Topic: Adding Factory Options

[Springerdw]

Hello All,

First time posting! I did a search for my question, but did not find anything.

My question is:

How does the Concourse community  feel about a vehicle that has factory options added later in life. I'm talking about options that would make the car safer, nicer/easier to drive, things like power steering, A/C and front disc brakes. Maybe adding a shaker hood and fold down rear seat. The car would no longer match the Marti Report. Would that take away from the value or add value? Of course all components would be ford parts.

I have owned Mustangs off and on for the last 39-40 years but have not had one very close to original.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

V/r,
Dave

[CharlesTurner]

67 and up where Marti reports are available, it's become more discouraged as there is record of how the car came new.  Ultimately, it's the owners choice, but if showing in concours and a Marti report comes out and documentation shows a different configuration as the car is presented, could raise some questions.  For 65-66, it is a bit more flexible unless certain options may be reflected on like a buck tag or original window sticker/invoice. 

[Springerdw]

Charles,

Thanks for the response. It is a 70 Mach1 that has Power Steering, Disc Brakes and A/C added. I believe all the work was done back in the 90's, from the receipts that came with the car. I have tried to find the previous owner, with no luck.... They may not be with us anymore... All looks very factory correct with the exception of no brake booster and it did not have the correct radiator saddles for a 24" radiator. I assume the car came with a 20" radiator from the factory and when they added A/C they did the right thing and upgraded to a larger radiator as well.

It's a nice looking car, but a lot of stuff was added many years ago. From the paperwork that came with the car, over the last 25 years the car has been driven just over 3000 miles. The car appears to be very solid, just doesn't match the Marti report very well. Struggling on how to feel about it.... I do not plan to be judged at the concurs level. I only plan to be in local car shows. I hope to do well and will not display the Marti report.

Thanks for your thoughts,
Dave

[dave6768]

It would only really matter if you enter concourse in MCA.  Otherwise, no one would really know (without the Marti report), certainly not in a local show. 

[J_Speegle]

It would only really matter if you enter concourse in MCA.  Otherwise, no one would really know (without the Marti report), certainly not in a local show.

Or possibly if and when you go to sell the car.  Just another angle on the question.

[Springerdw]

As of today the plan is NOT to sell the car. Our last Mach 1 we had for 20 years and would still have it today if it had not been totaled last Oct ( we were rear ended).  We were not interested in setting off on the journey of rebuilding (not the best) car over the next 2 years... We opted to take the insurance money and start fresh. I bought the above red car in Dec from a nice lady in VA that her husband passed away in Oct as well. She did inform me that those factory options were added some time ago.... The AC looks soooo factory.

My next question is:

If one of the pervious owners wanted to add AC when the car was fairly new (a year or so) would the dealer do it?? Outside of the radiator saddles, everything looks very factory. The controls are factory, even the vacuum canaster in the front fender is there.

Another strange thing is the buck tag lists AC, unless I'm reading it wrong, again AC is NOT on the Marti Report.

Thanks again,
Dave

[J_Speegle]

If one of the pervious owners wanted to add AC when the car was fairly new (a year or so) would the dealer do it?? Outside of the radiator saddles, everything looks very factory. The controls are factory, even the vacuum canaster in the front fender is there.

If the original owner had originally wanted AC then it was general practice to order and wait for the right car to be built. The vast majority of buyers in the 60's ordered and waited for their car to be built rather than buying off the dealers lot. If they choose to add AC through the dealer most of the time, to save the owner money and make easy money for the dealer, they would have contracted out through someone else, and had an underdash AC added to the car. Much like dealers adding dual exhaust to a single exhaust car.  Much quicker, easier and cheaper by likely 50%

If they used a factory kit then they would have also gotten an underdash AC supplied by Ford. If it looks like factory and it was not built with AC originally then what you have is something a prior owner added using possibly a donor car. Seen it done allot of times though it is not fun

Another strange thing is the buck tag lists AC, unless I'm reading it wrong, again AC is NOT on the Marti Report.

Would not be out of the realm of possibilities that what your looking at is a reproduction buck tag that someone had made to cover over the fact that the car didn't originally come with AC Real popular to do especially before the Ford information became available through Ford and Kevin Marti. Think you might just have an example of someone "covering their tracks"

[CharlesTurner]

Adding A/C to a '70 is quite a job, I'm not sure if that was ever a "dealer" type item that would be performed before new car delivery.  Would have been cheaper for a customer to just order a car with A/C direct from the factory.  I wouldn't say it never could have happened, but just stating the obvious that it's a major job.  It also likely would not have been an exact duplication of a factory installed A/C system.

[J_Speegle]

Example of a 70 Dealer added AC. Have seen about four of these systems. All the working are on the passenger side of the firewall like the factory but conflicted with the clock option




Three examples of add AC systems (passenger side) in 69 Mustangs Believe the upper left is the Ford supplied Ford dealer add on systems and possibly the upper right a different version

[Bob Gaines]

Adding A/C to a '70 is quite a job, I'm not sure if that was ever a "dealer" type item that would be performed before new car delivery.  Would have been cheaper for a customer to just order a car with A/C direct from the factory.  I wouldn't say it never could have happened, but just stating the obvious that it's a major job.  It also likely would not have been an exact duplication of a factory installed A/C system.

+1 . A dealer add on A/C would certainly not be a very close duplication to a factory A/C install. As the picture that Jeff posted shows ,besides the  obtrusive clock extension needed for space behind the dash the factory add on air does not include the lower air registers which are made into the lower dash of a factory A/C car.

[70cj428]

I have a 1969 dated underhood AC kit for a 390 mustang, and as far as I can tell all the parts are identical to the factory stuff. I have never seen the underdash kit NOS in 40 years of buying parts ....

As for adding options, If your planning to sell at any of the big auctions, I don't think it will hurt at all (not alot makes sense at the big auctions anymore..) as long as the options are added correctly. My "R" code 70 was fairly loaded to begin with, and I correctly added the remainder of the options when I did the car. If I ever sell it and the buyer has an issue, I'd gladly remove the added options. ( Tilt, Convience Group, Intermittent wipers, Factory Tach, space saver) I already removed the front bumper guards as look pretty out of place ...) The car was a Dealer Demo for a local dealership so it was pretty loaded already..

Options like PS, Disc Brakes, and working AC make the car so much nicer to drive, I'd bet that for even a car that's restored to a fairly high level, for every buyer that was turned off by those options, you'll find 10 that will welcome them.  A friend has a 70 SCJ thats a 4:30 gear manual steering, drum brake car and it's actually not very pleasant to drive at all. Try parking a manual steering 428 car with F-78 tires and a rimblow,  and brake fade has a whole new definition with 10" drums.

JMHO, John

[Bob Gaines]

I have a 1969 dated underhood AC kit for a 390 mustang, and as far as I can tell all the parts are identical to the factory stuff. I have never seen the underdash kit NOS in 40 years of buying parts ....

As for adding options, If your planning to sell at any of the big auctions, I don't think it will hurt at all (not alot makes sense at the big auctions anymore..) as long as the options are added correctly. My "R" code 70 was fairly loaded to begin with, and I correctly added the remainder of the options when I did the car. If I ever sell it and the buyer has an issue, I'd gladly remove the added options. ( Tilt, Convience Group, Intermittent wipers, Factory Tach, space saver) I already removed the front bumper guards as look pretty out of place ...) The car was a Dealer Demo for a local dealership so it was pretty loaded already..

Options like PS, Disc Brakes, and working AC make the car so much nicer to drive, I'd bet that for even a car that's restored to a fairly high level, for every buyer that was turned off by those options, you'll find 10 that will welcome them.  A friend has a 70 SCJ thats a 4:30 gear manual steering, drum brake car and it's actually not very pleasant to drive at all. Try parking a manual steering 428 car with F-78 tires and a rimblow,  and brake fade has a whole new definition with 10" drums.

JMHO, John

Not to be nit picking but if going to the trouble of adding a factory options then it should look like what came from factory assemblyline and not like over the counter add on like the A/C kit being discussed . It has been about 25 years since I have had a 69 add on A/C under dash kit. It was a losing proposition then because no one wanted it because it looked so different then assemblyline. Most all of the parts in the kit were different compared to assemblyline and even then it was easier to retrofit used assemblyline parts then trying to use the kit parts so I passed on the couple others I came across in years since. The under hood kits were another story because the brackets ,compressor and clutch could be parted out. The A/C hose's were typically different then assemblyline and so hard to sell .  FYI a 69 underhood kit will be different then what came on a 70 version (in your case )besides the things I already mentioned because the 70 idler pulleys have a larger bearing compared to a 69 and also the adjustable idler pulley has the very visible 70 engineering number different compared to what was used on a 69 model . Depending on the plant the A/C compressor may be different and same goes for the clutch assembly. The belts are slightly different in the kits also compared to assemblyline . The point is that the 69 kit is NOT identical to the 70 factory parts (your case). They do look similar however. The differance will not make a lot of difference on a pleasure driver or auction car where shiny and clean is more important then correct parts.  If not showing concours and building the car for the auction or pleasure driving I agree that A/C is a very desirable feature. All things being equal trying to make the A/C system look as factory as possible will give optimum results compared to the over the counter kit.

[70cj428]

Hi Bob, I just mentioned the factory underdash kit because of the add on AC posts, My "R" code came factory with AC so I didn't have to add it. I think I only used the compressor and alot of the hardware, as I had both idlers NOS. I was kinda fortunate that the car was a 59000 car that was pretty complete when I bought it (in 1983 ...)  The rest of the options I added were added as the factory would have built it.  Not sure if adding the Convience group was worth it, That's alot of work for a bunch of small things most wouldn't notice ....

[Springerdw]

Thanks for all of the replies! I'm happy the car has AC now, and agree someone had a replacement buck tag made. I'm guessing from a time before Marti Reports were available. Some spent a lot of time doing the "upgrades", and I'm going to enjoy them.

[Springerdw]

Buck tag...