'96 Toyota Tacoma 4WD REG CAB Please help me figure out which model I have. Please!!

[AAroncohen2]

Hello everyone. I would like to thank anyone who might be able to help me in advance. I'm trying to lookup my tacoma's specific model name hopefully with the vin number. But I don't know how. I bought my beloved 1996 toyota tacoma 4 wheel drive regular cab pickup for a steal a couple of years ago. It had been in a minor deer accident and needed a front grille and water pump. With only 70,000 original miles it was a deal for $5k. It had been repainted and is devoid of any stickers or decals. Now I'm trying to buy Bilstein shocks for it and I don't know whether it's a trd or an sx or whatever. I need to know to order the proper shock and spring combo. It's pretty much the bare bones model, but what I found interesting was that it has factory auto hubs and the higher trd like ride height even though it is completely stock unlike most of the other base regular cab 4wd models I see most of which don't have my ride height, rims, chrome bumpers and auto hubs. Very confusing to me. What do I have??? Please help

[toto]

I don't have the VIN decode for 1996... I only have 2000.
It might be pretty close, though.


Digits 1-3 are the country of manufacture, the manufacturer, and the plant. I believe they're all "4TA". (U.S., Toyota, California)

The model designation is digits 4-8, as follows:

NL42N Regular Cab
VL52N Xtra Cab
NM92N PreRunner Regular Cab
VN52N Xtra Cab V6
SM92N PreRunner Xtra Cab
SN92N PreRunner Xtra Cab V6
PM62N 4x4 Regular Cab
WM72N 4x4 Xtra Cab
WN72N 4x4 Xtra Cab V6
WN74N 4x4 Xtra Cab Limited

You'll notice that SR5 and TRD aren't in the VIN. They're option packages added to some of the above models.

You might also be able to call Toyota customer service or visit a dealer and have them tell you how the truck was configured when it left the factory.

[EnolaGaia]

Point #1: There's always the possibility the previous owner(s) modified the truck and your equipment may not be representative of the as-delivered truck back in '96.

Point #2: Try going to pressroom.toyota.com and rummaging around for a press release document for the 1996 Taco. I know they have a '96 spec sheet. For some other years I know they had a separate press release for option packages.