1971 Mach 1 429 CJ 4 speed Resto

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Jhyatt14

Active member
Joined
May 20, 2014
Messages
37
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Location
New York
My Car
1971 Mach 1 429 Cobra Jet 4 speed Top Loader. Matching numbers, 47,000 original miles. Dark Metallic Green with Gray Two Tone.
Well I figured since I have started the rebuild on my 429 CJ car I would post some interesting photos. The car is a one owner, 47,000 original documented mileage car. The car is currently down to the metal and will be in primer by the end of February. Today we tore the block down as we plan to freshen it up with new seals/gaskets and the like. I am going to have the original water pump sent out for rebuild this week also. Check out these interesting markings on the block that I found as we tore it apart. This is the first time this motor has been apart so these markings had to have come right from the factory. Pretty neat.

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Got her all in primer. All that is left to do is block sand it. Then we will paint the engine bay and install the engine. After that is done we will complete painting the car. Lot of fun.

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Ok.. so here's a head scratcher. I am getting ready to bring the "original" radiator that was in my 71 429 4 speed mach 1 to get re-cored. I check the numbers on it to verify originality like I have been doing throughout this project and pictured is what I see. I check the number in multiple places online and I can't find it anywhere. I call the original owner and he says the radiator has never been out of that car. It is a "fomoco" stamped part. The number is not what any of the sites say it should be.... but I can't find the number anywhere. It is a cross flow and it is 13 fins per inch. Thoughts??

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Ok.. so here's a head scratcher. I am getting ready to bring the "original" radiator that was in my 71 429 4 speed mach 1 to get re-cored. I check the numbers on it to verify originality like I have been doing throughout this project and pictured is what I see. I check the number in multiple places online and I can't find it anywhere. I call the original owner and he says the radiator has never been out of that car. It is a "fomoco" stamped part. The number is not what any of the sites say it should be.... but I can't find the number anywhere. It is a cross flow and it is 13 fins per inch. Thoughts??
The number would indicate full size Ford. The date code is 1971, March, second week. Does that jive with the build date? Chuck

 
Stranger things have happened (use of "wrong" radiator) in the production of these cars.

I agree with Chuck's inference that if the build date matches, the use of the D1AE stamp might just be an anomaly, especially if the original owner is sure the radiator has never been out of the car. The fins per inch, as you apparently knows, coincides with the number that is supposed to be on a 4 speed 429CJ.

http://429mustangcougarinfo.50megs.com/cooling_system.htm

It is a "head scratcher" though.

BT

 
Chuck,

It does jive with the build date. The car was ordered on 4/2/71 and built on 4/23/71… so a 2nd week of March 71 is definitely correct for this car. The owner has been dead on with everything else I've uncovered with this car so he knows if that radiator has been out or not. I suppose it is just an "anomaly" where it was numbered incorrectly. Everything else shows that it is the proper radiator for the 429 4 speed CJ. Ah well, onward!



Are you going to paint the car with the fenders and hood off like they did at factory. And just curious to why you left the windshield in? Sounds like you are trying to do a correct restore.

David
I will be taking the hood off to paint. Sad to say, the windshield will not be staying. It suffered a crack at the bottom of the windshield that I do not think is repairable. Anyone know of any good places to get an original windshield that would be appreciated.

 
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Contact these people.

Easy to deal with, good glass, and they will etch the proper CarLite script and date codes for an additional fee. Chuck
Thanks brother! Will do. Now, anyone have a contact for radiator restoration? I brought my radiator to two local places and both said it has too many leaks to repair. I them it was original to the car and I wanted to preserve originality and the date code and they all said it's too far gone. Any suggestions or am I SOL?

 
Alright guys… I've come across an issue here. We have the motor installed in the car. If you have been following this thread you know I have a matching numbers 429CJ with the original 4 speed Toploader. So.. the original clutch was smoked and needed to be replaced. I contacted David Kee Toploader and they gave me a McLeod part number MCL-75148 which includes the pressure plate and throwout bearing. We go to install it, the 11 inch disc is too small and the pressure plate does not line up with the bell housing. SO.. I call McLeod again and this time they give me a different part number with a 12 inch disc (MCL-75135) and get the explanation that they went away from the 3 prong style to the diaphragm style which is why they need the bigger disc for this application. We get the new set up and everything lines up perfectly. So, good to go right? Well, we install the clutch, bolt up the transmission, and the motor won't spin. We pull the transmission back off, motor still won't spin. We pull off the bell housing, now the motor spins freely. We find paint transfer from the pressure plate hitting the bell housing. So now the 12" inch disc that lined up with the holes correctly is obviously too large for the bell housing. So here we are, Saturday morning, McLeod and David Kee are both closed for the weekend. :mad:

Can anyone tell me the CORRECT clutch kit for the 1971 RUG-AZ1 top loader transmission? From what the "experts" have told me the three prong style is basically obsolete now and everyone is going to the diaphragm because the three prongs are impossible to find and no one is remanufacturing them. With so many 429 set ups here in this club I hope someone here can steer me in the right direction. Thanks fellas.

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Alright guys… I've come across an issue here. We have the motor installed in the car. If you have been following this thread you know I have a matching numbers 429CJ with the original 4 speed Toploader. So.. the original clutch was smoked and needed to be replaced. I contacted David Kee Toploader and they gave me a McLeod part number MCL-75148 which includes the pressure plate and throwout bearing. We go to install it, the 11 inch disc is too small and the pressure plate does not line up with the bell housing. SO.. I call McLeod again and this time they give me a different part number with a 12 inch disc (MCL-75135) and get the explanation that they went away from the 3 prong style to the diaphragm style which is why they need the bigger disc for this application. We get the new set up and everything lines up perfectly. So, good to go right? Well, we install the clutch, bolt up the transmission, and the motor won't spin. We pull the transmission back off, motor still won't spin. We pull off the bell housing, now the motor spins freely. We find paint transfer from the pressure plate hitting the bell housing. So now the 12" inch disc that lined up with the holes correctly is obviously too large for the bell housing. So here we are, Saturday morning, McLeod and David Kee are both closed for the weekend. :mad:

Can anyone tell me the CORRECT clutch kit for the 1971 RUG-AZ1 top loader transmission? From what the "experts" have told me the three prong style is basically obsolete now and everyone is going to the diaphragm because the three prongs are impossible to find and no one is remanufacturing them. With so many 429 set ups here in this club I hope someone here can steer me in the right direction. Thanks fellas.
I beleive you need an 11.5" clutch.

 
I beleive you need an 11.5" clutch.

Yeah. I have the original manual in front of me and its showing that the pressure plate diameter and the clutch disc both measure 11.5. I'm looking to see if someone on here has changed out a stock clutch kit and replaced it without issue. If they have, I'm looking to see what they used (part numbers would be helpful). Thanks.

 
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