72 Mach 1 starting the rebuild

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Joined
Feb 11, 2014
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Location
La Habra Heights, CA
My Car
72 Mach 1
79 Ranchero
79 Corvette
OK here we go. I'm starting the rebuild of a 72 Mach 1. It now has a 351C-2v with an FMX trans and just today I found a rebuilt 1970 351C-4v with a C6. The engine has less than 20k on a stock rebuild. I bought them today and have now abandoned my idea to rebuild my 2v with a stroker kit and simply use the stock new one. I will upgrade the intake to an Edelbrock performer and I'm not sure what CFM carb I should add. I didn't have my camera with me or would have included pics of the new engine.

I've already purchased a few interior items from Don at OMS and a few exterior items (front spoiler, stripe kits) but what I really need to do next is work on the brakes. It now has manual drums front and rear and I at least want to put discs on the front and probably on the rear too. Any advice or tips are very welcome.

Here are the pics of the car I'm starting with.02-24-14 004.jpg02-24-14 003.jpg02-24-14 007.jpg02-24-14 008.jpg

 
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Today I took the car out to AAA to complete the title transfer. This is the first time I drove it more than turning around in my driveway. The Trans won't shift into 3rd but I was really impressed with the power out of this very tired engine. Since I bought a 351C 4V with a C6 Trans to put in with only 20K on a stock rebuild, I’m not worried about the shifting problem. I’ll be keeping the 2V engine and FMX Trans just so I can have all of the factory original components, but over time, I can do whatever the heck I want with the new engine and not worry about disrespecting the heritage of this relatively unmolested survivor.

I just wanted to say this little drive brought back memories of my old 73. Now I’m chomping at the bit to get started. I should get the new engine and Trans on Saturday then I can actually get started. As rough as she looks now we still turned some heads especially when the lights turned green.:angel:

 
Today I took the car out to AAA to complete the title transfer. This is the first time I drove it more than turning around in my driveway. The Trans won't shift into 3rd but I was really impressed with the power out of this very tired engine. Since I bought a 351C 4V with a C6 Trans to put in with only 20K on a stock rebuild, I’m not worried about the shifting problem. I’ll be keeping the 2V engine and FMX Trans just so I can have all of the factory original components, but over time, I can do whatever the heck I want with the new engine and not worry about disrespecting the heritage of this relatively unmolested survivor.

I just wanted to say this little drive brought back memories of my old 73. Now I’m chomping at the bit to get started. I should get the new engine and Trans on Saturday then I can actually get started. As rough as she looks now we still turned some heads especially when the lights turned green.:angel:
Very nice! I experienced the same feeling when I first drove mine any real distance (Except the remembering back to my old 73, this is the only one I've ever had) It's just unlike driving anything else.

 
Very cool car. I'm not sure I'd rver touch the exterior. As to a carb a Holley 4160 750 CFM electric choke would be a great starting point for that engine combo. If you intend to run headers, Holley's comp headers for your car are inexpensive and fit very nicely.

With a disc brake upgrade be aware that the plumbing modifications such as replacing the master cylinder and the distribution block and a proportioning valve need to be added into your budget.

I added Baer Ironsports to the rear of mine and my Magnum 500's would not clear (I knew they wouldn't when I installed them, but not when I purchased them. So a set of 17 wheels and tires were added to the budget. Also the ebrake set up didn't work well so I added a Lokar hand e-brake mounted on the transmission tunnel, that required new cables and I still need to build a set of bellcranks to get enough pull to fully engage the rear e brakes.

If I had to do it over again, I would have gone with a conversion that used the GM metric rear calipers for cheap rear brake pads.

I've had three different rear end center chunks in my car and am looking at another gear change. I've had 2 different transmissions and am now considering going back to the toploader as my new engine needs very different gearing in order to obtain a little bit of traction.

My car's progress has ebbed and flowed as a result of a poorly defined game plan and the fact that I like working on it when I have time to spare, it relaxes my mind-but I'm odd. So what I am encouraging you to do is make a comprehensive plan for where you want to go, be honest with yourself as to what is enough and what isn't.

If it were me, I'd pull the intake and heads and front cover and oil pan off that rebuilt engine and see that it had the cam I wanted or change it and change to fresh premium gaskets, add arp fasteners, inspect the heads to see if they need the valves upgraded to one piece valves. You can inspect the bottom end for signs of damage and if you catch it now, it will save you from pulling it back out of the car. You will also get to paint the tins and put it all back together nice and clean and perfect. It is a great opportunity to do this-though it will cost you a few hundred bucks and a few days extra time (maybe a little more if the heads need to be sent out and valves replaced.

If you aren't familiar with the 2 piece intake valves that Ford used in these engines, do a search and see what they did to Turtle's rebuilt stroker and you'll see why I suggest that is at the very least the starting point for every engine inspection (it can be done with a mechanic's scope through the spark plug hole without the need to pull the head- the offending valved have a ford oval on the face of the valve.

 
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