Does anyone know what color the shield for the window washer jug is originally??
The one i have actually looks like it was galvanized????? or a real bad paint job!!!

 

Well, learn something new every day!
I've never seen a windshield washer tank with a heat shield so I looked up the illustration in the Ford parts catalog. It doesn't show anything to do with a heat shield. Just out of curiosity I look up the part number of the reservoir and right below that is the listing "Heat shield, windshield washer reservoir". Never knew there was one.
I searched for a picture of one but couldn't find anything.
Without seeing it I would say your assumption is probably correct and the finish is galvanized like the splash pans.

Part number for '73 is D3TZ-17B646-A, 74-up is D4TZ-17B646-A.
Probably no surprise that no dealer or obsolete supplier has any.

 

Thanks mike I appreciate that. !!!!

 

Yep we wouldn't want that washer fluid to get warm - loss of 20hp!

 

That would make a convenient reservoir for water/alcohol injection for a turbo .

 

I've only seen a couple of these in my life. They must not have been a very popular option.

 

Here,s one mikeo0o0o0 I found on a f250 at the J/Y

 

So what was the shield really for? Normal engine heat seems unlikely, even headers wouldn't get the tank hot enough. Mud? A/C? HD power steering?

Did any of these have the generator option (or was that only a bumpside thing)?

 

That looks a lot like mine. Not sure what year you got that off?? But there is a differance from my 78 one. Is that galvanized ???? Mikeo0o0 seems to think so. Is there a good galvanized spray in a rattle can ???

 

No generator on mine!

 

The only thing I could see it helping is to lengthen the life of the reservoir itself, though mine seems to be doing ok after 36 years. maybe it was part of a package; option for a tow package or desert areas where more heat is generated underhood?

 

No real usefulness, most likely a $3 part to produce, and a $100 option from Ford......

 

It's listed as a HEAT shield in the parts catalog so my guess is to shield the plastic reservoir from exhaust manifold heat. However, if that's the case, why didn't they all have them when in fact, apparently very few did.

tasboj thanks for the picture, now I know what they look like .

Chevmn56 I just went through a similar problem with the Pumpkin. I was trying to find some way to refinish the inner splash pans which are galvanized. Mine were pretty rough looking and nothing seemed to "look right" either. I looked at the spray on cold galvanizing compound, no good, looks like gray primer. I even looked at having the pieces re-galvanized, that was a no-go too, that finish is just a rough, dull gray finish like you see on galvanized bolts.
What I ended up doing looks really good (at least I think so ) although not original. I used Rustoluem "silver hammertone". I comes in a rattle can, applies easily and looks really good. It has a semi-gloss shine and a textured finish.
Here are how my splash pans came out.

 

The '73 did have the "Power-pac" option, that's what Ford called it. But when this option was ordered, they moved the windshield washer reservoir to the passenger side splash shield.

 

I just keep mine finished in natural, greese, grime, etc. Mine looks a little different than the one posted, must have been updated in the later years. I'm sure mine is a '79.