Rear Wheel Drive Mopar Bodies, 1957 - 2005
MOPAR BODY TYPES (v. 11.24.98) compiled by and copyright Ed Hennessy
Some updates have been made by the Allpar staff. Any mistakes are probably ours. Now includes trucks. For front wheel drive body codes, see this page.
Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth Cars
A Body —1960-1976
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Dodge |
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Wheelbases:
- 106" 1963-66 Valiant; 1964-66 Barracuda; 1963-66 Dart wagons
- 106.5" 1960-62 Valiant; 1961-62 Lancer
- 108" 1967-73 Valiant; 1967-69 Barracuda; 1970-76 Duster; 1971-72 Demon; 1973-76 Dart Sport
- 111" 1971-76 Scamp; 1974-76 Valiant; 1963-76 Dart (ex. Wagons);
[Canadian Valiant (Valiant front clip, Dart body) is also on Dart 111" wheelbase]
B Body —1962-1979
Although this chassis debuted in 1962, Chrysler's practice of naming by letter did not begin until 1964-1965.
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Belvedere (1962-70) Fury (1962-64, '75-78) GTX (1967-71) Road Runner (1968-75) Satellite (1965-74) Savoy (1962-64) |
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220 (1963-64, Canada only) 330/440 (1963-64) Charger (1966-78) Coronet (1965-76) Dart (1962) Polara (1962-64) Magnum (1978-78) Monaco (1977-78) |
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Cordoba (1975-78) |
Wheelbases:
- 115" 1971-79 all 2 door models (incl. Charger, Magnum, 300)
- 116" 1962-70 Plymouths ex. Wagons; 1962-66 Plymouth wagons; 1962 Dart; 1962-64 Polara; 1963-4 Dodge 220/330/440
- 117" 1967-74 Plymouth wagons; 1971-74 Plymouth 4 doors; 1965-70 Dodges
- 117.5" 1975-78 Plymouth and Dodge 4 doors & wagons
- 118" 1971-74 Dodge 4 doors & wagons
[Webmaster addition: GTX, from (I think) 1967-1971 - thanks, Gary Diehl]
Regarding the 1979 line, Gil Cunningham of the Chrysler 300 Club wrote: “In an example of "Body Engineering" (vs "Nameplate Engineering"!) Cordoba/Magnum became "R" bodies for 1979 even though they were carry over vehicles for the most part. The first 1979 Engineering Model Chart that I have is dated December 16, 1976 and lists the "X" (Charger/Magnum) and the "S" (Cordoba) carlines as "R" Bodies. There NEVER were any "B" bodies designated for the 1979 model year.”
In short, technically the late Charger, Magnum, and Cordoba were R bodies, though they could unofficially qualify as B bodies.
C Body —1965-1978
The C body may date from 1961 or 1962 in the Chrysler models and the Dodge Custom 880, though Chrysler considers the C body to have begun in 1965 with the unit-body construction.
Allpar staff note: Many have made a good case for including the late Imperial as a C-body as well. For more on the controversy, click here.
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Imperial |
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**Royal Monaco was a high-line version of C body Monaco 1975-1976
Wheelbases:
- 119" 1965-68 Plymouths (ex. wagons)
- 120" 1969-73 Plymouths (ex. wagons); 1974 Fury I/II
- 121" 1965-66 Plymouth wagons; 1965-66 Dodges; 1965-66 Chrysler wagons
- 121.5" 1975-77 Plymouths (ex. wagons); 1974-77 Dodges (ex. wagons)
- 122" 1967-73 Plymouth wagons; 1974 Fury III/Gran Fury; 1967-73 Dodges; 1967-73 Chrysler wagons
- 124" 1974-77 Plymouth and Dodge wagons; 1965-78 Chrysler sedans; 1974-78 Chrysler wagons; 1974-75 Imperials
D Body —1957-1973 — considered by many to be Y body
[NOTE: although this chassis design began in 1957, Chrysler's practice of naming by letter did not begin until 1964-1965. Also, the chassis moved from frames to unit-body construction in 1967, so early and late D bodies are very different.]
The Imperial was actually its own division, like Dodge and Plymouth, for some time. In 1967, Imperial moved from body-and-frame to unit-body construction, sharing its chassis with Chrysler.
For more on the Y vs C vs D controversy, click here.
Imperial all models; wheelbases 129" (1957-1966), 127" (1967-73)
Gil Cunningham of the Chrysler 300 Club wrote: “The earliest of the body charts I have that specifically use the D body nomenclature is for 1964 MY. 1962 does not use it and I never located a 1963 chart so can't say about that. The D body designation is used up to C Series (1967) when the Imperial is listed as a C Body.”
E body —1970-1974
Plymouth Barracuda Dodge Challenger Wheelbase 108" 110"
F Body —1976-1980
[NOTE: F, M, and J bodies were virtually identical, despite different body type letters]
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Dodge |
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*Duster '79-80 was a Volare package, not a separate model
** Road Runner appeared to be more of an option package for the Volare but was considered to be a separat model
Wheelbases:
- 108.7" all 2 door models
- 112.7" all 4 door models
J Body —1980-1983
[NOTE: F, M, and J bodies were virtually identical, despite different body type letters]
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Chrysler | Imperial | All 1980-83 | ||
| Wheelbase | 112.7" all | ||||
Though Imperial carline was Y (John Capron noted that the 1981-83 was unofficially known as “why” body since the company didn't have the resources to build it properly), Gil Cunningham wrote, “This car was always a J body, the same as the Cordoba and Mirada. The CAR LINE was Y, same as years back. As far back as October 5, 1978 the Y carline is included in the J body area of the Model Chart. The name Imperial was added sometime in 1980.”
Kevin McCabe wrote: “The 1981-1983 Imperial coupes, while heavily based on the J body cars, were actually known within the Corporation as Y body vehicles. The sharing of parts between Cordoba and Imperial included but was not limited to doors and front fenders. ... Once the Imperial was assembled at the Windsor Assembly Plant each car was taken on a several mile road trip around the streets of Windsor which ended at the Imperial Quality Assurance Center, a Chrysler facility some 2-3 miles from Windsor Assembly. This building was in fact, the original home of Maxwell/Chalmers of Canada, the office area at the front of the plant served as the first headquarters of Chrysler Canada and the building itself predated the construction of Windsor Assembly by approximately 15 years.”
LX Body - 2004
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Look for the second-generation LX (code-named LY, and don’t laugh) to include the Charger and 300 as well as a Challenger. No word yet on whether 300 will become 300D but we doubt it. The LX-based SUV may have been placed on hold with the plummeting SUV sales.
M Body —1977-1989
[NOTE: F, M, and J bodies were virtually identical, despite different body type letters]
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Dodge |
Diplomat |
Chrysler |
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*Caravelle was a Canada-only model. Mike Taylor wrote that it lasted through 1989, and that there was no Gran Fury in Canada. 'When the FWD Caravelle came out the RWD one became "Caravelle Salon", up until then Salon was an options package on the Caravelle. New Yorker was 82, 83 was New Yorker Fifth Avenue, 84-89 was Fifth Avenue (listed is New Yorker 5th Ave 82-87, Fifth Ave 88-89).'
Click here for more information
Wheelbases:
- 108.7" 1980-81 2 door models
- 112.7" 1977-79 2 door models; 1977-89 4 door models
R Body —1979-1981
[NOTE: the R body was essentially a stretched B body chassis]
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Gran Fury* (1980-81) |
Dodge |
1979 Charger |
Chrysler |
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| Wheelbase | 118.5" all | ||||
*No Fury or Gran Fury for 1979 of any type
Regarding the 1979 line, Gil Cunningham of the Chrysler 300 Club wrote: “In an example of "Body Engineering" (vs "Nameplate Engineering"!) Cordoba/Magnum became "R" bodies for 1979 even though they were carry over vehicles for the most part. The first 1979 Engineering Model Chart that I have is dated December 16, 1976 and lists the "X" (Charger/Magnum) and the "S" (Cordoba) carlines as "R" Bodies. There NEVER were any "B" bodies designated for the 1979 model year.”
In short, technically the late Charger, Magnum, and Cordoba were R bodies, though they could unofficially qualify as B bodies.
Y Body (considered by many to be C and D body through 1973)
| Imperial | all models; body-and-frame, wheelbase 129" (1957-1966) |
| Imperial | all models; essentially Chrysler C-body, 127" (1967-73) |
| Imperial | essentially Chrysler J-body (Mirada/Cordoba), 112.7" (1981-83) |
The Imperial was actually its own division, like Dodge and Plymouth, for most of its life, though it shared a basic Chrysler chassis (with substantial trim and powertrain differences in many years). In 1967, Imperial moved from body-and-frame to unit-body construction, sharing its chassis with Chrysler’s C bodies.
For more on the Y vs C vs D controversy, click here.
Others
SR Original Dodge Viper ZB Viper, 2003-2008 ZH Crossfire, 2004-07 PR Plymouth Prowler
Jeeps
JK: 2007 Wrangler/Unlimited
KJ: 2002-?? Liberty / Dodge Nitro (KA)
KK: 2008 Liberty
MJ: 1985-1992 Commanche (113, 119.9” wheelbases)
SJ: 1966-1991 Cherokee, J10, J20, Wagoneer, Grand Wagoneer (thanks, Dan Grdovic)
TJ: 1997-2006 Wrangler
- 93.4" all but unlimited (2 and 4wd)
- 103.4" Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
WJ, WK, XK: 1999 and newer Jeep Grand Cherokee and Commander
- WJ: 1999-2004 Grand Cherokee - 105.9" wheelbase
- WK: 2005+ Grand Cherokee - 109.5" wheelbase
- XK: 2006+ Jeep Commander - 109.5" wheelbase (essentially the same vehicle as the Grand Cherokee with two inches greater length, a squarish body, and a revised interior with three rows of seats and an updated dashboard. Think “Xtended wK.” In the 1960s it would probably have kept the WK code.)
XJ: 1984-2001 Jeep Cherokee and Wagoneer (wheelbase: 101.4”)
YJ: 1987-1996 Jeep Wrangler / YJ (93.4” wheelbase)
The Jeep YJ name was used in Canada only —GM Canada was using "Wrangler"
ZJ: 1993-98 Jeep Grand Cherokee (105.9” wheelbase)
Plymouth and Dodge trucks
Note: some platform codes were created in 1989 but used retroactively to cover earlier models.
| Body | Years | Names (Dodge unless specified) | Wheelbases |
| AB | 1971-2002 | Tradesman (1971-79) |
109.3 127.2 |
| AD (RWD) AW (4x4) |
1972-93 | D100-350 W100-W350 Ram pickups Ramcharger (1974-90) Plymouth Trailduster (1974-78) |
Many |
| AF | 1993 | AD models in Mexico | |
| BE | 1994-2000 | Ram Extended Cab | 134.7 Club Cab |
| BR | 1994-2001 | Dakota “Baby Ram” 1500-3500 (standard cab) | |
| DN | 1998-2003 | Durango | 115.7 |
| DR | 2002-? | Ram 1500 (2002+), 2500-3500 (2003+) standard cabs | 118.7-134.7 |
| DE | 2002-? | Ram Extended (Club and Quab) cab | 134.7 CC 138.7 QC 154.7 QC/D |
| N/AN | 1987-2004 | Dakota | 112 (reg cab) 131 (ext cab) |
| ND | 2005-? | Dakota | |
| (A) | 1964-69 | A series vans never had a code! | |
| DC | 2007-08 | Ram Chassis Cab (medium-duty truck/Bullet) | |
| HG | 2007-? | Dodge Aspen (near-identical to DN) | |
| VA | 2002-? | Sprinter (Mercedes design) |
Did we miss something? Did we make any mistakes?
Let us know via the correction or addition link at the bottom of the page.
