Pontiac Phoenix — X-body, front-drive (second generation) (1983–1984)

The second-generation Phoenix was Pontiac's front-drive X-body compact: Wikipedia gives a two-door coupe and five-door hatchback, with the LJ and SJ trims renamed LE and SE for 1984. The NICB VIN manuals list the Phoenix, Phoenix LJ and Phoenix SJ for 1983 and the Phoenix, Phoenix LE and Phoenix SE for 1984. No GM order guide, data book, Heritage kit or service RPO list for the Phoenix is in the archive, so only powertrain codes are listed: Wikipedia's Phoenix article names the LE2 and LH7 V6 codes and describes the Iron Duke four and the automatic transaxle without a code, and the Heritage kit pages of the Chevrolet Citation, the X-body twin, are cited only to date the engine codes the two cars share and for the automatic-transmission codes, which no Phoenix source prints. No source read ties an option, package, paint or trim code to the Phoenix with a year, so none is listed.

Codes

Engines

Code	Description	Years	Models/Notes	Confidence
LR8	Engine, 2.5 L (151 cu in) L4, throttle-body fuel injection	1983–1984	the four-cylinder; matched to the Phoenix's unit by meaning: Wikipedia's Phoenix article names the 2.5 L Iron Duke four-cylinder but prints no code; shared X-body code; cited from the Chevrolet Citation kit, whose engine pages print it with its model year ⛭ GM Heritage — 1983 Chevrolet Citation, p.10 ⛭ GM Heritage — 1984 Chevrolet Citation, p.10	single-source
LE2	Engine, 2.8 L (173 cu in) V6, 2-barrel carburetor	1983–1984	the optional V6; Wikipedia's Phoenix article names LE2 in its infobox and engine text and offers it across the generation; shared X-body code; cited from the Chevrolet Citation kit, whose engine pages print it with its model year ⛭ GM Heritage — 1983 Chevrolet Citation, p.10 ⛭ GM Heritage — 1984 Chevrolet Citation, p.10	single-source
LH7	Engine, 2.8 L (173 cu in) V6, high output, 2-barrel carburetor	1983–1984	an engine Wikipedia's Phoenix article lists as an option on the Phoenix, naming LH7 in its infobox; shared X-body code; cited from the Chevrolet Citation kit, whose engine pages print it with its model year ⛭ GM Heritage — 1983 Chevrolet Citation, p.10 ⛭ GM Heritage — 1984 Chevrolet Citation, p.10	single-source

Transmissions

Code	Description	Years	Models/Notes	Confidence
MD9	Automatic transaxle, 3 speed (THM 125)	1984	GM engineering code behind the MX1 merchandising option; matched to the Phoenix's unit by meaning: Wikipedia's Phoenix article names the 3 speed Turbo-Hydramatic 125 automatic in its infobox but prints no code; the Citation kit's automatic-transmission weight line for the 2.5 L engine reads "Merchandising Option for MD9, MX1"; 1983 is left out because no listed kit page heads the code that year; shared X-body code; cited from the Chevrolet Citation kit ⛭ GM Heritage — 1984 Chevrolet Citation, p.34	single-source
MX1	Automatic transmission, 3 speed (merchandising code for the THM 125)	1984	matched to the unit by meaning: Wikipedia's Phoenix article names the 3 speed Turbo-Hydramatic 125 automatic in its infobox but prints no code; the page prints MXI (letter I); 1983 is left out because no listed kit page heads the code that year; shared X-body code; cited from the Chevrolet Citation kit ⛭ GM Heritage — 1984 Chevrolet Citation, p.34	single-source

Sources

Factory documents (T1)

No Pontiac factory document for the 1983–1984 Phoenix is in docs/factory-docs/ or docs/heritage-ocr/. The rows cite the Chevrolet Citation Heritage kits (X-body twin) for shared engine and transmission codes only, on the brief's listed RPO pages (owner, 2026-10-03):

[HK] chevrolet/1983-Chevrolet-Citation.txt — MVMA specifications, 1983, engine description page (p. 10)
[HK] chevrolet/1984-Chevrolet-Citation.txt — MVMA specifications, 1984, engine description page (p. 10) and optional equipment weights (p. 34)

Other sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Phoenix — second-generation infobox, body styles, trims, engine and transmission text (retrieved 2026-11-05 as wikitext, action=raw)
NICB Passenger Vehicle Identification Manual, GM sections (T4): docs/reference/nicb/nicb1983-gm.txt p.54 and nicb1984-gm.txt p.54 — Phoenix series names (Phoenix, LJ, SJ in 1983; Phoenix, LE, SE in 1984)