New Member

7173Mustangs.com

Help Support 7173Mustangs.com:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

JRR1285

Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2016
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Long Island
My Car
'71 Mustang Mach 1
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.

 
Hello & Welcome fro Michigan. Nice looking ride, bet you can't wait till you get the Cleveland back in it! You will find all kinds of info on this site, its awesome.

Just one thing that I noticed is your rear spoiler is on backward.

 
Welcome from West Texas!

Great story, and I'll check out the pics later (some sites are blocked from work). Ain't nothin' wrong with pewter and black Mach 1s. ;) :D ::thumb::

 
Hello & Welcome fro Michigan. Nice looking ride, bet you can't wait till you get the Cleveland back in it! You will find all kinds of info on this site, its awesome.

Just one thing that I noticed is your rear spoiler is on backward.
I definitely can't wait to have the Cleveland in it. It should be a lot more fun and it's already a lot of fun to drive.

I have some better pics of the spoiler because it looks off in the angles I posted.





I installed it according to the site below and other information I found. Did I get bad info?

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

Welcome from TriCities WA.
Thank you

Welcome from West Texas!

Great story, and I'll check out the pics later (some sites are blocked from work). Ain't nothin' wrong with pewter and black Mach 1s. ;) :D ::thumb::
Thanks, I actually don't always like the color but I am torn about changing it. I think it would look much better with the markings. I am really partial to a black Mach 1 or possibly lime.

Welcome from Phoenix. Thanks for introducing yourself, your story and for posting pics!
Thanks for the welcome. I was worried it was too much in one post, glad you liked it.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Josh,

Great story.

You wrote: ..it looked like I was driving through a smoke tunnel before ...

lollerz The day I drove my '73 home...it smoked like that all the way home!!! I laughed the entire why!!!!

Everyone loves a Cleveland - I have one in mine...but you can do a lot with a 302!!!!

Welcome.

Tim

 
Last edited by a moderator:
:welcome2: from Belgium
Thank you

Welcome from Oklahoma.

Pics are blocked for me too! I'll have to check the out later.

Ray
Thanks. The car is still a work in progress but it's getting there.

Josh,

Great story.

You wrote: ..it looked like I was driving through a smoke tunnel before ...

lollerz The day I drove my '73 home...it smoked like that all the way home!!! I laughed the entire why!!!!

Everyone loves a Cleveland - I have one in mine...but you can do a lot with a 302!!!!

Welcome.

Tim
Thank you.

It is funny looking back but not at the time lol.

The 302 has done a good job. I am toying with a cam swap and other minor upgrades in the mean time.

Welcome from Wisconsin. That's a beautiful car!
Thank you very much.

No sorry, my mistake, that first set of pics threw me off. Its on correct, sorry again!
Not problem at all. I was worried after you mentioned it because it did look wrong in some of the angle pics. I was relieved when I got home and it was right.

I never mind something wrong getting pointed out. Then it can be corrected.

 
::welcome:: from Luxembourg, Europe.

Great intro post.

Beautiful car, nice color. I like the uncluttered look of a non striped Mach1 for a change.

 
Back
Top