Looking for a 71-73 Mach 1 from the dry south (Arizona)

Hi all, just joined following Steven Harris' recommendation in the Mach1club.com

I am in the search for a 71-73 Mach1 Mustang with a 351C. My main requirement is that the body is as clean and free of rust as possible. I can handle fixing the mechanicals, but I don't want to deal with extensive and expensive body work. The recommendation from the Mach1club is to look for options in the Phoenix-Tucson area.

I like this idea but my main issue is that I don't want to fly all the way out there from Wisconsin to find out the car is not what it is supposed to be. I need the help of someone local to take a first look at the car. Then if all looks good and matches pictures/description then I will fly there to close the deal.

At this time I am not yet ready to pull the trigger, but will be soon. Any thoughts?

Thank you.

That's a good idea. I live in San Diego and picked up my vert out here. I lived in AZ and the thing about there is all the plastic and rubber is shot. Maybe also consider Texas, new Mexico, or CA as well. I'm doing a ground up and trust me, its really nice when you can just wipe 40 years of gunk away to find something band new under it. I'm in north count San Diego and would do a run or two as long as its in the North county. There are also a lot of guys in the east and south county as well as LA that would be glad to help out. PM me when you ready and Ill send you my contact info. One thing I wish is that I would have waited for a Qcode of desired color.

On a personal note my wife's a third generation Badger and most of her family lives in WI. The next time I'm force back for a visit maybe we can meet up.

-Jim


Sorry, BTW welcome to the site. It's been a life saver for me!

Welcome Tony.

I invited Tony to jump on over here and get a wider slot of options and help in looking for his Mach 1.

Welcome from TriCities WA.

Welcome from CA!

If you need me to check out a car in my area PM me.

I live in Mesa AZ which is part of the "Valley of the Sun" (Phoenix Metro Area). There are a lot of nice examples of rust free cars out here. I would be happy to go look at anything you are serious about.

Phoenix is pretty spread out. So if it is more North/West I might ask for a few bucks to help cover gas. I can take pictures, check the normal areas, etc. I have owned my mustang for 30 years so I know a thing or two about them. I am NOT an expert, just an enthusiast.

Welcome from the wet South, aka coastal Alabama. Good luck with your search.

::welcome:: Form San Diego. I picked up couple Coupe for parts from inland California. both these cars where 99% rust free. The 3rd Coupe I pick up lived on the coast. The vinyl top was toast so the coastal fog rusted the roof out. My 71 Mach 1 project was from the coast so it had some minor rust. I would focus your search on a inland car.

If you find a car within 100 miles from me I would be more than happy to go look at it.

Welcome from Australia. Good luck with the search

It might be useful to know a price range. Maybe some of us already have a car that might suit Tony. I see cars for sale on here all the time and the price range usually is relted to level of effort to have a good or great car.

Welcome from Arkansas

Welcome to the club from northern Nevada. I luckily picked up mine locally and it was 99.7% rust free. As previously suggested, price range might be beneficial, plus some members are craiglist gurus that post up decent "rustfree" cars available in a variety of locations.

Glad to have you here!

No suitable cars for you in my neck of the woods but I wanted to say ::welcome:: to the forum from Luxembourg, Europe.

Thanks a lot for the responses. Let me share with you my wish list:

- 71-73 Mach 1. Also, 70s, but I know these are above my budget

- No rust, good body

- 351C engine - preferably not "recently" restored

- No white interior or light colored interior

- No white color exterior even though it can be repainted

- Factory A/C, power brakes and power steering

- Budget: $13,500 max. It was $15k, but I want to leave $1,500 for flying to pick up the car and transportation back to WI.

Are the A/C and power assisted options a necessity? Or can this be added via aftermarket kits?

Mechanically, I don't care much about the engine as long as all the pieces are there. I prefer to rebuild the engine myself to my own specs rather than rely on someone else's rebuilding.

Chances are with a $13,500 or less budget the car is going to need a bit of work. One thing I've noticed about these cars is they are either major projects or pristine examples bringing decent money, not much really out there in the middle area. Good luck in your search.

Thanks a lot for the responses. Let me share with you my wish list:

- 71-73 Mach 1. Also, 70s, but I know these are above my budget

- No rust, good body

- 351C engine - preferably not "recently" restored

- No white interior or light colored interior

- No white color exterior even though it can be repainted

- Factory A/C, power brakes and power steering

- Budget: $13,500 max. It was $15k, but I want to leave $1,500 for flying to pick up the car and transportation back to WI.

Are the A/C and power assisted options a necessity? Or can this be added via aftermarket kits?

Mechanically, I don't care much about the engine as long as all the pieces are there. I prefer to rebuild the engine myself to my own specs rather than rely on someone else's rebuilding.

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A/C can be added later, but PS and PB should come equipped from the factory. Good luck, and keep us posted!

Chances are with a $13,500 or less budget the car is going to need a bit of work. One thing I've noticed about these cars is they are either major projects or pristine examples bringing decent money, not much really out there in the middle area. Good luck in your search.

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Yeah, the $15k budget is more realistic so I may have to pull the travel/transportation money from the stash hidden underneath the mattress..... I have a bunch of miles and points that I should be able to use for travel, but the transportation would be expensive. I could drive it back, but I don't know how I feel about driving a car I don't know well for that long.

Good luck and check the Craigslist section here I post everything I find in hopes someone finds are car that is right for them. Sometimes we tend to put up some cars that we think are unrealistic expectations from the seller.


1972MustangSVH posts lots of ads.

Chances are with a $13,500 or less budget the car is going to need a bit of work. One thing I've noticed about these cars is they are either major projects or pristine examples bringing decent money, not much really out there in the middle area. Good luck in your search.

Click to expand...

Yeah, the $15k budget is more realistic so I may have to pull the travel/transportation money from the stash hidden underneath the mattress..... I have a bunch of miles and points that I should be able to use for travel, but the transportation would be expensive. I could drive it back, but I don't know how I feel about driving a car I don't know well for that long.

Click to expand...

Welcome and Good Luck with search. You could always fly in to seal the deal and have it shipped back. I have had a car shipped before not bad money wise.