I should point out that the additional instructions in the IBM 1401 required additional hardware, so you weren't paying for IBM to just move a jumper.
For instance, the multiply/divide feature cost $333 per month (in 1960s dollars), but it required the installation of 183 circuit boards (each the size of a playing card) so you were getting your money's worth.
More curious was the Sterling currency option, which provided arithmetic in pounds/shillings/pence. (I.e. 12 pence to the shilling, 20 shillings to the pound.) This required 508 new circuit boards, but made it much easier to do currency math in England. Keep in mind this is transistor circuitry to do math in hardware.
One-cut upgrades do date back to that era. The change from an IBM 1130 with a 6 us cycle time to a 3 us cycle time was minimal. Indeed the machine had to run at 3 us to drive the printer; if you never cleared the printer interrupt you got a free upgrade.
For instance, the multiply/divide feature cost $333 per month (in 1960s dollars), but it required the installation of 183 circuit boards (each the size of a playing card) so you were getting your money's worth.
More curious was the Sterling currency option, which provided arithmetic in pounds/shillings/pence. (I.e. 12 pence to the shilling, 20 shillings to the pound.) This required 508 new circuit boards, but made it much easier to do currency math in England. Keep in mind this is transistor circuitry to do math in hardware.