[DeTomaso] Just the facts survey

MikeLDrew at aol.com MikeLDrew at aol.com
Thu Mar 1 14:05:07 EST 2012


In a message dated 3/1/12 10 14 46, grayjim at att.net writes:


> Mike,
> 
> Do we know when the the first '74 was built and what the number was?
> 

>>>All that info is listed in the orange Ford parts book on Page 2, and 
that information is copied over (complete with errors) into the De Tomaso parts 
book that Wilkinson cooked up in the 80s and is still the primary reference 
for ordering parts.

Before #2293 -- 1971
>From 2293 -- 1972
>From 4269 -- 1972 1/2
>From 4840 -- 1973
>From 5900 -- 1974

By looking up the VIN of 5900, we can see that it's THPNNA5900, which would 
make it a July '73 build date.   That's rather early, don't you think?   It 
just highlights the completely capricious nature of the model year 
changeover, which was apparently dictated by Ford.

Again, these are completely arbitrary distinctions and have nothing to do 
specifically with differences in the cars themselves.   The cars evolved over 
time separately from the model years; for example, cars built in January 
and February of 1972 are actually built to the 1971 specifications, generally. 
  This is repeated over and over as the details changed at random times.   

The L-model was a fairly sharp delineation between 'early' and 'late' cars, 
but the first 800-or-so L-models received the two-pod dash, and it wasn't 
until sometime in 1973 that they switched from the inside to the outside fuel 
filler, etc. etc. etc.

Mike


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