Factory block heater?

[Dirconmach1]

When I sent my car in for paint I noticed that when they took the nose off of the car it had a plug dangling by the radiator. I have all the previous owner info and know this car spent the first 48 years in Minnesota. So the block heater wasn’t a surprise to me. Was a block heater a option or was this a dealer installed option? My car also has chrome trim going down the sides. 4 pieces on each side. I think this was also dealer installed. Here is my marti report.

 

[SVO2SCJ]

Block Heater was an option on purchase. Car was a RETAIL on the report , you had the wire for "plug". In your case it was built that way. (could be dealer or owner installed too, but not in this case)

Mark

P.S. It's funny I commented about RARE OPTIONS last week and that "block heater was one of them!" LOL

 

[secluff]

Hello Dirconmach1,

That is a nicely optioned car and one that was someone's dream car order. Most dealers would go by Ford suggested stock order guidelines so as to not end up with a "LOT Queen".  Many of the options we find desirable, might not be what John Q Public would like.

There was a $45.00 Protection Package option that included vinyl inserted body side moldings along with lower front bumper guards. This option was not available on the Mach1.

In the case of your block heater, that would also fall under the category of a Dealer-installed item. There was an LPO (Limited Production Option) category but was contained to fleet, commercial, and export vehicle accounts. If the block heater was  OE from Ford there would be a listing under the Marti report "Your Vehicle Was Equipped With the Following Features". If it was a DSO special order there would be a four-number code after the 58 in the DS0 section of the Vehicle certification label on your driver door.

Accessories and add on's at the dealer level were the sacred cash cow then and still are today. I've posted before that if you wanted a toaster oven they would have responded "Harvest Gold or Avacado"! 

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

That was about the only option I missed. I do remember it being in the Ford Facts book I used when ordering. Seems like it was only around $20.00.

I spent a good bit of time in Montana during cold weather. I know one day it never got above 25 deg. F below zero. If you have a manual transmission you have to have the vehicle parked in the direction you intend to go in the morning. The grease in trans gets so stiff you cannot shift. 

The area I was in did not have electricity in Polebridge Montana. They actually voted to not have electricity. They did have generators, gas fridg. gas water heaters.  Old timers said that you seldom went the 40 + miles to town in the winter. They took their battery out drained the oil and coolant and took inside the cabin. If they had to go somewhere they would heat up the oil and coolant and pour back in the vehicle so they could get it to start. 

I had a 1969 Ford van that ran on propane or gasoline. It would not start on propane ever. It was so cold it would not go from liquid to vapor. Once you got the engine warmed up you could switch to propane. Had snow build up inside the front wheel house and freeze into ice. You could not turn the wheels. We had to chisel out and hook up hose to hot water heater to melt it out. Snow was above the front bumper on the van and you had to get out and clear the snow out of the grill so the engine could get air to radiator.

 

[SVO2SCJ]

The heads have 0J26 (*4) and 0J22 (4*) casting

Block Heater was an option on purchase. Car was a RETAIL on the report , you had the wire for "plug". In your case it was built that way. (could be dealer or owner installed too, but not in this case)

Mark

P.S. It's funny I commented about RARE OPTIONS last week and that "block heater was one of them!" LOL

I didn't LOOK at the Marti (assumed if you posted it IT SAID BLOCK HEATER)......or didn't want to turn my head sideways

 

[Dirconmach1]

So, I guess it’s a dealer installed option. Back then I’m sure they put theses into a lot of cars in Minnesota. The car is in surprisingly solid shape. The floors and trunk are original. My body guy said they Rusty Jones the hell out of the underside of the car. I lucked out. I bought this sight unseen.

 

[Hemikiller]

Regarding the "chrome strips", those are factory installed and were part of the base Mach 1 package. If the car had been ordered with stripes, then it would have deleted the chrome strips and replaced that with a black pinstripe. Stripes would also show under the "features" list. Stripes were a popular dealer level item as well

FWIW, the lower trim is actually bright dip aluminum, a form of anodizing, as is the majority of the rest of the trim on the car.

.

 

[mycoses]

I doubt if you could get a dealer installed block heater for $20. Anyone ever try to remove a freeze plug with the  engine in the car? easy on the assembly line but not in the car.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I doubt if you could get a dealer installed block heater for $20. Anyone ever try to remove a freeze plug with the  engine in the car? easy on the assembly line but not in the car.

Was not saying dealer install for $20.00 I think the option cost was $20.00. Heck hood black out and hood locks was only $18.00 with a dealer cost of $15.26 the options were very cheap that is why I put so many on my car. The leather steering wheel was only $23.10, Interval Wipers was $23.23. How the bean counters came up with those odd prices I do not know. I am sure if we could all go back in time we would check more options.

 

[secluff]

David,

Even at today's dollars, those are still bargains. A lot of those option costs were amortized by being "Borrowed " from other car lines. As you and I had discussed in another post, the Pinto sourced leather wrap wheel was also installed in Torino, Maverick, sister Mercury vehicles, and other vehicles that were introduced during the' 73 model year. The interval wiper governor was quickly replaced in late 72 by the F series governor. The $18.00 hood blackout had to be the bargain of the year. There again Ford knew the final curtain call had been called on the last of the first-generation  Mustang. As far back as late 71 Ford had already started working on the Next-generation Mustang II. The Mach 1 style hood engineering costs had been paid long ago. The Tutone stencils at the Dearborn assembly plant would no longer be needed and the parts system could only absorb so much previous model sheet metal. Ford and all the parts depots were mainly interested in preparing for the new "II" launch!

The $18.00 hood option was a great way of using any surplus stock the assembly plant had.

As far as the level of difficulty in installing a block heater, not as bad as a new model car where you almost have to pull the engine just to replace a set of plugs! In the typical Ford dealer setting, the type of Rotunda lift in use then and the tools the Ford techs had available made it a lot easier than "Other" methods.

David, if you happen to find any option info for the block heater availability for your Mach1 please me know. I have checked all my '73 info and cannot find anything other than LPO listings for fleet, police, and taxi. There is no price listing on those since most of these types of vehicle orders were on a bid and price-protected.