JRR1285
Member
Hi, my name is Josh and I have been visiting this site for a long time but never registered until now.
I own a '71 Mach 1 that I acquired in September of 2007. It decodes as a 302 with a 3 speed manual, Metallic pewter paint and green interior. I purchased it with a 351 Cleveland and toploader 4 speed. The car color is sort of correct and the interior is now mostly black.
I was uninformed at the time about these particular cars as well as older cars in general. I just liked how it looked and it seemed like a good start for a project. My father was also very into the car and helped persuade me to take the plunge.
After taking it home we began to notice it had an odd engine noise which we came to discover was a knock. I had a few people tell me that it could probably be driven without too much issue and we could sort it out later on. What a mistake. The below picture is it being loaded on to a flat bed after I blew up the 351 Cleveland on the highway.
I hit the ignition kill switch as my first instinct because somehow it appeared to still be running. Two rods exploded and looked like melted plastic. Pieces flew out of the oil pan and it looked like I was driving through a smoke tunnel before coming to a stop at the side of the road. This was a devastating blow at the time because I figured the car would just rot in the garage.
Below is a shot of the interior from an old camera.
After taking it apart and pulling the Cleveland from the car it was left to sit in the garage until a coworker told me he was junking his truck that had a good running older 302 in it. After pulling it, some cleaning and some paint along with a dress up kit it was dropped into the Mach and has been going since June-July of 2008. It doesn't have much power but it moves and sounds really nice with headers and Flowmaster exhaust.
I have also picked up two different Clevelands that I will be using for its next engine. One is complete oil pan to carb out of a 2V Torino I believe. The other is just a short block that is already bored over but I'm thinking between the two I'll definitely get a good set of rods and a decent crank. Both also have the all important coolant restrictor so there's that. I paid about 200 for both engines. Also waiting to be machined are a set of 4V closed chamber heads from either 1970/71.
Shot after installing both the rear and chin spoiler.
Picture after getting it inspected last summer.
Picture that is close to it's current state.
This post ended up being way bigger than I expected. I already have a lot of history with this car and it has taught me a ton. I had very limited experience with automotive mechanics until this car forced my hand. I have learned a lot and have applied it to a variety of other cars. The only time my cars go to the shop is for tires since I don't have the machine to do it myself.
I own a '71 Mach 1 that I acquired in September of 2007. It decodes as a 302 with a 3 speed manual, Metallic pewter paint and green interior. I purchased it with a 351 Cleveland and toploader 4 speed. The car color is sort of correct and the interior is now mostly black.
I was uninformed at the time about these particular cars as well as older cars in general. I just liked how it looked and it seemed like a good start for a project. My father was also very into the car and helped persuade me to take the plunge.
After taking it home we began to notice it had an odd engine noise which we came to discover was a knock. I had a few people tell me that it could probably be driven without too much issue and we could sort it out later on. What a mistake. The below picture is it being loaded on to a flat bed after I blew up the 351 Cleveland on the highway.
I hit the ignition kill switch as my first instinct because somehow it appeared to still be running. Two rods exploded and looked like melted plastic. Pieces flew out of the oil pan and it looked like I was driving through a smoke tunnel before coming to a stop at the side of the road. This was a devastating blow at the time because I figured the car would just rot in the garage.
Below is a shot of the interior from an old camera.
After taking it apart and pulling the Cleveland from the car it was left to sit in the garage until a coworker told me he was junking his truck that had a good running older 302 in it. After pulling it, some cleaning and some paint along with a dress up kit it was dropped into the Mach and has been going since June-July of 2008. It doesn't have much power but it moves and sounds really nice with headers and Flowmaster exhaust.
I have also picked up two different Clevelands that I will be using for its next engine. One is complete oil pan to carb out of a 2V Torino I believe. The other is just a short block that is already bored over but I'm thinking between the two I'll definitely get a good set of rods and a decent crank. Both also have the all important coolant restrictor so there's that. I paid about 200 for both engines. Also waiting to be machined are a set of 4V closed chamber heads from either 1970/71.
Shot after installing both the rear and chin spoiler.
Picture after getting it inspected last summer.
Picture that is close to it's current state.
This post ended up being way bigger than I expected. I already have a lot of history with this car and it has taught me a ton. I had very limited experience with automotive mechanics until this car forced my hand. I have learned a lot and have applied it to a variety of other cars. The only time my cars go to the shop is for tires since I don't have the machine to do it myself.