09-30-2015, 02:31 AM
I know most casual Mustang fans think of 65, 67 or 69 'Stangs when they hear of a "classic Mustang"...and our beloved 71-73s are typically not mentioned unless there is a 71-73 owner (or ex-owner) among them.
This leads to a lot of misinformation about or 71-73s, that seems to get repeated a lot.
These are some of the common misconceptions I hear with regards to "our classics".
1) 71-73s came with 351 Windsors. Very popular, but very wrong. All 351s were Clevelands in 71-73s (except for a few made in Mexico...I'm not counting those).
2) Mach 1 convertibles (or to a lesser occurrence, a notch back). Never happened, all Machs were "sportsroofs".
3) BOSS 302s or BOSS 429s? Not after '70! Both cancelled and replaced with the singular BOSS 351 for '71.
4) Magnums on a '73? Nope...no Magnums (or any other 15" wheel) available in '73. However, the 1-year-only 14" aluminum "mag" was available in '73.
5) The urethane front bumper has caused nothing but non-stop confusion over the years, even for those who own and are pretty knowledgeable about 71-73 in general.
In a nutshell;
All 71/72 Mustangs came standard with a chrome front bumper except for Mach 1s and a couple of limited-availability "sport appearance" packages.
For 73, the entire front bumper-system was redesigned for the new 2.5-mph impact standard, and consequently ALL 73 Mustangs received the new-for-73 (and much larger) "impact resistant" urethane bumper.
6) Front spoiler? Plenty of confusion: Standard on the BOSS 351...not available on ANY OTHER MODEL either as standard or optionally throughout 71-73. (Of course, they were available and quite popular over-the-counter at the local Ford parts counter for about $18 (!) and many, many dealers and owners installed them)
6-a) An addendum to the front spoiler issue: Personally, I maintain that the OEM Ford-supplied front spoilers installed on the BOSS 351 was ALWAYS black, regardless of the car's color combination. Today, there are "argent" (silver) spoilers available and they look right at home on any Mustang with argent-painted lowers...but i say they were not available as original equipment. I get a a lot of flack from others about this, but...oh well!
7) Hood paint/ hood locks: Simple...the twist hood locks ALWAYS came in combination with the tutone hood paint, regardless if the car had ram-air (71-73) or if it just had the "hood decor package" (73 only). Any car with the tutone WITHOUT the twist locks is not original.
Same for the twist locks...only in combo with the tutone, never by themselves.
8) Bright rocker moldings and fender trim on a Mach 1: Never, they were not available on a Mach 1.
9) Bright lower-body moldings on a 71-72 mach 1 in combination with the optional side-stripes (hockey sticks). The moldings were standard on mach 1, but if the optional side-stripes were ordered, the moldings were a mandatory-delete item...replaced by a pinstripe.
10) Rear window louveres: Not a factory-option after 1970 model.
This leads to a lot of misinformation about or 71-73s, that seems to get repeated a lot.
These are some of the common misconceptions I hear with regards to "our classics".
1) 71-73s came with 351 Windsors. Very popular, but very wrong. All 351s were Clevelands in 71-73s (except for a few made in Mexico...I'm not counting those).
2) Mach 1 convertibles (or to a lesser occurrence, a notch back). Never happened, all Machs were "sportsroofs".
3) BOSS 302s or BOSS 429s? Not after '70! Both cancelled and replaced with the singular BOSS 351 for '71.
4) Magnums on a '73? Nope...no Magnums (or any other 15" wheel) available in '73. However, the 1-year-only 14" aluminum "mag" was available in '73.
5) The urethane front bumper has caused nothing but non-stop confusion over the years, even for those who own and are pretty knowledgeable about 71-73 in general.
In a nutshell;
All 71/72 Mustangs came standard with a chrome front bumper except for Mach 1s and a couple of limited-availability "sport appearance" packages.
For 73, the entire front bumper-system was redesigned for the new 2.5-mph impact standard, and consequently ALL 73 Mustangs received the new-for-73 (and much larger) "impact resistant" urethane bumper.
6) Front spoiler? Plenty of confusion: Standard on the BOSS 351...not available on ANY OTHER MODEL either as standard or optionally throughout 71-73. (Of course, they were available and quite popular over-the-counter at the local Ford parts counter for about $18 (!) and many, many dealers and owners installed them)
6-a) An addendum to the front spoiler issue: Personally, I maintain that the OEM Ford-supplied front spoilers installed on the BOSS 351 was ALWAYS black, regardless of the car's color combination. Today, there are "argent" (silver) spoilers available and they look right at home on any Mustang with argent-painted lowers...but i say they were not available as original equipment. I get a a lot of flack from others about this, but...oh well!
7) Hood paint/ hood locks: Simple...the twist hood locks ALWAYS came in combination with the tutone hood paint, regardless if the car had ram-air (71-73) or if it just had the "hood decor package" (73 only). Any car with the tutone WITHOUT the twist locks is not original.
Same for the twist locks...only in combo with the tutone, never by themselves.
8) Bright rocker moldings and fender trim on a Mach 1: Never, they were not available on a Mach 1.
9) Bright lower-body moldings on a 71-72 mach 1 in combination with the optional side-stripes (hockey sticks). The moldings were standard on mach 1, but if the optional side-stripes were ordered, the moldings were a mandatory-delete item...replaced by a pinstripe.
10) Rear window louveres: Not a factory-option after 1970 model.