Deciphering Serial #’s

[CWill]

Hello all, I’m Will. Thank you for this group, for being so willing to give of your knowledge, for being the Wanderlodge gurus!
I’ve put down a deposit on a 1979. (A real beauty of a black Bluebird on the outside, a heretofore rodent sanctuary on the inside.) It was abandoned to a storage lot, lot owner is selling, knows little about it but is a most helpful to an out-of-stater and sent me pics of identifiers on bus.
The main question, at the moment, is: diesel or gas engine? I’m trying to line up a local mechanic to change fluids and then attempt to start. I presently don’t know whether to seek a diesel or gasoline mechanic.
Body # F44454
Engine Serial# 32Y2574
Vin 3262411ND
Chassis Serial# 1 227
If anyone can identify Ford or Cat from that information, I’d be much obliged. (I did spend about 40 minutes in Google searches attempting to associate meaning with these identifiers, without success).
This space said, “Don’t know what to buy— post your questions here”. In my case it’s, Don’t know what I’ve bought!?
Many thanks and best regards.

[Arcticdude]

Will,

For 1979, Wanderlodge only had diesel engines. A great information site is http://www.vintagebirds.com. Specifically look at the "History" tab and the year 1979. That will help in figuring out the basics.

All of the 1979's were Cat 3208 engines, as far as I know. If the engine is in the front, you are buying an "FC" or Forward Control bird. They did build a few "XV's" which were 15th Anniversary models.

Watch for other sites, as they often do not have accurate info. Vintage birds is the only one I trust. The "wanderlodge model changes" tab is also a good one to peruse.

Beyond that, I do not know of anybody that's tracked Bird VIN's or figured out any decoding. I'm sure there is some, but I don't remember seeing any.

[CWill]

Thanks for your reply, John.
I’m certain this is merely the first of many questions I’ll have, although I’ll make every effort to successfully utilize already posted discussions.
Regards

[Arcticdude]

Ask away!

We all have questions and hope somebody has the (correct) answer.