Original owner 73 Mach 1

I ordered this car March 30, 1973 when I saw what Ford was going to in the Mustang. It has sat in the barn since I think the tag is 1983 on it. It has not been washed or started since. I did pour oil down the carb before parking. I have the order form, window stickers, dealer invoice and all info on the car. I loaned to a friend and he scratched the R.H. front fender so that does not have the original paint but the remainder of the car is original.

The picture was just before I parked it. I was arrested in the car once. We had gone to lunch and only have 30 min. so I flew as usual. We were walking into the cafe and a sheriff slid into the parking lot jumped out pulled his gun and arrested me. He was chasing me but I did not know I was so far ahead of him. I beat the case in court represented myself. He said I was in excess of 120 mph in a 35 mph zone and probably was.

David,

Now that's the way I would have ordered a Mach 1 if I would have been just a few years older.

I was waiting to see this Marti report. I knew you had a high option car. Glad you got the Marti posted. I will have to rework my numbers now!!

Nice options on that car. I think the only thing missing is the competition suspension.

John J

Nice options on that car. I think the only thing missing is the competition suspension.

John J

Click to expand...

John,

He has the competition suspension. It is not listed as an option because it is standard equipment on the Mach 1. The 351C 4V engine also gets you the staggered rear shocks and rear stabilizer bar added to the competition suspension. Some option combinations are impossible though like David does not have the three spoke deluxe rim blow steering wheel because he opted for the leather wrapped two spoke wheel. He has the most options I have seen on a 73 Mustang but jeff8877 with his red Mach 1 is right up there in the option list as well.

Nice options on that car. I think the only thing missing is the competition suspension.

John J

Click to expand...

John,

He has the competition suspension. It is not listed as an option because it is standard equipment on the Mach 1. The 351C 4V engine also gets you the staggered rear shocks and rear stabilizer bar added to the competition suspension. Some option combinations are impossible though like David does not have the three spoke deluxe rim blow steering wheel because he opted for the leather wrapped two spoke wheel. He has the most options I have seen on a 73 Mustang but jeff8877 with his red Mach 1 is right up there in the option list as well.

Click to expand...

I wonder what David's asking price is?

Greg.

On the options. When you got a Mach 1 you got the trim rings with hub caps, dual racing mirrors, competition suspension, color keyed carpeting and all vinyl bucket seats, lol. So if you could them and the ones I got extra there are 32 options. I added another 8 dealer options so 40 total Ford options. I did not actually know what got you the NASA hood until Ray posted. It was when you got the 351 4-V and it did not show up as an option. If you did not get 351-4V and wanted NASA hood is was an option. There are more options. They were just so cheap I could not stop.

It has sat so long it will be a big job to detail it but hope to start in the fall when garage is up and organized. I took to one MCA nationals in 1983 got a third place in un-restored. They said lots of fasteners were not right and would have to change to do better so I never went back to a MCA show. It was all original one owner.

Someone tracked me down from the show and showed up at my home with a F-350 and trailer from Michigan and said he was here to buy it. He left without it. He offered $25,000 in 1983. It was my date car and of course raced anyone on the mountain roads we have here. Tires just did not last for some reason 3 or 4 sets in 12,000 miles. I tried BFG, Dunlop, & I think Gillette but the Goodyear Polyglass were the best back then. Firestone took your life in your hands, lol. I ran autocross also slid into the curbs a couple times almost rolled it once. Had to replace bent wheels and ball joints a couple times. Everyone thought I was crazy. Never got beat in autocross and not in our form of street racing that might go for 20 miles. We invented drifting in the 60's when they built an interstate road here. The clover leaf interchange was a blast just keep going and do laps and roast the tires. Cudas, roadrunners, chevelles, camaros, just did not handle so on a several mile race they just went away, lol. Some of them could probably have beat me in 1/4 mile easy but not road racing.

I went to Charlotte Motor Speedway last year my gal friend bought me laps. I ended up out there for 45 minutes it was a blast. Never got the total feel of the car to know when it was letting loose. Those tires they use were strange. Got to over 170 at end of straight but it does not feel like it.

Just a crazy old guy that wishes we only had the one highway patrolman again he could not drive at all, lol.

Regarding the NASA hood for the 1973 Mach 1: everything I have read and all of the 1973 Marti reports that I have looked at so far indicate that the NASA hood was standard equipment on all Mach 1s that had 351 engines (H or Q codes). The NASA hood was a NO COST option on Mach 1s that came with the standard Mach 1 engine (which was the 302-2V, F code). If you kept the 302-2V as your engine choice and did not specify a NASA hood for free, you got a flat hood.

Also noted is that the NASA hood is not mentioned in the Marti report for a Mach 1 unless you also got the tutone hood with twist locks. We only have one 302-2V 1973 Mach 1 Marti report listed on this site - it belongs to user 73mach1429. His Marti report makes no mention of the NASA hood as an option, so I believe his Mach 1 came with a flat hood.

Nice options on that car. I think the only thing missing is the competition suspension.

John J

Click to expand...

John,

He has the competition suspension. It is not listed as an option because it is standard equipment on the Mach 1. The 351C 4V engine also gets you the staggered rear shocks and rear stabilizer bar added to the competition suspension. Some option combinations are impossible though like David does not have the three spoke deluxe rim blow steering wheel because he opted for the leather wrapped two spoke wheel. He has the most options I have seen on a 73 Mustang but jeff8877 with his red Mach 1 is right up there in the option list as well.

Click to expand...

Is that because its a Mach 1 or because its a 351 4V??? My 73 vert has a 351 4V and it lists competition suspension on the sticker and on my Marti report. I got the leather wrapped 2 spokes steering wheel as well.

John J

Nice options on that car. I think the only thing missing is the competition suspension.

John J

Click to expand...

John,

He has the competition suspension. It is not listed as an option because it is standard equipment on the Mach 1. The 351C 4V engine also gets you the staggered rear shocks and rear stabilizer bar added to the competition suspension. Some option combinations are impossible though like David does not have the three spoke deluxe rim blow steering wheel because he opted for the leather wrapped two spoke wheel. He has the most options I have seen on a 73 Mustang but jeff8877 with his red Mach 1 is right up there in the option list as well.

Click to expand...

Is that because its a Mach 1 or because its a 351 4V??? My 73 vert has a 351 4V and it lists competition suspension on the sticker and on my Marti report. I got the leather wrapped 2 spokes steering wheel as well.

John J

Click to expand...

John,

In David's case he has the competition suspension (heavy duty shocks and springs) because it is standard equipment on the Mach 1. Because David also has the 351-4V in his Mach 1, he gets the required staggered rear shocks and a rear stabilizer bar. The 351-2V Mach 1 would only have the competition suspension with no staggered shocks and no rear stabilizer bar.

In the case of your convertible, the competition suspension is a required option only because you have the 351-4V. You also get the staggered rear shocks and rear stabilizer bar because of your Q code engine. Since the convertible does not come standard with a competition suspension, it is listed as an option (albeit required) on your Marti report because of your engine selection. All Mustang models in '73 equipped with a Q code engine received the mandatory competition suspension with staggered shocks and rear stabilizer bar - even the Grande.

You could order a competition suspension (shocks and springs only) on any non Mach 1 Mustang model in 1973. We have a couple of H code convertibles and an H code Grande that have the competition suspension as an option on their cars. There may have been some non-Q code Mustangs produced in '73 with staggered shocks and rear stabilizer bars but if there were, those cases would have been anomalies.

Lucky!!!!

Regarding the NASA hood for the 1973 Mach 1: everything I have read and all of the 1973 Marti reports that I have looked at so far indicate that the NASA hood was standard equipment on all Mach 1s that had 351 engines (H or Q codes). The NASA hood was a NO COST option on Mach 1s that came with the standard Mach 1 engine (which was the 302-2V, F code). If you kept the 302-2V as your engine choice and did not specify a NASA hood for free, you got a flat hood.

Also noted is that the NASA hood is not mentioned in the Marti report for a Mach 1 unless you also got the tutone hood with twist locks. We only have one 302-2V 1973 Mach 1 Marti report listed on this site - it belongs to user 73mach1429. His Marti report makes no mention of the NASA hood as an option, so I believe his Mach 1 came with a flat hood.

Click to expand...

In another thread Boss 1 Ray and I have been talking about the verts that got the NASA hood. He and I have one of the 72 CJ verts and he found in Ford literature what you got with the 351 4-V engine and it is in this link.

http://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-decor...#pid263651

His is 4 speed mine auto.

I figured the PO of my car had put the NASA hood on but not so it came with the car. The Marti did not say anything about the hood in the Deluxe report and I was going back with a flat one along with the NASA. But now I know it came with the hood so it stays.

I love it when some one gets digging into the past.

I have a copy of the 1973 Ford Accessories catalog. I need to scan an put up for all. We have talked about the trunk release not being Ford but it is in the Accessories catalog. The floor mats are there, trailer hitch, auto transmission coolers, all of the add on stuff for dealer install.