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Could you give me a general explanation of what the terms mean on a Marti Report?

Vehicle Order Image: On the top of deluxe and elite reports is a series of numbers that repeat counting from 1 to 0 to form 80 to 160 columns depending on the model year. Below these numbers is the vehicle order image. It contains the data that was used to build your vehicle. This was based on an older computer punch card system where a punch card would contain 80 columns with rectangular holes punched across the cards in precise locations that could be scanned by a computer to translate them back into alphanumeric text. See http://www.martiauto.com/faqfocus.cfm?qid=25 for a picture of a punch card and more explanation.

Each column has a different meaning for different years. As an example, for the 1967 model year, the paint code is found in column 15 (and 16 if a tu-tone paint) and the radio code is found in column 58. The original ordering dealer is always found in columns 70-75. Note that the ordering dealer is not necessarily the selling dealer (see http://www.martiauto.com/faqfocus.cfm?qid=17 for more information). Also, terms and descriptions are used on the reports that may not match word for word other terms on other documents. See http://www.martiauto.com/faqfocus.cfm?qid=27 for more explanation on this.

Ford paint numbers, names, and codes: Ford paint numbers are the actual means by which Ford Motor Company orders paint. Paint codes and names change from year to year and make. As an example, there is a particular color that was used from 1967 to 1972. Depending on the year and make, it was referred to as Acapulco Blue, Nordic Blue, Bright Blue Metallic, and Medium Bright Blue Metallic. For the 1967 and 1968 model years, it had a paint code of D. In 1969, this was changed to 6, which continued throughout the 1970 and 1971 model years. For the 1972 model year, it was identified by paint code 3J. However, during this time, its paint mix formula was cataloged at Ford as paint number 3077.

Special Paint: Special paint was available on most cars and trucks each model year. Because there were over 250 special colors available, Ford did not have the ability, within the confines of the system they had established, to create a code for each color. They, therefore, left the paint code blank both in the database and on the data plate that was attached to the vehicle. As such, when we prepare a report, the paint area of the report will display, “Special Paint, Ford color unknown.” It is possible for us to determine the special paint that was used on the vehicle if appropriate documentation is provided. This can include a buck tag that contains the paint number (not all buck tags have that info), a build sheet (the information is contained in the remarks section), or a paint sample that has been supplied. We do not guarantee that we will be able to add this information to the report and a report is considered to be complete with the “Special Paint” designation, but we will endeavor to provide the paint number if it is possible to do so.

Serial Numbers: Ford serial numbers start with 100001. Lincoln and Mercury serial numbers start with 500001, 600001, or 800001 depending on make and year. For this reason, if you have, for example, a Mustang with serial number 100106, our report will list it as the 106th car scheduled for production.

Order Received (Order Date) This is the date an order was received by the Ford General Office from a dealer (or by a department within Ford if it was a company vehicle).

Car serialized (Serialized Date) This is the date the General Office assigned the plant that would assemble the vehicle and gave a consecutive unit number to the vehicle.

Bucked (Buck Date) This is the date the first piece of sheet metal was welded to another piece of sheet metal to begin forming the buck (if you imagine unbolting everything possible from your vehicle, that which remains is the buck. Generally, on this date, the entire body is produced, appropriate holes are punched, and the body is primed and painted. See http://www.martiauto.com/faqfocus.cfm?qid=56 for more info.

Scheduled for Build (Scheduled Date) At the time the General Office assigned the plant that would assemble the vehicle, it also projects a best estimate date that the vehicle would be constructed.

Actually Built (Build Date) Due to the fact events generally don’t go as planned, the Scheduled Date was not necessarily the actual date of manufacture. The actual build date is the date the vehicle begins to be assembled on the Trim and Chassis line. Generally, the vehicle is completed on this date.

Released (Release Date) This is the date the assembly plant released the vehicle to either a Convoy (trucking) company or Rail (road) company for delivery to the dealer.

Sold (Sold Date) This is the date the first retail customer purchased the vehicle or the date the vehicle was paid for by one department at Ford to the Marketing Department if it was a car sold within Ford.

About dates: Dates are manually input into the Ford database by Ford employees. We have no control over those dates. Generally, the dates form a logical pattern, but occasionally an obvious discrepancy occurs. For example, a vehicle may show a production date of January 2, 1968, but a release date of December 29, 1967. Logically, the vehicle could not have been released before it was manufactured. In a case like this, it could be simply someone having mistyped one of the dates. Another possibility, especially in the 60s and early 70s, is that someone at Ford wanted to make their month or year end report look better so they entered into the system that the vehicle was released even though it wasn’t. Obviously, we have no way of knowing what the correct date would be.

Some dates may appear to be mistypes. There are certain vehicles that, for example, have a scheduled build date like 65H, corresponding to August 65th. This is not an error. Rather, it was a system employed within Ford to keep track of certain types of vehicles, typically at the beginning of a model year. We have no further information about what the purpose of that tracking was.

On rare occasions, the month of manufacture listed on your report will be either one month earlier or one month later than the month listed on your VCL (vehicle certification label). This actually occurs when the department at Ford that produced the VCLs was either running ahead or behind schedule with the production of the VCLs. Because Ford Motor Company consisted of many large departments, it was not always possible for them to keep those departments in sync. Although technically the month of manufacture listed on the Marti Report is accurate and the label that is actually on your car is off one month and Ford considered the label "close enough" for government certification, we are allowed to reproduce the report and override the month of manufacture on the report to match your vehicle. Just return the report with picture proof of your original VCL. Keep in mind, the date listed for manufacture on the Marti Report is the true date of manufacture and you should use it when making restoration decisions.

Occasionally, one or more of the fields in the "IMPORTANT DATES" box is/are blank. This is because Ford did not record that info and we have no further information.

Order Type Ford Motor Company builds vehicles for different purposes and different customers. In fact, there are over twenty different classifications of order types. Some of the more common are:

Retail – an individual comes to a dealership and orders an as yet unbuilt vehicle
Stock – a dealer orders a vehicle to have available for display at his/her location
Basic – Ford has excess capacity on an assembly line and produces vehicles to keep the plant busy
Fleet – a company that orders five or more vehicles yearly qualifies for price breaks on these vehicles
Special Purpose Vehicle – a vehicle built by Ford for what the name implies
Introductory Show Unit – a vehicle built to demonstrate a new model. Generally this vehicle is shipped to be on display at some large public gathering
A-Plan – vehicles built for current Ford employees and sold at a discounted price
Z-Plan – vehicles built for retired Ford employees and sold at a discounted price
Lease – vehicles leased by Ford to an individual or a company

DSO Item # See http://www.martiauto.com/faqfocus.cfm?qid=24

Statistics Box – the statistics box provides five individual statistics that apply to your particular year and body type. The statistics are not linked to each other; they represent five separate statistics. As an example, if a 1969 Mustang report shows 17,051 with this paint code and 5,194 with these engine/transmission codes, each statistic stands separately. The 5,194 with these engine transmission codes is not a subset of the 17,051 with this paint code. Further, if in this example it says at the bottom of the statistics box “for the 1969 Mustang Sportsroof” it includes all sportsroofs for that year including Mach Is because Mach Is did not have a separate body type that year. However, if all of the above appeared on a 1970 report, it would not include Mach Is because that year Mach Is had their one separate body type. DSO in this section of the report stands for District Sales Office, a region of the country that had responsibility for collecting orders from the dealers of that region. The DSO statistic represents how many of the particular body type were sold in that district that model year. The option statistic is chosen on the basis of what is most significant for that particular carline and body type for that model year amongst the options that vehicle was produced with. Certain statistics are not computable because of the methodology Ford employed for counting options. For this reason, you may not see the statistic you would like in the report. We do offer a research service and oftentime a statistic you are interested in can be generated manually by using this service. See https://www.martiauto.com/secure/stats.cfm for more info.

Options - Regular production options are listed in this section. Please note this list includes those items defined as options per Ford Motor Company. They do not include dealer-installed items or items that are standard with certain types of cars (e.g. a 1969 Mustang ordered with the Mach I package received a console as standard equipment, therefore it will not be listed as an option even though other 1969 Mustangs could be ordered with the optional console). The list does not include Special Order equipment. The names used for options may differ between the report and other documents such as window stickers. This is because different departments at Ford used their own "languages." Sometimes these are subtle differences such as the spelling of a word like "molding" or "moulding" and "gray" or "grey." An example of greater variation would be the use of the term "Handling Suspension" versus "Cross Country Ride Package." Both refer to the same option. The terminology reflected on the report is as reported to the Data Processing department at Ford, which is what we utilize. There is no such thing as a "correct" term any more than a person is more correct to use the term "faucet" for "spigot" or "tap." See http://www.martiauto.com/faqfocus.cfm?qid=27

Answer provided by
Kevin Marti
Last updated December 26, 2011