1972 antenna type

[c9zx]

Does anyone know when the antenna changed from the telescoping type to the fixed mast type? I believe it was in the second half of the 1972 production run.

Thanks,

Chuck

 

[delawarebill]

my '73 is fixed. but i don't recall the build date.

 

[secluff]

Chuck, guess I'll try this. Lol

The 71-72's used D1ZZ-18813-A which is a round telescoping staff antenna. The D1ZZ service part was replaced in 11/75 by D3AZ-18813-C which is a LTD round staff telescoping antenna. The 73 Mustang used D3ZZ-18813-A which is a round staff non telescoping antenna. The D3ZZ antenna was replaced by D4AZ-A, D7AZ-A, and finally E3AZ-A which were all LTD antennas which were round staff non telescoping.

I believe a lot of confusion stems from the fact that a radio was not standard in our Mustangs. Even when a radio was ordered from Ford  it was not installed at the Assembly plant. A radio kit was placed in the trunk along with wheel covers, floor mats and other loose items to be installed at the dealer when the vehicle was PDI'd.

Many dealers ordered cars with out radios so more profit producing aftermarket units could be installed. Dealers would then pull a in stock antenna off the parts shelf (Usually an LTD unit since they were considered a one size fits all) and hopefully drilled the antenna hole in the correct location. Unless the dealer had saved the template from the factory radio kit that didn't always happen. 

I have heard of a few very late production 72's that had the 73 style antenna.With dealers installing these radios and known to have substituted parts,anything is possible. There is also the possibility of a D1ZZ shortage near the end of 72 production and the D3ZZ antenna could be a Ford authorized replacement in the radio kit.

It's been many, many years since I was involved in any judging, so I checked the most recent MCA rules and they do allow the 71-72 collapsible round mast or the 73 fixed round mast on 72 Mustangs.    

 

[rackerm]

Chuck, guess I'll try this. Lol

The 71-72's used D1ZZ-18813-A which is a round telescoping staff antenna. The D1ZZ service part was replaced in 11/75 by D3AZ-18813-C which is a LTD round staff telescoping antenna. The 73 Mustang used D3ZZ-18813-A which is a round staff non telescoping antenna. The D3ZZ antenna was replaced by D4AZ-A, D7AZ-A, and finally E3AZ-A which were all LTD antennas which were round staff non telescoping.

I believe a lot of confusion stems from the fact that a radio was not standard in our Mustangs. Even when a radio was ordered from Ford  it was not installed at the Assembly plant. A radio kit was placed in the trunk along with wheel covers, floor mats and other loose items to be installed at the dealer when the vehicle was PDI'd.

Many dealers ordered cars with out radios so more profit producing aftermarket units could be installed. Dealers would then pull a in stock antenna off the parts shelf (Usually an LTD unit since they were considered a one size fits all) and hopefully drilled the antenna hole in the correct location. Unless the dealer had saved the template from the factory radio kit that didn't always happen. 

I have heard of a few very late production 72's that had the 73 style antenna.With dealers installing these radios and known to have substituted parts,anything is possible. There is also the possibility of a D1ZZ shortage near the end of 72 production and the D3ZZ antenna could be a Ford authorized replacement in the radio kit.

It's been many, many years since I was involved in any judging, so I checked the most recent MCA rules and they do allow the 71-72 collapsible round mast or the 73 fixed round mast on 72 Mustangs.    

Steve, You have an amazing wealth of information about are cars. Thank you very much for all your contributions and making the forum such a great resource.

  :thankyouyellow:

 

[secluff]

Rich, I appreciate your kind words. (I mailed your check yesterday)!!  :whistling:   I'm just one spoke of the many forum members it takes to keep the wheel round and this forum rolling.

I hated the collapsing mast antenna on my 71 Mach1. After a period of time water would work it's way down into the mast and the radio would quit  receiving the station .You couldn't pick up the stations signal if you were sitting in the radio station's parking lot! The new style antenna was one of the first things I changed and it fixed my problem.  

 

[c9zx]

Steve,

   Thank you very much for the detailed and helpful response. It seems there is no way to say which antenna was installed on what car. Having worked in a Lincoln-Mercury dealership in the late 70s I can say there was a lot of unprofessional/incompetent staff doing all manner of worst practices. Dealer installed anything is still a bad idea, even today. Chuck

 

[red351]

I was thinking the telescopic on my original 72 wasn't round. It was a tear drop shape. My memory might be failing

 

[rackerm]

Chuck, guess I'll try this. Lol

The 71-72's used D1ZZ-18813-A which is a round telescoping staff antenna. The D1ZZ service part was replaced in 11/75 by D3AZ-18813-C which is a LTD round staff telescoping antenna. The 73 Mustang used D3ZZ-18813-A which is a round staff non telescoping antenna. The D3ZZ antenna was replaced by D4AZ-A, D7AZ-A, and finally E3AZ-A which were all LTD antennas which were round staff non telescoping.

I believe a lot of confusion stems from the fact that a radio was not standard in our Mustangs. Even when a radio was ordered from Ford  it was not installed at the Assembly plant. A radio kit was placed in the trunk along with wheel covers, floor mats and other loose items to be installed at the dealer when the vehicle was PDI'd.

Many dealers ordered cars with out radios so more profit producing aftermarket units could be installed. Dealers would then pull a in stock antenna off the parts shelf (Usually an LTD unit since they were considered a one size fits all) and hopefully drilled the antenna hole in the correct location. Unless the dealer had saved the template from the factory radio kit that didn't always happen. 

I have heard of a few very late production 72's that had the 73 style antenna.With dealers installing these radios and known to have substituted parts,anything is possible. There is also the possibility of a D1ZZ shortage near the end of 72 production and the D3ZZ antenna could be a Ford authorized replacement in the radio kit.

It's been many, many years since I was involved in any judging, so I checked the most recent MCA rules and they do allow the 71-72 collapsible round mast or the 73 fixed round mast on 72 Mustangs.   

I once had a NOS 69-70 antenna still in the paper shipping bag with the hardware and instructions, just as it would have been shipped to the dealer in the car's trunk. I sold it for big bucks to a guy who wanted the bag (not the antenna) for his pre-dealer prep'd BOSS 9 restoration. It was an expensive paper bag!

 

[NOT A T5]

Who knows what else was in that paper bag!  :whistling:

 

[rvrtrash]

I was thinking the telescopic on my original 72 wasn't round. It was a tear drop shape. My memory might be failing

The '72 Mach 1 I bought in 1977 was also a tear drop shape. I remember trying to find the correct type replacement when someone was kind enough to snap mine off one time.

Steve

 

[Mike429cj]

I was thinking the telescopic on my original 72 wasn't round. It was a tear drop shape. My memory might be failing

The '72 Mach 1 I bought in 1977 was also a tear drop shape. I remember trying to find the correct type replacement when someone was kind enough to snap mine off one time.

Steve

Funny y’all mention the teardrop shape antenna. I have a restored 35k mile 71 Boss 351 built on 11/30/1970. I took this car to the National MCOA Show in McAllen, TX to have it judged. The judges told me the teardrop antenna on my car wasn’t correct and it was from a 70’s era Ford Torino. They also deducted one Point for the incorrect antenna! My car still pulled a Gold for Concours Driven Class.

 

[red351]

I ordered my 72 new and was built around 2/72 with the AM/8track radio option. So yes Ford or the dealer supplied the teardrop. It was there till the car wash removed it...

 

[MikeyV]

Funny y’all mention the teardrop shape antenna. I have a restored 35k mile 71 Boss 351 built on 11/30/1970. I took this car to the National MCOA Show in McAllen, TX to have it judged. The judges told me the teardrop antenna on my car wasn’t correct and it was from a 70’s era Ford Torino. They also deducted one Point for the incorrect antenna! My car still pulled a Gold for Concours Driven Class.

I just picked up an unrestored Mach 1 built in December 1970, so shortly after yours.  It has the teardrop shape antenna.  FWIW, it came optioned with the AM/8 track Stereo unit.  

 

[MikeyV]

I ordered my 72 new and was built around 2/72 with the AM/8track radio option. So yes Ford or the dealer supplied the teardrop. It was there till the car wash removed it...

Only a few months between Mike429's car and yours.  Maybe the teardrop shape was a short lived thing, or they used the Torino one because of supply issues?  Who knows.

Sorry the two posts, I replied to Mike429's post before I scrolled all the way.

 

[ZIPNZ]

My Mach 1 was built in May 1973 with an AM/8Track and has the teardrop telescoping antenna

 

[griffbl]

My 1972 Mach 1 had the whip / non collapsing mast type in 1975 when I bought it in 1975 with 12k miles. Certainly seemed original to the car, which was original in every way. It had the factory AM radio.

 

[bdennis]

Are all the antenna's that are discussed above the square base type?