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(Note: Click thumbnails to enlarge pictures.)

SPRING COLOR CODES

1. Rear Leaf Springs - Paint Markings 

Four colored paint stripes were used to identify leaf spring sets for each vehicle application as shown above.

Rear Leaf Springs - all have 4 leafs  (before 10/19/70)
Vehicle Application	Paint Marks
All Bodies	1 green, 2 pink; 640#

 

Rear Leaf Springs - all have 4 leafs  (after 10/19/70)
Vehicle Application	Paint Marks
Mach, SportsRoof & Convertible	2 red, 2 orange; 654#
Hardtop & Grande	2 green, 2 gold; 615#
Cougar Hardtop (from Dan Davis buildsheet)	1 silver, 2 red; 560#

 

LEAF SPRINGS        The photos above show the leaf spring paint marks from 3 different 429 SCJ  Mach 1s. They are color coded  Red Red Orange Orange on the bottom side on the shackle end. A set of nicely restored leaf springs are shown below.

2. Front Coil Springs - Paint Markings

Front coil springs were identified with three color dots as shown circled in red above.

Front Coil Springs: (before 11/9/70)
Vehicle Application	Paint Marks
All SportsRoof & Hardtop Models, 429CJ w/no options	3 red
All SportsRoof & Hardtop Models, 429CJ w/AC, or PS	3 green
All SportsRoof & Hardtop Models, 429CJ w/AC and PS	3 gray
Convertibles w/MT, 429CJ w/no options, w/AC, or w/PS	3 green
Convertibles w/MT, 429CJ w/AC and w/PS	3 gray
Convertibles w/AT, 429CJ w/no options, or w/PS	3 green
Convertibles w/AT, 429CJ w/AC, or w/AC and PS	3 gray
All Bodies All Trans', 429SCJ all	3 green

 

Front Coil Springs: (after 11/9/70)
Vehicle Application	Paint Marks
All Hardtop & Convertible Models, 429CJ w/no options	3 red
All Hardtop & Convertible Models, 429CJ w/AC, w/PS, or both	3 green
All SportsRoof Models, 429CJ w/no options, or w/PS	3 red
All SportsRoof Models, 429CJ w/AC, or w/AC & PS	3 green
All Hardtop & Convertible Models, 429SCJ all	3 green
All SportsRoof Models, 429SCJ w/no options	3 red
All SportsRoof Models, 429SCJ w/PS	3 green
Cougar Hardtop, 429CJ w/AC & PS (from Dan Davis buildsheet)	3 gray

OTHER SUSPENSION PAINT MARKS

Idler Arm A pink stripe was used on the Idler arm (as shown above) on parts from two different original cars.   71 429 Cougar Idler Arm/Drag Link pink paint stripes.	Drag Link Draglink paint marks - pink stripes.
Pitman Arms (Power Steering version) Pink dab and Aqua dab as shown on two different samples.   71 429 Cougar Pitman Arm with white and aqua dabs	Strut Rod Note the orange oxide dye on the strut rod nuts.
Shock Absorbers The 429 Mustang front shock was identified with a white paint dot on the bottom (left) while the rear shocks had an orange paint dot (center). An installed views of the rear shocks are shown at right. For you hardcore detail guys, here is the part number and text from an original 71 429 Mustang front shock: AUTOLITE MADE IN CANADA D1ZF 18045 88 TIED FRONT
Rear Sway Bar Rear Sway Bar - white paint (top) near end link.	Brake Backing Plates There were two orange paint marks to the left of the adjustment hole on the rear drum brake backing plate. Below is the front disc brake backing plate showing the original factory finish.
Disc Brake Rotor/Spindle Above left shows an original 71 Mustang spindle with the white paint mark as shown. The center photo is the spindle part number. At right is a factory rotor with a white paint daub.
Tie Rod Ends/Adjustment Sleeve Note the pink daub on the original tie rod end and the green daub on the adjustment sleeve.
Front Sway Bar    The 429 Mustang had 3 paint ID marks on the front sway bar as evidenced by the original one shown at left. These 3 paint dabs were only on the bottom side of the sway bar and were yellow-yellow-green as shown in the diagram at center. They were spaced about 60 mm apart and each dab was about 30 mm wide.  A restored and installed sway bar is shown at right.

 

Suspension Parts
Front Coil Springs Various views of the front coil springs. Picture at left is Cougar and the others are Mustang. Installation photo is below.
Staggered Shock Plates Staggered Shocks came on all '71 Mustangs with a 4 barrel carburetor (with both the standard or competition suspension). The right side (passenger) is shown at center and the left (driver side) at right.
Front Shock Upper Mounts The triangular version at left was used in the '71 model year. Sometime late in '71, a switch was made to the version at right which continued to be used through 1973.
Shocks The rear shock (left) part number is D0ZF-18080-B1 and the front shock (center) part  number is D1ZF-18045. The rear shock mount for the 71 Cougar is shown at right.
Leaf Spring Straps Note the difference between the straps that hold the leaf springs together. The original strap (right) has a round hole while the replacement (left) has a square hole.	Leaf Spring Part Number The leaf springs are marked D1ZA-5556-SA on the bottom center near the center spring bolt.
Leaf Spring Attachments The photo at left shows the shackles used on the 71 Mustang. The Leaf Spring attachment to  the axle is shown above center and right.
Installation The photos above show the leaf springs installed. Below is a diagram with an exploded view of all the components in the 71 Mustang rear suspension.
Rear Sway Bar These photos show the rear stabilizer bar. Cars equipped with the 351 Cleveland received a 1/2" diameter version while 429 equipped cars (and the Boss 351) received a 5/8" stabilizer bar. An easy way to check which one you have is to use an open end 1/2" and 5/8" wrench. The 1/2" will just slip over the 1/2" bar and the 5/8" with just fit over the 5/8" bar. Below is an installation diagram for the rear sway bar and a photo of  NOS 5/8" rear sway bar bushings marked D0ZA-5484-E  for 70- 72.        Getting the Correct Rear Sway Bar! On the left is a `70 bar, and on the right, a `71-`73.  The only difference is in the off-set area at the rubber bushings. Other than that,  both bars are the same size, and both fit 70-73, so the bars are easy to confuse as to which is correct for the particular year, when buying or looking at one.
Front Sway Bar For the 1971 Mustang, there were two front Stabilizer Bars - the standard 3/4" and the upgraded 7/8". The 7/8 was used on all cars with competition suspension, which came standard on the 429.  BTW - an open end wrench is a quick way you can use to check/measure the stabilizer bars on a car.

Rare photo of 71 Mustangs rolling down the line at Dearborn Assembly