Anyone know what this is?
71-73 ignition switch
Thanks Leon. Couldn’t get the part number to tell me anything. Is it for a Cougar?
The letter Z is for a Mustang. But it is the same for a 71-73 Cougar.
Sorry Neal, I know it’s my crappy picture. The part number is D12B-11572-AB. The only thing I’ve found is the AC suffix is for a Pinto. I can’t seem to find what AB refers to.
Opps. I just looked closer, it is a little hard to tell. Sorry.
The Ford Master Parts and Accessories Catalog show the third character “2” as a Pinto part.
Some of the more likely parts codes for Cougars
Third character
Z - Mustang (and Cougar when Mustang parts are used)
W - Cougar (when different from Mustang)
P - Autolite or Motorcraft parts
A - Ford (Generic) / Galaxie - presumably parts that fit a broad range of models
Fourth character
Typically a Design office designation (e.g. engine, body, chassis, transmission)
J & Z are service parts (sold as replacement parts, sometimes adapted to fit a broader set of models or years)
The “-AB” parts number suffix could mean any number of things, but typically denotes:
- A design change designation. “A” is the original part, “B” is the first revision or difference, etc. These were not always issued sequentially. For example, a '73 Mercury (full-size) base wheel cover is D3MY-1130-A, but the turbine style “luxury” part number is D3MY-1130-T. There were only 3 other wheel cover/hub cap types for '73. Design changes could also be to correct a defect with an original part. An example would be making a part thicker to prevent bending or torqueing (sp?) in service in order to cure failure.
- A color, as for interior parts. these can get quite involved due to the numerous variations but in Ford parts-speak, A is usually black, B is usually blue, D is usually red…If you were to look as the trim codes for a particular year, you could get a rough idea of how this works. I’ve not seen a part number suffix from this era with more than 3 characters but don’t know for certain if there could be 4+.