1971 Mustang General Information
The 1971 Mustang became known as the Big Body Mustang! Lee Iacocca once called it a “fat pig”. However the car had to gain width and length to accommodate the new 429 big block being offered in the new 1971 models. Over 400 pounds were added in the course of one year! If you did not order the 429 engine, the smaller engines were quite strained by the increase in weight and size.
The rear window sloped at a very low angle so rear window slats were no longer offered. Probably because if you put slats on the rear window your view would be blocked. Also, because you set low in the seats, it was hard to see over the Long hood and rear end.
The design was mocked up by Gail Halderman and shown to Ford’s then president “Bunkie” Knudsen in February of 1968. Bunkie liked the design and approved it. Sad news however because of his racing and performance tastes, he was removed from office. It seems like the upper echelon didn’t share his tastes and were caving in to the Mustang II design being readied for 1974.
It seems like the car manufacturers and the government were deciding what we the drivers wanted. Iacocca hated the 1971-73 series cars and was eager to build the smaller underpowered cars of the 1974 – 83 era.
Two new options were introduced in 1971. Power windows and rear window defroster were offered. The deluxe interior on the Mach 1 was not standard this year. If you wanted the upgrade, you had to buy it at a price of about $130. The Ram air hood was a no cost option on the 302-2V Mach and standard on the 351-2V and up. The only way to get the hood locks from the factory was to order Ram Air, which was available on 351-4V and up engines. If you ordered the top of the line 429 ram air package, you got the functional hood scoops, all others got a simulated hood scoop. Functional scoops were also offered as on option with the 351 engine.
A competition suspension was available to all cars except ones with the 250 cid 6 Cylinder. It came standard on all Mach 1’s. This package consisted of: heavy duty shock absorbers, Heavy duty springs as well as front and if the engine was a 351 4v or large also rear stabilizer bars and staggered shocks. The cars were also equipped with a variable ratio (15.7 to 1) power steering unit.
1971 Mustang Production Data
| Body Style | # Produced | |
| 63D | 2 Door Fastback | 23,956 |
| 65D | 2 Door Hardtop | 65,696 |
| 76D | Convertible | 6,121 |
| 63F | Mach 1 | 36,499 |
| 65F | 2 Door Grande | 17,406 |
| Total | 149,678 |
There were 1,806 Boss 3351 mustangs included in the above table.
1971 Mustang Data Plate Decoder
| 1 | F | 01 | F | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Year 1971 | Assembly Plant | Body Code | Engine Code |
Consecutive Unit Number |
|||||
| Model Year | |
| Code | Description |
| 1 | 1971 |
| Assembly Plant | |
| Code | Description |
| F | Dearborn |
| R | San Jose |
| T | Metuchen |
| Body Serial Code | |
| Code | Description |
| 01 | Hardtop |
| 02 | Sportsroof |
| 03 | Convertible |
| 04 | Grande |
| 05 | Mach 1 |
| Engine Code | |
| Code | Description |
| C | 429-4V |
| F |
302-2V |
| H | 351-2V |
| J | 429-4V Ram Air |
| L | 250-1V |
| M | 351-4V |
| Q | 351-4V Ram Air |
| R | 351-4V Boss |
| Body Style Code | |||
| Code | Description | Code | Description |
|
63D
|
Sportsroof, w/ Standard Interior, Buckets |
63R
|
Mach 1, Buckets |
|
65D
|
Coupe w/ Standard Interior, Buckets |
65F
|
Grande, Buckets |
|
76D
|
Convertible w/ Standard Int., Buckets |
***********
|
************************** |
| Exterior Paint Code | |||||
| Code | Description | Code | Description | Code | Description |
|
A or 9A
|
Raven Black |
B or 2B
|
Maroon Met. |
C or 6C
|
Dark Ivy Green Met. |
|
D or 3D
|
Grabber Yellow |
E or 4E
|
Yellow Gold |
I
|
Grabber Lime |
|
J, 3J, J9
|
Grabber Blue |
M or 5M
|
Wimbledon White |
N or 4N
|
Pastel Blue |
|
P or 4P
|
Med. Green Met. |
V
|
Light Pewter Met. |
Z or Z9
|
Grabber Green |
|
3 or 3B
|
Bright Red |
5 or 5A
|
Med. Brown Met. |
6 or 6E
|
Silver Blue Met. |
|
8
|
Light Gold |
***
|
************** |
***
|
***************** |
| Interior Trim Code | |||
| Code | Description | Code | Description |
|
1A
|
Black, all Vinyl |
1B
|
Med. Blue, all Vinyl |
|
1E
|
Vermillion, all Vinyl |
1F
|
Med. Ginger, all Vinyl |
|
1R
|
Med. Green, all Vinyl |
1W
|
White, all Vinyl |
|
2B
|
Med. Blue, Cloth and Vinyl |
2E
|
Vermillion, Cloth and Vinyl |
|
2F
|
Med. Ginger, Cloth and Vinyl |
2R
|
Med. Green, Cloth and Vinyl |
|
3A
|
Black, Knitted Vinyl |
3W
|
White, Knitted Vinyl |
|
4A
|
Black, Cloth and Vinyl |
4B
|
Med. Blue, Cloth and Vinyl |
|
4E
|
Vermillion, Cloth and Vinyl |
4F
|
Med. Ginger, Cloth and Vinyl |
|
4R
|
Med. Green, Cloth and Vinyl |
5A
|
Black, Knitted Vinyl |
|
5B
|
Med. Blue, Knitted Vinyl |
5E
|
Vermillion, Knitted Vinyl |
|
5F
|
Med. Ginger, Knitted Vinyl |
5R
|
Med. Green, Knitted Vinyl |
|
5W
|
White, Knitted Vinyl |
CA
|
Black, Knitted Vinyl |
|
CB
|
Med. Blue, Knitted Vinyl |
CE
|
Vermillion, Knitted Vinyl |
|
CF
|
Med. Ginger, Knitted Vinyl |
CR
|
Med. Green, Knitted Vinyl |
|
CW
|
White, Knitted Vinyl |
*******
|
************************ |
| Axle Ratio Code | |||
| Code | Description | Code | Description |
|
2
|
2.75:1 Standard Differential |
3
|
2.79:1 Standard Differential |
|
4
|
2.80:1 Standard Differential |
6
|
3.00:1 Standard Differential |
|
9
|
3.25:1 Standard Differential |
A
|
3.50:1 Standard Differential |
|
B
|
3.07:1 Standard Differential |
K
|
2.75:1 Locking Differential |
|
M
|
2.80:1 Locking Differential |
O or 0
|
3.00:1 Locking Differential |
|
R
|
3.25:1 Locking Differential |
S
|
3.50:1 Locking Differential |
|
V
|
3.91:1 Locking Differential |
Y
|
4.11:1 Locking Differential |
| Transmission Code | |
| Code | Description |
| 1 | 3 Speed Manual |
| 5 | 4 Speed Manual |
| 6 | 4 Speed Manual Close Ratio |
| U |
C-6 Automatic |
| W | C-4 Automatic |
| X | FMX Automatic |
| District (DSO) Code | |||||
| Code | Description | Code | Description | Code | Description |
| 11 | Boston | 12 | Buffalo | 13 | New York |
| 14 | Pittsburgh | 15 | Newark | 21 | Atlanta |
| 22 | Charlotte | 23 | Philadelphia | 24 | Jacksonville |
| 25 | Richmond | 26 | Washington | 31 | Cincinnati |
| 32 | Cleveland | 33 | Detroit | 34 | Indianapolis |
| 35 | Lansing | 36 | Louisville | 41 | Chicago |
| 42 | Fargo | 43 | Rockford | 44 | Twin Cities |
| 45 | Davenport | 51 | Denver | 52 | Des Moines |
| 53 | Kansas City | 54 | Omaha | 55 | St. Louis |
| 61 | Dallas | 62 | Houston | 63 | Memphis |
| 64 | New Orleans | 65 | Oklahoma City | 71 | Los Angeles |
| 72 | San Jose | 73 | Salt Lake City | 74 | Seattle |
| 81 | Ford of Canada | 83 | Government | 84 | Home Office Reserve |
| 85 | American Red Cross | 89 | Transportation Services | 90-99 | Export |
Consecutive Unit Number |
| Each plant started each year with number 100,001. The Ford, Mustang, Torino, T-Bird, and Maverick were all numbered together, regardless of model or type. |
Fluid Capacities
| Model | Engine Oil | Transmission (pts to add after draining) | Axle | Gas tank | Cooling system | |||
| 3 Spd | 4 Spd | Auto | Qt. w/ heater | with AC | ||||
| 6 – 250 | 4.5 | 3.5 | – | 18 | 4 | 20 | 11 | 11 |
| 8 – 302 | 5 | 3.5 | – | 18 | 4 | 20 | 15 | 15.5 |
| 8 – 351 | 5 | 3.5 | 4 | 22 | 5 | 20 | 15.5 | 16 |
| 8 – 429 | 7 | – | 4 | 26 | 20 | 19.5 | 19.5 | |
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