Not here to bash the MCA. I've been a card carrying member since 1976. But as in any organization, politics is alive and well. I've had a fair share of what David has experienced with several different Mustangs I have shown over the years. I can say with certainty that the 71-73's were shown about as much love and respect as the Mustang II's ! Vague rules and loose interpretation by who ever the Judge happened to be that day was the norm. The majority of the printed rules were a result of what was on some higher echelon Judges car (No names but most know who)!
I am glad to see that almost 50 years later they have finally addressed the issue of the which model 71-72's had single or dual exhaust and what the qualifier was for chrome exhaust tips! :whistling:
Ford was in the business of mass producing cars, trucks and parts, not show cars. So there ARE going to be variances at many different levels on any of these cars. There were always multiple suppliers to provide Ford with the hundreds of thousands of parts and fasteners it took to "Screw" one of these vehicles together. Agree that with proper documentation such as David has for his 73 Mach1, he should not receive ANY resistance to things that are being called wrong on his car that was PRODUCTION installed. With the documentation he has I don't see where the dealer installed items should even be a problem.
I do feel that with the "New Blood" in the club that they are now more receptive to looking at legitimate questions from members on the validity of different rules.
I really appreciate having the availability of the Marti reports for our cars. They contain information other cars collectors only wished they had access to for their vehicles. I have found errors in both the reports for my Mach1’s. The Marti states that both my cars have bumper guards which was not an option for any 71-72 Mach1. Neither of my cars have ever had bumper guards.
The Eminger report is one of the copies of the actual invoice that was sent along with the car when delivered by Motor Convoy. It contains base price and production installed options and was how the dealer was invoiced. If it isn't on the invoice it didn't leave the assembly plant with it. Since that is an original Ford produced document, I would put more faith on it being correct than anything else being offered from anyone. As nice as the Marti report is, it is not a Ford generated document, but is a compilation of what Marti's staff interprets as being on the vehicle.
Accessories were the Cash Cow for Dealers and aftermarket installers (and still is now). So a lot of Ford and after market items found their way onto our four wheel friends. If installed before sold, dealers would add a Addendum label listing items added to the vehicle since it was against federal law to alter the original or Monroney Sticker.
