Nice car, but sure is more than I've got in my piggy bank. Great price if your selling one, not so much if you want one!
Agree with Wolverine on the steering wheel. It's a Pinto sourced part that was the standard steering wheel for the base Pinto and Maverick. Fine for them but not quite the wheel I would want to see in something as sporty as the Mustang. But when showing a Concours Gold level car I understand the need to stay with this style wheel. Perkins evidently understands also as I've seen some of these wheels on his E-Bay auctions go for more than a Deluxe three spoke wheel! (Anyone remember his $8,500.00 71 Boss carburetor)?
Since the color on this car is not a RPO (Regular Production Option) it was considered a special order and would have a series of 4-5 numbers after the DSO code. It appears to be (depending on the car/truck line) Competition Orange, Calypso Coral, or just plain Coral. Ford liked to give multiple names to the same paint color to keep us confused. As David had explained in an earlier post, the mirrors were pre-painted by the mirror supplier to Ford in the standard colors for each vehicle line. Since the orange color was not offered as a standard 71 Mustang color, the standard Dual Racing mirrors were deleted and a credit issued on the vehicle invoice. A standard left side chrome mirror was installed with nothing on the right side since there was not one available. Who needs a right side mirror on a car with a flat rear window anyway?!!
As far as build quality on these cars, it's just like David said. Some of the line workers only had seconds to perform their task. To most of them it didn't make any difference if installing a part on a F600 dump truck, a Country Squire station wagon, a Torino or Mustang. All they knew was there was an endless line of vehicles coming their way that were expected to be built and out the door that day! So the Boss probably got the same amount of attention as a plain no option 250 6cyl coupe. I've heard some of the same horror stories from my GM and Mopar friends after tearing down a car to restore. Missing welds, brackets etc, body panels that fit like they were made for an airplane instead of a car.
The Big Three assembly plants were a different world in the 60's through the 70's than what we have now. They were built as good as the technology was then. Now we have bar coded assembly steps at each station to make sure the right part goes on the right car. There are laser guided robots making precision measurements for fit and finish, even to the point of making sure the paint is the proper thickness on the entire car.