1970 1971 Torino and Ranchero Side Marker Lights

It seems like most of the 70-71 mid sized Ford/Mercury cars that I look at are missing at least one (and many times all) of the side marker lights.  I suppose they are removed in preparation for paint.  They are the proverbial missing sock in the dryer.  During every restoration, I have struggled to find the correct sets of parts and side markers are a usual problem.

Here is a little info that may help you in your quest to find that missing sock. The Cyclone (Montego) have a different marker set than the Torino.  The Ranchero front markers are the same as the Torino.  The Ranchero rear markers are unique to the Ranchero.

The Torino and Ranchero side markers breakdown as follows.  There is a left and right metal backing plate.  A clean set will have a Ford logo visible and will show RH or LH.  The left bezel part number is D0OB- 15A441 and it also shows LH.  The right bezel part number is D0OB-15A440-B and it also shows RH.  These markers come in pot metal and plastic with the same part number.  The front marker amber light assembly fits either side and has part number D0OB-15A428-A.

The Torino rear side markers breakdown as follows.  The backing assemblies come in both plastic and metal.  I am unable to find a part number on either.  There is a left and right backing assembly.  At the factory, they had a RH and LH tag.  It takes a keen eye tell the difference if the tag is missing.  I usually figure it out by trial and error.  The right side bezel has  part number  D0OB-15A4660-C and is marked RH.  The left side bezel part number is D0OB-15A467-C and is marked LH.  Like the fronts, these come in plastic and metal construction.  The red light assembly has the same part number as the front.

I have seen some good quality reproduction marker lights but they do not have the Ford logo.  The RH and LH tags for the rear backing plates are also available in reproduction.

I hope this is helpful.  Please feel free to add  or correct my posting.

Flaming Pintos

The Ford Pinto was Lee Iacocco's concept.  He challenged the Ford engineers with the number 2000.  The car had to be powered by an engine of 2000 ccs or less, should weigh less than 2000 pounds and should sell for less than $2000.  The Ford engineers met the challenged but the 2000 lb weigh limit proved problematic.  To meet this limit, minimized the amount of steel in the uni body.  In a rear impact, the  light weight sub frame would collapse to a point that the fuel tank would hit the rear end and rupture.  Oddly, in the pivotal case that Ford lost, the occupants of the car left the gas cap off during  a fill up prior to the accident.  This proved to be immaterial as the evidence mounted against Ford.  The fix for Pintos in the field was thick plastic shield that fit to the gas tank that prevented it from being punctured.  New models featured a stronger uni body.

I became acquainted with the Pinto in the late 80's.  At the time, I lived in central Florida and wanted to realized my lifelong dream to be a stock car driver.  Many of the local tracks had a mini-stock class that was essentially all Pintos.  The Pintos were plentiful.  I built a car and raced at Orlando Speedworld, Lakeland and New Smyrna.

I only had two experiences with fire.  The first one occurred in my garage.  I was adjusting the carb float and did not realized that gasoline had ran off the manifold and accumulated on the floor.  I shut off the ignition which created enough spark to light off all the fuel. At the time, it seemed like the entire garage was one fire (though it was not).  I grabbed a small fire extinguisher and was able to get the fire quickly.  Of course, the first thing I did was to see if any of my neighbors saw me.  They didn't -so my image as a competent mechanic and stock car driver was not singed.

The second fire occurred one night at Orlando Speedworld.  A fellow racer and I locked bumpers.  He shredded his tire on my right rear bumper while trying to get unlocked.  The yellow came out and a wrecker was used to unlock our bumpers.  When the green came out, I took off with reckless abandon.  I was quickly blacked flagged - I had no clue why.  I pulled over and one of the stewards came running over and yelled at me "You are on fire".  (In that part of Florida - it is pronounced "faar").  The fire crew quickly put the fire out and I continued racing.  What I found out later, was that most of the shredded tire ended up in my rear quarter panel.  These hot shreds ignited after I resumed racing.  I can't blame the Ford engineers for this one.

Stock car racing is a contact sport which means you need a good stock of spare parts.  Right front fenders are considered disposable.  I even quit painting them.  At the time, junk  Pintos and Mustang IIs were plentiful.  I had a fan in my neighborhood that owned a small wrecker service and salvage yard.  He would leave a  junk Pinto or Mustang II in my  driveway much like neighbors would leave an apple pie on your porch.

These cars made really good stock cars.  When the car is completely stripped, it was very light.  A well designed roll cage added stiffness and improved safety.  The front suspension was very good.  The down side to these cars is that a moderate impact could do a lot of damage to the uni body.  It was pretty common to have to replace the front clip once a year.

1970-1971 Mid Size Ford and Mercury Body Codes

There seems to be a lot of terminology floating around about body styles for the 70-71 mid size Ford and Mercury vehicles; 2 door sedan, formal roof, fastback, etc.  Many of the compatibility programs like the one used on eBay adds to the confusion.  For example, it does not differentiate between the 2 door sedan and 2 door fastback.  Here I go using inconsistent terminology!  To get the right parts for your car, it is important to know your body style.  I will use a real example.  I had a customer with a 2 door Torino that needed the chrome trim that surrounds the rear window.  The problem is there are two versions of 2 door Torinos with different rear window trims and he was not sure which car he had.  To solve this dilemma, we can go back to the Ford terminology for body styles or "body codes"

The third and fourth digit of your VIN is the body code.  The following is a breakdown of the body codes:

1970	1971	Body Code	Configuration
X	X	01	Montego 2 door hard top
X	X	02	Montego 4 door sedan
X	X	06	Montego 4 door sedan MX
X	X	07	Montego 2 door sedan MX
X	X	08	Montego station wagon
X	X	10	Montego 4 door sedan MX Grougham
X	X	11	Montego 2 door sedan MX Grougham
X	X	12	Montego 2 door hardtop MX Brougham
X	X	15	Cyclone 2 door hard top
X	X	16	Cyclone GT 2 door hard top
X	X	17	Cyclone Spoiler
X	X	18	Montego Station Wagon Wood rail
NA	X	25	Torino 2 door hard top
X	NA	26	Falcon 2 door sedan
X	NA	27	Falcon 4 door sedan
NA	X	27	Torino 4 door sedan
X	NA	28	Torino 4 door sedan 500
X	NA	29	Torino 2 door sedan 500
NA	X	30	Torino 2 door sedan 500
X	NA	30	Torino 2 door hard top
X	NA	31	Torino 4 door sedan
NA	X	31	Torino 4 door sedan 500
X	NA	32	Torino 4 door hardtop
NA	X	32	Torino 4 door hard top 500
X	X	33	Torino 2 door hard top Brougham
X	X	34	Torino 2 door hard top Fastback
X	X	35	Torino 2 door hard top Fastback GT
X	X	36	Torino 4 door hard top Brougham
X	X	37	Torino GT convetible
X	X	38	Torino 2 door fastback Cobra
X	X	40	Falcon Station wagon
X	NA	41	Torino Station wagon 500
X	X	42	Torino Station Wagon
X	X	43	Torino Station Wagon Squire
X	X	46	Ranchero
X	X	47	Ranchero 500
X	X	48	Ranchero GT
X	X	49	Ranchero Squire

I obtained this information from the Hollander interchange manual.  It is also available in the Ford Master Parts catalog.  As you can see, the codes are not completely consistent between 1970 and 1971.  I hope this gives some insight into the various body configurations of the 1970-1971 mid sized Fords.

Torino Door Art

While parting out a large number of Torino and Ranchero doors, my wife noted that the stack of doors would make a nice photo.  I think she was right! The photo shows the array of colors offered in 1970 and 1971,

Introduction

Welcome to my blog.  I will be sharing some technical insight, observations and even a few funny stories related to Ford and Mercury cars and trucks.  My love affair with Ford and Mercuries started with a 1962 Ford F100 at the age of 14.  Through the years I have had just about every vehicle they made; Mustang, Mustang II, Pinto, Granada, Monarch, Torino, Cyclone, Montego, Ranchero, LTD, Galaxy, F150, F100, F250.  Yes, I owned a Pinto and yes, it did catch fire, but that's another story.   I have restored them, wrecked them, dismantled them, used them for yard decoration, etc.  I do not consider my self an expert on anything.  I like to make observations and seek feedback from my peers.  I dismantle a large number of cars and have deemed myself to be a car-archaeologist or "carchaeologist".

My current  project is a 1969 Mustang fastback.  It is an M code with a 4 speed and power disk brakes.  My brother and I are entering year three of a one year project.  We expect it to be complete somewhere between year 4 and year 6.  With any car project, I believe it is the journey - not the destination.