Sharky

So...this car was obviously repainted as it is a 1972 and this color wasn't available. It was originally pewter according to the Marti report and all info on the car itself. However it was taken all the way down to bare metal, primed, and painted in I believe this 1971 color. A few chips have formed that go to the metal and I'd like to get them filled in with a matching color that looks good and prevents rust from setting in. The largest chip is the size of my pinky nail. I've looked through eBay but can never tell if the colors there are the exact match. Can one of you experts guide me to the correct bottle of touch up so I can just do it with a brush very carefully so it at least looks good from a few feet away and doesn't lead to further damage to the paint/body? Thanks all! http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a275/SharkHawk/IMG_2984_zpsa9jcjze4.jpg

Funny, I posted after looking at only the first page. I didn't realize that somebody had posted pics of the Montego on this same page. Ooops. The bottom one in red was the exact car I was thinking of. :)

The 2 door reminds me of the Mercury Montego GT from 72-73. There is a lot of similarity to it in my eyes. And the Montego of course reminds us all of the Torino which came from the Fairlane. So they look like they came from the same family tree and just were a different branch, but are obviously siblings. :)

She wouldn't need to leave Bill's money. Trust me, she has enough of our own. I read an article about her once, and it was pretty amazing how much money she got the day Microsoft went public, and what she was worth when she left (at least I think she did around the time Bill did if I'm thinking of the same person that is being mentioned here). There were a lot of instant millionaires in my old neighborhood in Washington when Microsoft stock went public and then subsequently went crazy for quite a while. It was good to see it happen, but I felt bad that I never spent more time programming and worked my way into a gig there. Grrrrr...

Is this a common thing on these cars. Mine is a 72 with a 351c and automatic transmission. The gauge cluster is coming out shortly so I can go to LED's because I can't see the thing at all at night, but I figure I might as well order parts and have them ready for the speedo if there is a common failure point. I had this on a Ford in about 1989, but it needed replacement of two separate speedo cables (and I started out by only buying one of them). I just don't want to rip into it and not have the parts at the ready. Thanks for any tips. You've all given me such great advice so far and we are getting closer by the day to getting this thing back to looking and driving pretty darn new. :)

Sharky - Jon

Here are the particulars. They look good, but obviously need work. They are old and not bright and shiny. :) Just some old engine heads. But this guy claims they are worth more than I think so, but I wanted to check. If they are worth what he is asking I may pick them up in case anybody else needs a set here or for a backup set for me to work on and learn as I go. I have a set of 1971 351c open chamber heads. These are bare heads that will probably need to be machined. The numbers: Casting: D1ZE-DA D1ZE-DA Cylinder Heads Cleveland V8 1971 351C-CJ (Cobra Jet), 75.4cc open chambers, 2.19/1.71 valves Date casting: 1M13 Year 1 = 1971 Month M = Dec. A - January B - February C - March D - April E - May F - June G - July H - August I - (not used) J - September K - October L - November M - December Day = 13 13th day of the month. Selling as-is

Excellent advice and info from all. I'm amazed at the depth of knowledge and willingness to help out others. I'm going to rip into it tomorrow and figure out exactly what I have and then figure out where I'll go from there. It sounds like the pertronix of some sort is the most tested and trusted way to go. More info coming soon and then I'll pick what parts exactly to go with.

I've been looking at all sorts of different setups over the last two months. My car has misfired since I got it, and I want to start over to a degree on the electrical/ignition side and then tune the carb for our high elevation and thin air. But is this a good place to start or a waste of money? If there is something better let me know! :) I'm also excited to fix the horribly dim interior and exterior lighting this month. http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=200987066182

Those are two from this evening. A few more on the way! :) Interesting question JimNiki. I grew up always wanting a 57 Chevy Bel-Aire. I loved how it was curvy and round and kind of looked like a bulldog to me. My dad broke the news to me that by the time I was able to buy a car I probably wouldn't want or even be able to find a 57 Chevy. So I moved on to other cars. The original Mustang Fastback and the California Special were my two favorites after that and I looked for them constantly on the roads of Seattle and saw many. When I started looking into buying a muscle car seriously it was about five years ago. I wanted something from the era of when I was born (1973) because those were the cars I had seen that had been modified and guys were racing around in and doing cool thing to when I first got interested in cars (age 3 or 4 at the latest). So there were a few Mustangs and T-Birds around my neighborhood. My parents bought a 1973 Maverick right before I was born and we kept it for about 10 years. My brother and I worked on it and he said he wished Dad had just paid the extra dough and bought a Mustang, but with insurance rates and a gas crisis, the Maverick made more sense. But I got my first car work experience on a 73 Ford. When I got really serious about it two years ago I wanted either a GTO or a Mercury Montego GT. I was also interested in an earlier Mustang fastback or a Cuda. Then reality set in as we looked at prices. I didn't think I would ever be able to afford a Mustang Fastback/Sportsroof. I loved the 69-70 probably the most, with the 71-73 a close second. I was at the doctor's office a few months ago and outside was a totally original 70 Mach I in orange. The paint was faded. It still had the original hubcaps and it looked like a car somebody had driven literally to church and back for 40 years. I waited and waited to see who owned it but they never came out of any other place in the area so I had to go home. I kept on looking, but never found it anywhere around here so I then looked into the 71-73's and found a few that I could actually afford. At that point I locked in and decided I was all in on a 71-73. I finally found the one I wanted on an ebay auction that didn't sell and then had it trucked down to me from Montana. I've driven it once since to get some gas. I go start it up about once a week, but that's about it. I need to do some serious fine tuning because I want it to be perfect. We'll see what the summer brings. :)

Wow, what a tremendous welcome from you all! I can already tell this is a board I will spend a lot of time on and hopefully be an asset to in some form or another. If nothing else... I have a third garage if anybody needs space to come do some work on their car on a weekend. That was the deal when we got our house. My wife got the house of her dreams. I got to paint it in Seahawks colors (originally from Seattle), and I got a third garage for the muscle car I ultimately decided on. I am truly married to the greatest lady ever. I work in Murray which is just on the outskirts of Salt Lake City proper, but live in Lehi, which is about a 25 minute drive from here (near Provo and Orem which are both pretty good sized cities). I am looking at retiring next month at the end of the school year at age 41 because I have had 5 major spine and leg surgeries due to some injuries I suffered after getting kicked in the leg during a softball game when I was 30. It ended up snapping my leg, and then everything fell apart from then including breaking my neck and having it and my lower spine fused. Yuck. No fun. But I can still wrench on a car and enjoy it when I can. My son is 11 and has always loved cars as I have, so I thought this would be a fun little bonding process and project for us. I've been laid up literally months at a time for the last five years, especially during summers when I was resting up for the next school year and trying to heal. Now that I can walk again ok and things are slightly better I am going to make as much time for my wife and kids as possible. So I may be out of work soon. Oh well. I've sort of planned for it, and unfortunately my doctors are telling me to go on permanent disability. I don't so much like the idea, but they say they almost never recommend that someone does, but in my case with so many breaks and problems directly linked to my spinal cord they want me to slow down and take it easier and focus on physical rehab and mental rehab. So it could be for the best. Sorry for the novel! :) I will post some pics tonight. I realized they are all on my phone and it just died here at work so I can't even email them to myself. I'll get them up on photobucket this evening and show off the green monster. :) We're still working on a nickname for it, so feel free to add an idea if you'd like. My son wants to call it something different each day and can't decide. I love the info about the 2V and 4V. My Marti report lists it as a 2V, but the air cleaner housing has a 4V sticker on it. I've barely touched anything thus far. Just ordered a couple of small parts and will begin the process of making it better than it is now. Thanks again guys! I look forward to turning this car into a daily driver from May-September. If I'm at home that means a mile a day to take my kids to school and back. ;) -Jon

Hi all! I bought a 1972 Mach 1 last September. I've driven it two miles total (I'm pathetic!). I'm an elementary school teacher who is really needing the year to end so I can enjoy my car! I've usually worked on SUV's and off-roading vehicles due to our horrible winters here, but always wanted a Mustang. My mom says Mustang was my first word and I could identify all of the different models from about age 4 (1977). I felt it was fitting to get one about my age. :) Hopefully I can find some others in the area that know more than I do. This thing just needs some fine tuning and it should be good for many years. The guy I bought it from just had a new Holley carb installed and it obviously wasn't jetted or tuned for mile high altitude. I'm not a novice mechanic, but I would like to pick the brain of some of you who specialize in the 351c. I'd be happy to tell you anything and everything about the Toyota 120 platform vehicles. :P