Purple tag part number weirdness

[StraightSix]

I've had this question for some time, but never got around to asking it. My car has what appears to be the original wiring harness for the car (purple tag and all), but the part number is different than what's quoted in the Recognition Guide and here on this site. The tag reads like this:

FoMoCo
C8ZB14334A
SX
​

The FoMoCo is the same, the part number is different (should be C8ZX14405A), and the SX is supposed to be SX[sub]R[/sub]. Obviously, it's a '68 Mustang part (the C8Z), but I don't know what the B is for. The X in the correct part number designates that it's a performance part.

Anybody have any ideas? ???

-Winston

 

[68sunlitgold]

Winston,
I know the 'X' stand for Ford Special Vehicle Engineering, but I am not sure about the 'B'. But almost all 1967/8 part #'s have a 'B' in the fourth space. Your wiring harness number is a stumper.
Has anyone ever found a site or book that breaks down what all Ford part #'s mean?
Good Luck and I will keep digging in my shop books.
Doug

 

[StraightSix]

[quote author=68sunlitgold link=board=1;threadid=183;start=0#756 date=1042907321]
But almost all 1967/8 part #'s have a 'B' in the fourth space. Your wiring harness number is a stumper.
[/quote]
I didn't realize that many 67/8 parts had B in the part number (never really looked much). That said, I have never been able to find this part number listed anywhere. Thanks for looking for me...

-Winston

 

[68sunlitgold]

Winston,
found a decoder for the part number "B":

Engineering Department:
A Chassis
B Body
E Engine
F Engine Accessories
J Autolite (67-72)
P Auto Transmission
R Manual Transmission
W Axle
X Muscle Parts Program
Y Lincoln/Mercury Service Parts
Z Ford Service Parts

Doug

 

[68sunlitgold]

Here is all the info on parts decoding:

Casting Code Definitions
Decade of Manufacture:
A=1940
B=1950
C=1960
D=1970
E=1980
F=1990

Decade Year:
The digit of the year. A C8 would be 1968, a D1 would be 1971, C3 is a 1963.

Car Line:
Code Car Line
A Galaxie
D Falcon (60-69)
F Outside US, T/A Racing
G Comet/Montego
J Industrial
M Mercury
O Fairlane/Torino
P Autolite/Motorcraft
R Rotunda
S Thunderbird
T Truck
V Lincoln (61+)
Z Mustang


Engineering Department:
A Chassis
B Body
E Engine
F Engine Accessories
J Autolite (67-72)
P Auto Transmission
R Manual Transmission
W Axle
X Muscle Parts Program
Y Lincoln/Mercury Service Parts
Z Ford Service Parts


Basic Part Number:
This is the number that identifies what the part actually is - 5230 is a muffler or 6200 is a connecting rod.

Design Change:
This indicates what application the basic part is used for. For example - 9425-A is for a 289 2v motor, whereas a 9425-B is for a 289 4v motor.

Doug

 

[StraightSix]

Wow! Thanks for the research, Doug! I suppose that the "body" designation makes sense. I wonder if my harness is just the standard harness with a quality chop job done to it...

Doug, do you currently have access to your cars? If so, could you pull the harness part number from your regular hardtop to see if it matches mine?

-Winston

 

[68sunlitgold]

Winston,
I only have my convertible with me and I went out and pulled the number from the harness (the same location that I found my GT/CS harness number) and found C8ZB-13A449-A, which is odd, I can not find the 14405 number anywhere. ???
I will continue to look.
Doug

I think I mudded the water more and cleared it up....

 

[StraightSix]

Okay, I am more confused now. I went out to the garage and looked at my wiring again. The taillamp harness is definitely original, as it has the molded splices and 5-prong connectors that are shown at the bottom of page 47 of the Recognition Guide. However, the tag number that I have came from the wire that rides up the passenger fender well -- well away from the taillight harness. This seems to be the proper location according to pages 97 and 127 of the 1996 Registry. Is this really the taillight harness tag, or did I pull the tag from another wiring harness?

I guess the best question here is where did everyone else pull there tag numbers from? Are all the tags purple, or only the special GT/CS wiring harness tag?

Oh, and thanks for taking a look at your harness for me. Doug!

-Winston

 

[68sunlitgold]

Winston,
the CS tag should be right above the passenger side tail light, almost at the end of the harness.
Doug

 

[68sunlitgold]

Winston,
the tag you got is the orginal tag that leads back from the front of the car, it should be the same as the stock Mustang, I believe the CS was spliced into the harness towards the end of the harness right before it gets to the first light. I went out to look for it on my car (convertible) but that area of my wiring has the cloth webbing gone, so I don't think I will find a part #.
Doug

 

[StraightSix]

Okay, that makes more sense. I didn't find a tag on my harness either -- most of the webbing is shot. I believe that the mystery is solved. Thanks, Doug!

-Winston

 

[guest]

For years I always wondered if my HCS was authentic. I got my 96 registry (page 72, 3rd from bottom) when I was living in Japan, and since I wasn't able to check my mustang (in storage in the states) I worried about it for 6 years. Recently I started restoring my car and searched around for the purple tag and was relieved to find it. It had the 14405-A number and the SX (little R). But the tag is so old and brittle that it litterally crumbled in my hands. I got it in a zip-lock bag so I can show it at future car shows as proof to any naysayers that the car is original. Btw, when I bought it in 1978, it had a blacked-out 1968 grill, not a '67. Don't know if anyone has ever heard of that happening or not. Doesn't look like it had ever been replaced, that's why I wondered about the authenticity

 

[StraightSix]

Does the grille have the Marchal brackets and cut-outs? If not, the grille is almost certainly an incorrect replacement. If it does have the brackets and cut-outs, it could be original with the wrong grille used because of a factory shortage. More likely, however, would be that they did a repair job and used the wrong grille with the original brackets. Personally, I've never heard of a '68 grille being original.

-Winston

 

[HCSMustang]

No, it doesn't have the brackets or cutouts. As a matter of fact, when I bought the car in High school, I didn't know what it had. I saw other '68s with the corral and Pony so I went to the local Ford Dealer and bought a set and installed them on the grill. It was only a year or so later when I was in Denver and saw another HCS that the guy told me it wasn't correct for an HCS Mustang. That's when I started doing more research on the car and found out what I had. Like I said, the grill doesn't look like it had been replace. It's an July 1968 Mustang (like a lot of HCS's) , so maybe they had a shortage and slapped on a new '68 grill. But I got a '67 off ebay and am going to make the changes and install it.

 

[68sunlitgold]

HCS Mustang,
even though the hcs uses the Lucas lights and does not need the brackets to mount them, you can still get the brackets from Delta mustang and it would then be correct. HCS's still had the grille brackets in them even though the only thing it did was have the wire for the Lucas lights pass through it.
Doug

 

[StraightSix]

I have Delta Bay's next-to-last set in my garage, primered and awaiting an NOS grille (when I get the cash). If you want those last pair of brackets, you had better go ahead and get them. They didn't say whether or not they would be making more, but I wouldn't imagine they were very hot sellers :

FYI, they are top notch quality. They'll set you back about $70 plus $8.50 or so shipping.

-Winston

 

[HCSMustang]

Page 113 of the '96 registry outlines how to modify a '67 with the brackets. So now I'm off to Delta Bay Mustang to see if they have any left. I hope they have a website and take plastic...

Thanks for the info

 

[StraightSix]

Yeah, I plan on modifying an NOS '67 grille just like the factory did. My goal is for it to be almost indistinguishable from an original. If I can find an undamaged used one, however, I'll just go that route. It'll be cheaper and it won't deplete the NOS stock.

The only way you should be able to tell that my grille setup isn't original is from the brackets -- the repros don't have "LH" and "RH" stamped into them like the originals do.

FYI, Delta Bay does have a website and they do take plastic. You'll probably have to call them to order, though.

-Winston

 

[68sunlitgold]

Winston,
I found a used '67 grille that was perfect. The only trouble I had was to find the correct rivots. Talon423 found some at a hardware store that need to be hammered flat, just like the originals. I think they were called tinners rivots. You can not use regular ones becasue they are hollow.
Doug

 

[HCSMustang]

I tried to pull up Delta Bay Mustang's web site, but it keeps telling me site not found. Anyone else have the same problem?