Decor Molding Removal?

[Thin Lizzy]

If it was a special order, then I assume the buyer would have requested this? Argent on a 73 bumper would have looked strange IMO, like they were trying to pretend it was chrome.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

When I ordered my Mach 1 in 1973 I wanted it to have pretty much everything. While talking with the long time salesman he showed me in the big thick note book that he had all the special thing you could get. Non Factory body color was one. By Non Factory I mean it is not a stock color for a Mustang but must be sold on a Ford vehicle for that year. We looked at T-bird and Lincoln colors and I picked a dark brown Metallic color. I think it was like $85.00 charge and was for transporting the body to the Special Shop for paint and then back for final assembly. When we got everything on the order my car was built with 32 Factory installed options and 8 dealer for a total of 40 options.

I was working as a tool & die maker and designer at Cutler Hammer in Asheville at the time. I got called to the office and had a phone call. It was the local dealer calling. He said that they could not match the rubber front bumper to the color I picked and that the bumper would have to be changed to Chrome. I think the factory told him Argent and he just interpreted it chrome. The New rubber bumper was to pass the new crash requirements of not breaking the headlights at 5 mph, lol and went on all 73 models. So I made the decision on the phone to change to a stock color for the paint went with 5H Med. Brown Metallic. I wish I had not changed it.

To paint the urethane bumper it takes a different paint than the body gets with an elastic additive. The bumpers came to Ford painted as they do today. They were not a dead on match on some colors. So I guess someone at Ford picked a color paint that had the additive and that was Argent.

I found another one of the Special Order Black 73 verts on eBay a couple weeks back and tried to get in touch with the owner to see if he had his build sheet to get some kind or pattern for them. He never got in touch.

I have attached a picture of the prelim. Marti, the end of the drivers door showing the door tag and you can see the little pieces of the Argent stripes on the edge of the door. The inspectors stamp is on the door end and has not been painted.

I also attached the scan of the build sheet. Zoom in and go down to where the field is for Remarks on about the G line on the page edge. There are three special instructions that you can read some of.

1: Hood ?????? Wheels????

2: Install Argent Front Bumper

3: Install ??????

The car currently has dog dish caps and trim rings. One of the Special Order items you could get in 73 was Magnum 500 wheels since they were still an option on I think the Torino models you could get on a Mustang.

Just wish I could talk to someone who worked in the DSO office that did the processing of orders that could tell the process.

I have the copy of my original order for my Mach 1 it was hand written back then and sent to the DSO office in Charlotte for processing to Ford. Now it is all on the computer.

Like you said they destroy the documents at set periods so not much of a chance of ever finding any. One company I worked for you had to upon coming to work from New Years go through all your files and toss any that were three years. This was in case of a liability suite there would be no paper trail. It was at a large lawn equipment mfg..

The search goes on need more special order cars to study.

David





IMG.pdf

 

[OMS]

Black 73 vert with black bumper window sticker

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Black 73 vert with black bumper window sticker

Don,

I have ordered the Marti with window sticker but he cannot even tell what the color was. The first two digits on the sticker where it says Special Order is the DSO, 42, the next four are the key to the mystery. On your sticker it is 3713. Marti tells me that is the number given to the special order for that DSO and you would have to have the records from DSO 42 to know what all was in the order. So I did send to Ford and all records have long been destroyed.

So without pictures of my car new or some documents my car cannot be backed up for what all the special order was for.

Any help is appreciated and hope more cars turn up so can get more details.

Thanks,

David

 

[Boss1Ray]

I have to agree that an Argent Bumper would be highly unattractive on a black car. That is something I would not want on my car for any reason.

-And I would be happy to explain to any judge... Interesting fact but would look very weird.

Black is my favorite color on the 71 Mustangs. And same for the special order black painted 1972 and 1973 cars.

Magnum 500 wheels special ordered on a 1973 Mustang? I would say no. Of course the wheels WERE available through the parts department. From what I understand, no 1973 Mustang was ever designed to run any wheel size other than 14 inch. The Magnums you mention for the 1973 Torinos were 14 inch units. The Magnums that are correct for 1971 and 1972 Mustangs were all 15 inch.

Keep in mind - I'm still learning. Everything I think I know is probably not 100% correct! Great discussion here - thx guys.

Ray

 

[OMS]

This was a Cleveland Ohio [ dso 42 ] car, with

special order paint - it was black and had a black front bumper.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

This was a Cleveland Ohio [ dso 42 ] car, with

special order paint - it was black and had a black front bumper.

Was it original paint or repaint?

Marti is telling me that he cannot tell you what the color was just that it was a special order paint/trim car.

Do you still have the car? Did you find the build sheet? Would like to see more build sheets from Special order cars to see some kind of pattern.

Thanks for your response just trying to gather all info I can on these cars.

David

 

[OMS]

This was a Cleveland Ohio [ dso 42 ] car, with

special order paint - it was black and had a black front bumper.

Was it original paint or repaint?

Marti is telling me that he cannot tell you what the color was just that it was a special order paint/trim car.

Do you still have the car? Did you find the build sheet? Would like to see more build sheets from Special order cars to see some kind of pattern.

Thanks for your response just trying to gather all info I can on these cars.

David

It was original paint

Cleveland car all it's life ...

Gone but I still have some pieces

 

[secluff]

David is right about NEEDING that documentation. MCA would tear you a new one. You thought the bolts and hardware they called wrong on your one owner Mach 1 sent them into a tailspin. Would have to call the EMS for em' when they saw your argent front bumper and passed out! My late build pewter 71 Mach 1 (7-28-71) had Motorcraft branded parts and labels all under the hood and air cleaner housing. Most of the under hood components even had 72 engineering numbers on them. I used to joke that it was really a 72 with a 71 engine! In 71 black was a RPO and black is the way the Mach 1 bumpers came. Same for 72 when it became a DSO option. The few black 72's I have seen had black bumpers. What is strange is the rear part of the front bumper on the 73's was black near the grill. There could of been a problem at the plant and they did what ever it took to get that car gone. South Carolina ran silver special service Mustangs from 87-93. In 93 SC changed the color silver they wanted on the cars and I remember the bumper covers on them coming in with the old silver color because of a huge problem at the Detroit plant with the new color not working on the bumper covers. Some times you just have to step back and remember that to the line workers, these cars were just numbers that were going out the door one way or the other.

As David mentioned, sure would be nice to talk with someone who had either worked in a DSO office or at an actual assembly plant. I'm sure we could think of a few question's. Lol