[SnakeHerder]

Hi Slick. The numbers in the photo look like a December 4 1972 casting date, making it a likely service block. Nice photos - easy to read.

Ron61, you're just up the road from me. I hear you about the credits, but that doesn't mean they will let the Historical Vehicle crowd off. The car had a Thermactor, hot air from a manifold stove (which makes no sense with an open hood scoop, but oh well), and the push-me/pull-you distributor (for NOx) from the factory. I'm guessing they'll reinstate the smog check for these cars and, since the Thermactors are hard to get, at least stop the folks with the less pricey 428CJ cars from staying on the road. They could also start setting arbitrarily low standards for emissions, though that might be hard to make stick.

I sold this car about 1980, and bought it back in 1996. When I bought it back, the seller had to drop something around $2500 to smog it, with a favorable referree. It was lacking the stock air cleaner ($1100), snorkel ($200), stove ($200), and S-tube ($350). Also a stock Holley carb with the Ford tag ($335). And the labor to install them. The seller had some clout, and got the law passed that exempted the old cars from smog checks. (He was a state senator - termed out a while back).

If this had been any old Mustang, nine years ago, $2500-3000 would probably have been enough to send it out of state or to eBay in parts.

Never trust a politician further than you could spit a rat is my advice...