This came from a 74. My car is a 73 and it came missing the heat shield. I was assuming the cut on the corner was done by a PO but then saw a pic somewhere of another one that appeared to be cut the same. Did these come this way from the factory or were some modified to accommodate a particular type of aftermarket muffler?

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No, cut to fit after market exhaust.

Guess I'll add that to the already long list of metal work remaining

Damn! I have a cutout that looks EXACTLY like that on mine but I didn't notice it until AFTER I sprayed tinted bed liner. It's been pissing me off and seeing yours looking just like it gave me a moment of hope that it was supposed to be there.

Inncorrect. That is oe.

Hmmmm.... Brent, there’s still hope for us that there’s something we don’t have to fix!

It's factory. I've seen that before

here is one shown in its native habitat:Click to view attachment

The shield on my 73' 2.0 does not have that notch.

I just pulled my rusty original out of the scrap pile to take a look. No notch.

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And here's what the shield from the donor piece looks like.

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Anyone know which years got the notch? Like Doug, my car is a 73 but I think the donor was a 74.

I'm glad you brought this up because it has been bugging the out of me. Thought I might have to sell the car.

Neither of my two '70 cars has the notch in the shield ...

Is that a monza style exhaust in George's picture? Perhaps it's an issue with 1.7/1.8 HEs and aftermarket exhausts requiring the notch.

Notch required because of aftermarket Brusch style exhaust, like radios, installed by the dealer made it oe.
Helped a friend weld in new trunk floor, installed the original heat shield and he had to cut it to install the aftermarket exhaust.

Bent, because it appears to be ‘dealer oe’, will you leave your notch or splice in a piece from your original?

I'd have left mine regardless because I've already sprayed the undercarriage (including the shield) with its final coating. It wouldn't be worth messing that up. Knowing that it is dealer OE helps and the fact that I have a Bursch exhaust that will be going on the car makes it a no-brainer. Sounds like I would have needed that notch regardless. I'm thinking I'll save my original (or at least that corner) just in case some day I decide to fix it.

my 75 has that notch on the pass side.