My VX was number....

[gonzo7231]

Has anyone ever been able to figure out individual production numbers? We know how many there are of each unit so in theory figuring out where each one falls shouldn't be impossible. Right?

Gonzo

[VX KAT]

I thought it was just sequential according to last couple of numbers in VIN...no?

p.s...lived in Plano for 12 yrs, loved it, loved TX! Lived by Park/Preston. Moved away 2 yrs ago, now in AZ mountains.

[Grif]

My impression since the VIN also includes such specific info as color and trim info that it could be surmised roughly which vehicle with X features for X model year rolled off the line first.

We know only approx 4000 were made, so the last 4 digits per given model year would be fairly representative of the order they moved off the line.

Using this logic (probably failed logic) I had always assumed that since mine is a 2000 model year Kaiser with Grey/Black interior, and my last 4 of the VIN is 0016, that mine was the 16th kaiser with Grey/Black to roll off the line in the year 2000.

Correct me if my assumptions are off base plz.

http://jalopnik.com/5165656/how-to-read-a-cars-vin

[deermagnet]

Yours is a 2001, #719. It was manufactured on 9/22/2000.



These are the option codes for your VX, '01 #719-


You can look up all the codes on my Isuzu Option Codes page, the largest Isuzu option codes page on the internets-
http://www.wtv-zone.com/markg/codes.html

Mark Griffin

[Grif]

Ahhh Cool! Thx Mark! Bookmarked!

[gonzo7231]

I guess I was thinking a little more specific. Knowing the exact count of each color and then extrapolating against the vin #'s sequence, my VX would be number ? of 105 for 2001 Dragon Greens. That should be possible. right?

[deermagnet]

Sure it's possible. I have a dealer parts catalog CD with every VIN of every LHD VX shipped to the US. I could actually go thru every possible VIN in sequential order and find out every year and color combo and what day they were made on. The problem is I would have to punch in way more than the ~4150 made 'cuz there's gaps in the numbers and I would never know for sure when I hit the end of the run for that year. Plus I could easily make mistakes and not know it. I would do it if I could see the entire list of VIN's before I start.

I've tried to extract the files from the CD and I have the VIN section isolated and even copied to a disk, but I can't view the iso files or find a program that will let me see iso files. There's actually at least two different types of iso files. It's way beyond my level of understanding. I probably should take the CD to some 'puter expert and see if they can view 'em and print me a list of every VIN. Then I would take my time and go thru 'em carefully and get an accurate list of years, colors, and production dates. Someday.

For now we have some unofficial production numbers by color that can't be verified as 100% accurate-
http://www.wtv-zone.com/markg/prod.html

I've done it with a few hundred from the beginning of the production years. You can see that not every possible VIN gets used and they don't even come off the line in sequential order, apparently. These are the only numbers we have to go on. There was no #1 and the first one made was #21, apparently.

These numbers are a bit strange looking, but they come from Isuzu.
The first column is the last four numbers of the first 100 valid '99 VX VINs.
The second column is the production date of that vehicle.
The third column is the exterior paint color. Option code- 718=Silver, 826=Black, 877=White.
The fourth column is the interior color. Option code- 106=Black/Red.

Apparently, the very first LHD VX was finished on Thursday, 1/21/99. It was the only one done on that day. The next day they completed three of 'em. They worked on Saturday and finished forty-three Vehicri. Boy, that seems strange 'cuz on Monday the 25th they only did fourteen, Tuesday nine, Wednesday five, Thursday eleven, Friday nineteen, and on Saturday the 30th they completed twelve.

I have no idea how vehicle production works over at the Fujisawa plant on a vehicle like this with much of the final assembly done by hand, but these are the only numbers we have to go on. So, it looks like the first LHD VX was #0021 produced on 1/21/99, a '99 ebony black piece of history.

Mark Griffin

[Grif]

Mark,

Would you mind if I took a look at your ISO's?

I am a "computer expert" by trade and have the tools to extract, view, search, export from pretty much any format as long as its not encrypted. (which I highly doubt).

Let me know what you think, shoot me an email or PM.

Best Regards,

Joshua Buker

[vt_maverick]

Mark,

Would you mind if I took a look at your ISO's?

I am a "computer expert" by trade and have the tools to extract, view, search, export from pretty much any format as long as its not encrypted. (which I highly doubt).

Let me know what you think, shoot me an email or PM.

Best Regards,

Joshua Buker

^+1 - I have a staff of guys I can put on this if required. They'll do anything for a competition with beer as the prize.

[gonzo7231]

I would love to see the files as well. When I'm not on 2 wheels or 4-wheelin I am at a desk all day coding.

Thanks,
Gonzo

[vt_maverick]

Btw, I've been considering buying one of those 30-day unlimited-VIN AutoCheck licenses to attempt to run all our VINs to see what's still out there. It's a huge undertaking to get done in 30 days, but if we split the list of available VINs maybe we could get it done? Would be interesting to know what's out there 10 years later.

[VX KAT]

Btw, I've been considering buying one of those 30-day unlimited-VIN AutoCheck licenses to attempt to run all our VINs to see what's still out there. It's a huge undertaking to get done in 30 days, but if we split the list of available VINs maybe we could get it done? Would be interesting to know what's out there 10 years later.

I've got time, I could do some....

[deermagnet]

Thanks for the offers, guys. I'll see what I can do locally here. It shouldn't be too hard to find someone to view a certain type of file, I hope.

Mark

[Grif]

Bummer, I was in the mood for another side project. Oh well. But by all means, keep us posted!

[deermagnet]

I just took another look and it's CDB files I have to open. I've searched and found that there are several types of CDB files created by different programs for different applications, so that further complicates the job of opening these CDB files.

Here's what I see first-


Then I open the VIN folder and see all the years-


When I open the 1999 folder I get this-


That VIN Master CDB file is what I need to open. I think and hope it'll give me all the 'Zu VINs for that year and I can narrow down the VX VINs.

Then I can carefully enter each VIN into my parts catalog and get the int/ext colors and born on date. Then come up with a new chart of production colors. Our current chart says 4153, but Isuzu says they sold 4166.

I could start over and do it by trial and error entering every possible VIN starting each year with 0001. It's very tedious and would take months, even with a list of all valid VINs. It would be easier with a solid list of valid VINs so I wouldn't have to enter so many invalid VINs.

Here's why the trial and error method is so hard. When I started on the 2001's, I found this huge gap in the VIN sequence.

I had to enter over one hundred invalid VINs to get to the next valid VIN. It's really working in the dark that way. I have to enter so many invalid VINs and how do I know for sure that I've reached the last VIN for that year? A list of all valid VINs would be a great help. That way I would have a good count and if it was something like 4078 VINs, I would know something was wrong and that the CD didn't have all the VINs and I wouldn't even have to try then. It would be a complete waste of time 'cuz I wouldn't be able to get a number of 4166, like Isuzu says.

Actually, now that I think about it, I'm never going to try that trail and error method again. What if I spent an enormous amount of time going thru all the VINs and I come up with 4022? What then? Do it over again? No way. I need a solid number that's right there with the 4166 figure before even starting.

I can't rush 'cuz even one mistake is too many. That's why I gave up after a few hundred the last time. I realized I was going too fast and caught myself making an error and wondered how many errors got by me. And I get frustrated real easy, so I would have to take my time doing only a few dozen each day.

I have every VIN of every LHD US VX and every color combo of every VX and each day every VX was made, right here on my PC. Right here at my fingertips. It's just not very easy to see all that info. I'm gonna get it all together somehow, someday, but it won't be easy, and it won't be soon. Maybe not even this year, but it is my goal to get it done, eventually.

Mark