROM: FRANK BERNDT -- CHIEF COUNSEL, NHTSA; SIGNATURE BY STEPHEN P. WOOD

TO: Aston Martin Lagonda (1975) Limited

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT: I have in hand your letter of July 31, 1980, and regret to inform you that the vehicle identification number (VIN) scheme which you propose is apparently not in compliance with U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 115.

S4.5.2 and Table 1 of Standard No. 115 provide that the following information shall be decipherable from the five characters comprising the second section of the VIN for passenger cars: Line, Series, Body Type, Engine Type, Restraint System Type. A review of your Engineering Instructions and the accompanying drawings do not provide information concerning either the engine type or the restraint system type. Likewise, it is not clear whether your model designation is more appropriately characterized as line and/or series.

If the information omitted remains constant throughout a particular model, it will only be necessary for you to so state when deciphering your model code. For example, the following would be permissible:

Position 5 and 6: "V8" means V8 Volante model LHD, seat belt manual restraint system, V-8 engine with a displacement of 5.3 liters/326 cubic inches, a compression ratio of 8.3 and a net brake horsepower of .

We would also call to your attention that gross vehicle weight class is not required to be encoded in the VIN, although you are free to do so if you so choose.

Amongst the material furnished to the agency were drawings indicating the location of your confidential chassis identification number. As these are not required to be forwarded to the agency, I have taken the liberty of destroying them.

SINCERELY,

ENCLS.

ASTON MARTIN LAGONDA (1975) LIMITED

Frederic Schwartz Officer of the Chief Counsel, N.T.S.A.,

JULY 31, 1980

Dear Mr. Schwartz,

Vehicle Identification Numbering (17 characters)

Please find enclosed details upon which the Aston Martin Lagonda (1975) Ltd.

company has based its vehicle identification number (VIN) system, to be introduced with our 1981 model year cars.

The following documents have been enclosed to help clarify and explain the construction of the VIN system in detail:

(a) Construction drawings B97-16204/5/6 apply to Aston Martin V8 Saloon, Volante and Vantage (LHD) models respectively, B97-16224 applies to the Lagonda (LHD) (not currently certified in USA).

(b) Engineering Instruction number 205 gives a detailed explanation of the VIN construction. Engineering Instructions are sent to various departments within the Aston Martin organization and act as a reference and guide upon which work is carried out.

(c) Drawings A97-16226 and A97-16544 show the VIN plate designs and locations on the vehicle. The VIN is also stamped on the chassis member in characters with a minimum height of 7 mm (0.28 inches), Figures 1 and 2 in Engineering Instruction 205 show the location.

We have not sent details of our VIN system to anyone else, therefore we would appreciate your forwarding this letter and its contents to the relevant U.S. department, or advising accordingly.

KINDEST REGARDS,

R. Goldsmith Certification Engineer Safety and Emissions Department

ENGINEERING INSTRUCTION no. 205

Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) Systems

1. INTRODUCTION

AML will soon be operating two distinct Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) systems, one system applying to cars sold to U.S.A. and Canada and the other system applying to cars sold elsewhere in the world.

2. U.S.A. AND CANADA VIN SYSTEM (NHTSA)

1981 and subsequent model year cars sold to U.S.A. and Canada are required to have a 17 (seventeen) character vehicle identification number assigned. This means a series of arabic numbers and roman letters assigned to each motor vehicle for identification purposes and shall be sans sarif type face with a minimum height of 4 mm.

The VIN shall appear clearly and indelibly (i.e. stamped) on:

(a) the vehicle certification label (i.e. the brass plate, part number A97-13074, fixed to left hand 'B' post), and

(b) the VIN label part number A97-16226 and fixed in the same manner and position as the superceded label, part number 071-50-0160, on the dashboard.

2.1 VIN Content and Structure The VIN content and structure is as follows:

STRUCTURE

RACTER POSITION

2) Assigned by BSI

4) Gross vehicle weight class. 'C' = 4001 to 5000 lbf 'D' = 5001 to 6000 lbf

6) Model

7 Not used

8 Model variant

9 Check digit (see R.G.'s memo for detailed explanation)

10 Model Year. 'A' = 1980

11 Plant of manufacture. 'T' = Tickfords

12 Driving position. 'T' = (Illegible Words) A = 1 J = 1 T = 3 B = 2 K = 2 U = 4 C = 3 L = 3 V = 5 D = 4 M = 4 W = 6 E = 5 N = 5 X = 7 F = 6 P = 7 Y = 8 G = 7 R = 9 Z = 9 H = 8 S = 2

VIN: S C F C V 8 0 S A Assigned value: 2 3 6 3 5 8 0 2 0 1 Weight factor: 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 10 0 9 Product: 16 21 36 15 20 24 0 20 0 9

2.1.1 World Manufacturers Identifier (WMI) Section

The WMI section is located in character positions 1 to 3 inclusive and is assigned by B.S.I. The code for all our models is SCF.

2.1.2 Vehicle Description Section (VDS)

The VDS is located in character positions 4 to 8 and is assigned by the manufacturer within the constraints laid down in the USA Federal Register, volume 44, number 57.

2.1.3 Vehicle Indicator Section (VIS)

The VIS is located in character positions 10 to 17 inclusive and is also assigned by the manufacturer within the constraints in the Federal Register.

2.1.4 The Check Digit

The check digit shall be determined and included in the VIN for each car sold to North America and Canada. It is determined by carrying out a mathematical computation that utilises each of the VIN characters according to the following formula:

(a) Each alphabetic character is assigned a numeric value according to the following table:

(b) The assigned value for each character is then multiplied by a weight factor that is dependent on VIN character position, see worked example below.

(d) The check digit is the remainder of the division, when this is 10 the check digit is X; when zero the check digit remains zero.

Worked example

VS Saloon (LHD) with assumed chassis number 12456 VIN: T L 1 2 4 5 6 Assigned value: 3 3 1 2 4 5 6 Weight factor: 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Product: 24 21 6 10 16 15 12

Sum of products = 265, divide by 11 = 24 1/11

*Thus the check digit = 1 (to be inserted in ninth character of VIN)

2.1.4.1 Check Digit - Simplification

Because many of the VIN characters are common to each model the check digit

The scheme works thus:

(a) The Intermediate Check Digit remains constant for each model variant.

(b) Having allocated the sequential chassis number, multiply each digit by its weight factor and add these products to find the sum.

(c) Referring to Table 1(a), line-up the appropriate Sum and read across to the next column for the Sequential Number Check Digit (SCD).

(d) Next, refer to Table 1(b), and in the first column line-up the Sequential Number Check Digit, then line-up the Intermediate Check Digit; the point where the column and rows intercept is the corresponding VIN Check Digit.

(e) A worked example of the simplified Check Digit determination is shown below.

V8 SALOON APPROX. LHD

VIN Prefix Sequential Chassis No.

SCFCV80S ATL12678

4 3 2

Sum = 61 = 24+21+16

Sequential No. Check Digit = 6 [From Table 1(a)]

Intermediate Check Digit = 2

VIN Check Digit = 8 (Illegible Words)

(f) A summary of the Intermediate Check Digits for our model range is listed below: Model Driving Intermediate Instruction Drawing position Check Digit Number V8 Saloon Left HD 2 B97-16204 " Right HD 0 B97-16211 V8 Volante Left HD 5 B97-16205 " Right HD 3 B97-16212 V8 Vantage Left HD - B97-16206 " Right HD 8 B97-16213 Lagonda Left HD 4 B97-16224 " Right HD 2 B97-16225

* APPLICABLE (Illegible Words) VIZ (Illegible Words)

3. VIN SYSTEM - BEST OF THE WORLD (i.e. not applicable to USA or Canada)

The vehicle identification number (VIN) section on the brass plate, part numbers A97-15564/5 applicable to the Lagonda and V8 models respectively, will be completed by AML using the current sequential chassis numbering system. The plates will be embossed using stamps with a character of 4 mm minimum height. There will be no gaps or marks between the characters. The number will be finished with a dash, again without a gap, similar to the start of the number as shown in drawing A97-15564/5.

The chassis numbering (VIN) system is as follows:

(a) Lagonda : -LOOR13XXX-

(b) V8 Saloon : -V8SOR12XXX-

3.1 Lagonda VIN Structure Lagonda VIN Structure CHARACTER POSITION 1 -L Model 2 0 Not yet designated 3 0 Not yet designated, but J to be used for cars sold to Japan 4 R R = Right hand drive; L = Left hand drive 5 1) Chassis number model variant prefix 6 3) 7 X) 8 X) Sequential chassis number 9 X-

3.2 V8 VIN Structure V8 VIN STRUCTURE CHARACTER POSITION 1 -V) Model 2 8) 3 S,C or V Variant, i.e. S = Saloon; C = Convertible & V = Vantage 4 0 Not yet designated, but 'J' to be used for care sold to Japan 5 R or L R = Right hand drive; L = Left hand drive 6 I) Chassis number model variant prefix 7 2 or 5) 8 X) 9 X) Sequential chassis number 10 X-

3.3 Location of VIN Chassis Stamping

Bearing in mind the points outlined in 3. above, the VIN will also be stamped in the RHS of the chassis in the locations indicated in Figures 1 and 2 applicable to the Lagonda and V8 models respectively. The character heights shall be a minimum 7 mm high, and the number shall be legible when the car is completed and ready for sale, i.e. not covered by underseal.

APPROVED BY: S. COUGHLIN

PREPARED BY: A. GOLDSMITH

SAFETY & EMISSIONS: J. D. ORCHARD

Table 1

(a) Sequential No. Check Digit (SCD) Sum SCD Sum SCD Sum SCD 1 1 36 3 71 5 2 2 37 4 72 5 3 3 38 5 73 7 4 4 39 6 74 8 5 5 40 7 75 9 6 6 41 8 76 10 7 7 42 9 77 0 8 8 43 10 78 1 9 9 44 0 79 2 10 10 45 1 80 3 11 0 46 2 81 4 12 1 47 3 13 2 48 4 14 3 49 5 15 4 50 6 16 5 51 7 17 6 52 8 18 7 53 9 19 8 54 10 20 9 55 0 21 10 56 1 22 0 57 2 23 1 58 3 24 2 59 4 25 3 60 5 26 4 61 6 27 5 62 7 28 6 63 8 29 7 64 9 30 8 65 10 31 9 66 0 32 10 67 1 33 0 68 2 34 1 69 3 35 2 70 4

(b) VIN Check Digit

Intermediate Check Digit (Illegible Table)

Interpretation ID: nht80-3.44