Date of manufacture ......

[mitsisigma01]

Does anyone know how to work out the date of manufacture for my Mitsubishi Sigma ?

Registered in UK in January 96 , N reg .

But being Australian built who knows how long it was sitting around over there and over here ...

I tried contacting Mitsubishi UK Head office and they say there is a fee to pay for finding out .... how much would you take a guess at .....

[PiperCub]

A good place to start is look for date stamps on (usually) plastic items both in the engine and interior. They normally take the form of a clock face (1 to 12 = Jan thru Dec) with an arrow pointing to that parts manufacture month, with a number in the middle of the 'clock' which is the year. Try the ashtray first.

 

OK, It's hardly infallible as parts may have been replaced but look at a few different bits and you'll probably get the rough time of manufacture as one will keep recurring.

 

Also, come to think of it - try the seat belts, they often have a label with info including manufacture date.

[MorrisItalSLX]

From memory of my Dad's old ones, the VIN plate on the bulkhead had the date of manufacture stamped on it (MM/YY).

 

If not, check for dates on components such as seatbelts as suggested above.

[mitsisigma01]

I was about to pop out and do the plastic panels check but decided it's too hot for now .... have a guess at how much Mitsubishi UK wanted .... go on go on go on

[somewhatfoolish]

Is there a prize?

[chodweaver]

What? An 'administrative' charge? I smell a corporate "times are hard, you all need to tighten your belts or our shareholders will have to change their holiday plans from 'shopping for investments in Dubai' to 'shopping for investments in Africa'. We're all profit centres with KPIs now - here's your targets for this year. Yes, that includes you, Customer Services." ethos.

 

Tell 'em to eff off.

[mitsisigma01]

There might be a prize ...

Yes an admin charge . maybe Mitsubishi sold all their computers to pay for all the tv ads and programmes they seem to sponsor.

Everyone have a guess ....if you don't guess you won't win the possible star prize .

You gotta be in it to win it ....

[castros_bro]

I'd guess £75 as that's what Dacia (yo cheep cars) wanted for manufacture date cert for my old non-EU import Logan MCV.

[mitsisigma01]

Hi Castro , thanks for the guess ... you are closest so far seeing as you are the only guess !

Still in GU ?

[somewhatfoolish]

£150 of drinking vouchers.

[John F]

18,000 Turkish Lira?

[jakebullet]

Your first born and a fun sized twix?

[dougiefourspeed]

£12.33, a signed copy of 'Happy Nation' by Ace of Base and one N-registered Mitsubishi Sigma?

[PiperCub]

£125 (plus VAT).

[Guest Hooli]

£179+VAT

[mercrocker]

The higher of the figures mentioned so far, I would imagine.   Car makers are greedy whilst they have something left to sell.....British Motor Heritage told me the build date of my Cowley for a fiver.

[mitsisigma01]

We have a winner but it wasn't 18000 Turkish lira , Mitsubishi UK are greedy but not that much . They did want £168 , special order from Japland , special order , 2 weeks delivery for 1 rear shock absorber , which I ended up getting from 15 miles up the road , next day for £44 the pair , exact same part !

Now what shall I make the prize ....

[DodgeRover]

Does it have a compliance plate with the ADR data on it?

[mitsisigma01]

A what ? Never heard of one of them , whereabouts would I find it and what does it look like .

Thanks

[cort1977]

Australian Design Rules.  Looks like a VIN plate and will be under the bonnet somewhere.

[mitsisigma01]

By the magic of Google .... just popping out to look

[mitsisigma01]

Only plate under bonnet just shows axle weights and chassis number , located centre of bulkhead. Some say it could be on a door pillar .... going out again

[mitsisigma01]

No compliance plate found but I did put the Vin number through a American tinternet Vin website and it came back as a 1993 Montero with 241,000kms on it ...

[MorrisItalSLX]

Just had a brianwave, it may be stamped on the drivers side of the bulkhead.

Also, IIRC there are 2 plates on the bulkhead, that second one you don't have may be the ADR plate.

[mitsisigma01]

Mislx , while I remember the back street garage bloke didn't have any Xm stuff , but bx and 2cv bits apparently, sorry for the delay.

[mitsisigma01]

Yes it was stamped into bulkhead and then riveted plate with the same 17 digit number plus axle weights but nothing else

[MorrisItalSLX]

Ok then, that means that the ones that were built for export were tagged/vin plated diferently than the ones for the Aussie market.

 

Time to start checking components (seat belts etc.) for build dates.

[MorrisItalSLX]

Mislx , while I remember the back street garage bloke didn't have any Xm stuff , but bx and 2cv bits apparently, sorry for the delay.

 

No Worries, I didn't end up buying that Xm.

I contacted the Aussie owners club for advice and they said it would be "daft" for me to plunge into the LHM world via an Xm. The fella I spoke to on the phone then tried to flog me his BX, I was quite tempted but it was in Adelaide.

[mitsisigma01]

Whilst under Sigma trying to do the brake pipes I found that the flexys were date stamped 02/93 so they lasted well and probably would of lasted a lot longer if the steel brake pipes hadn't dissolved , probably original as well , a few other fitments all early 93 as well so a good chance it was born in 93 and possibly sat in Australia or at Mitsubishi UK somewhere until sold and registered in January 96