My Marti report

I purchased it April 2013. I first asked the original owner about buying it about 25 years ago. Still has original glass but the previous owner took the heads off the motor over 20 years ago. The 351 C was seized and very rusty. The trunk had a sack of cement left in it around that time. It hardened up and rusted a hole in the rear tail light panel....work in progress

Nice report...Love the color too...And that is a nice set of gears too...Optional Axle Ratio 3:50 traction lock with 4 speed...I bet it will take off like a beast even if stock....thanks for sharing

Nice looking car...congrats on the pick up. It must be pretty quick with the setup it has. Good luck on the restoration.

Jeff

These cars look great in pewter and black...congratulations on your purchase

Great color combo! The tail light panels are a common area to rust!

Talk about fast delivery...wow! This has to be among the quickest turn arounds Ford completed.

Guy walks into Courtesy Ford in Littleton, CO on Saturday Jan 9th, 1971 and wants to order a new Mach 1. Salesman says "you bet" and grabs the order form, fills it out, and takes the down payment.

Ford receives the form on the following Wednesday sees that it is a "retail" order" and schedules the car to be built a week and a half later on Monday the 25th. Due to low production levels in Jan Ford can push this car through and actually builds it on the very next Wednesday the 20th...one week after receiving the order. Car is shipped from Dearborn, MI to Littleton, CO via truck. Car arrives the following week.

Salesman calls customer and says "Your car is ready. Come on in". Customer cant believe his car is ready in just over two weeks from when the order was made. Customer has to arrange financing and goes to dealership on Saturday the 30th to pick up his new Mach 1. He drives off with a huge smile and is completely amazed at Ford and his new car.

Since you know the original owner, ask him how it went when he ordered the car and see how close my version above is to what he says.

Congrats on your new purchase that took 25 years to complete. lol

+1 to Don. Exactly what I was thinking that this car was a quick turn around. It would be interesting to hear the owners story. With those options I do not this it was a Stock order in the que.

+1 to Don. Exactly what I was thinking that this car was a quick turn around. It would be interesting to hear the owners story. With those options I do not this it was a Stock order in the que.

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This was a retail order for the specific customer. The order type is just above the dealer info on the Marti report.

The turn around time for a retail order wass usually between 3 to 4 weeks from when Ford received the order. It has a high degree of variability mainly due to time of year and parts availability. Jan and Feb typically had quicker production times due to low number of orders coming in from the dealers. I've never seen a one week turn around until now. The lowest before this car that I've seen was 10 days.

That is a quick turn out...lol..My car took 2 months too finish and it was a stock order...But i guess due to the amount of parts and time of year.

That is a quick turn out...lol..My car took 2 months too finish and it was a stock order...But i guess due to the amount of parts and time of year.

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Retail orders took precedence over all other orders because the car is (was) already sold to a customer who had plunked down a deposit. Stock orders were second priority. Those were the dealer orders made to put cars on their lots. They were the dealer's best guess in colors, options, models, etc. of what customers want in a vehicle. However, those cars would sit on the lot until the right buyer came along and picked a car from the lot. Ford didn't make money until the car sold. Retail cars were sold as soon as they were delivered back to the dealership.

Occasionally a retail car would sit on the lot if the customer backed out. Didn't happen very often though.

Thanks for all the comments. The previous owner has been a close friend of my sister's for 30+ years. She purchased the car new but her husband at the time took part in buying and ordering the car. She divorced him around 1980 and kept the car and had it titled in her name alone. Her current husband has some health issues and it was real task picking it up. We had a verbal deal but it's not done until it's on you trailer and title is in hand. The engine was taken apart not long after I first tried to buy it. He took the heads and everything off but left the block in the car. I pulled it the following weekend after buying it.I found that it has 4 wheel drums. That was a surprise.

Wow, that's nasty. It hurts to look at that pic. Not impossible to repair but will be some work involved with that block.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Interior is pretty good. There is rust in the lower quarters but the body and undercarriage is very good.


space saver spare..