1973 Machi restoration for my wife....................... for our 20th anniversary

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NG8264723

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 11, 2016
Messages
311
Reaction score
14
Location
Harvard, Ma
My Car
1973 Mustang f code MACHI
Purchased in 1997 or so
So we have had this car for 20 years.  We bought it when I was in medical school.  At the time we were driving a 1981 Stang.  I was in medical school in chicago in the late 90's.  We drove from IL to GA to look at a 71 MACHI.  When we arrived we found a rusty rusty stang.  We decided to not buy it.   We picked up the want ads and found a relatively rust free  H code.  We drove it unregistered uninsured the 8-900 miles back to IL with my wife right behind me so no one would see the out of date license plate!  It ran well but had a crappy gas tank full of debris.  It would lean out and shoot flames out the exhaust.  I had to change approx 6 fuel filters to get home.  It also rained teribly on the ride home and the car leaked something awful!  I got soaked on the ride home!  As far as the condition it unfortunately had a vinyl roof that leaked so the roof was toast.  I re-skinned it way back when.  What a bear that was!  I bought a NOS fender for one side a nice used fender for the other side and a a replacement front bumper and a bunch of other parts over the years.  NOS trim this and that I never kept track.  I did pick up a factory NOS ram air bowl back in the day.  It also had a complete 4-speed setup but I did not install it.  A nice set of factory alum rims and centers.  I did add a four barrel intake and a holley carb.  It then sat from 2000 to 2016!

I made an appointment for the body shop in early 2016.  The car went to the shop in the fall of 2016.  The guy who is painting it has done work for me before and is an excellent body man.  We decided to strip the car to bare metal and reprime with epoxy primer.  I also decided to do all new glass, all new trim and replace every piece of weatherstripping.  The car was basically rust free with a perfect cowl and fllors the wheel wells were meant the doors and fenders mint..  The deck lid was perfect.  The factory hood was rust free but wavy.  The only rust was the trunk.  It had two holes near the bumper brackets.  Instead of patching we decided to do a new trunk and taillight panel.  When he went to assemble the car we found the front had been hit and the frame was tweaked.  We decided to straighten and use new (used) bumper brackets.  I found the bumper brackets here!

 
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Looking around the site here I found Fignewton's car.  I decided I loved his paint and he was nice enough to forward me the paint code.  The car is now painted the lower stripes were painted last week.  Last I spoke to the body guy he has to buff it out and install the hockey stripes.  He is doing the headliner glass and weatherstripping.  When I get it back I will be finishing the interior and rewiring the gauges and installed new dash (bezels, new tach setup center console center triplet gauges with new voltmeter by rocket man etc).  Tonight me and a bud decided to sit and add it all up.  Now mind you I already had the car!

Radio original am/fm with blue tooth conversion $650

glass (entire car ebay) $650

Chris's Stang various parts $700, $1,400, $1374

NPD $1050

Frame straighten with tow $150

Bumper brackets $150

Steering wheel (rimblow resto) $450

Horn rimblow switch $100

Wheels (factory alum resto) $750 no time to do myself

Wheels machine work for broken center bolts $210

tires $400

centers $210

lugs $60

paint trunk replacement and stripping $10,000

Stripes $1,000

seat belts (don't have bill yet but approx) $500

Stripe kit (hockey stripes not 73 but I prefer) $150

wiring-wiring by midlife for dash approx $400

guages clock resto amm-to-voltmeter and re-calibration $200

bulbs all new led lights entire car $300

new tailight bezels Daniel Carpenter $120

NOS battery inner panel $75

battery support $30

battery tray $20

sound deadener $200

roof trim $186

3 gauge bezel $40

vertical weatherstripping $125

door seal $10

NOS crank handle  2 $60

ash tray $31

$22,241!!!!!!!!!!

 
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The bodyshop bill will be more than above. That does not include painting the interior parts. I don't have time to do them or installing the headliner. He also told me I have to pay for the prep work for the grill and painting of the grill and small parts that are not body color. Hopefully that wont be too much

 
nice job Doc.. i only see one problem when it's finished.. you'll only see your wife now and then... put a GPS locator in the car so u can meet her for dinner when she's local.. you can track her by the gas bill's.. and you'll need written permission to drive it.. contact your insurance company to make sure you are covered in the event you get to drive....

is it toooo early to look for another stang for u to drive ????

 
That one is from the net but I have an identical car without the goodyears. I also have a 03 anniversary Cobra stang vert that I bought new!

 
I'm over $45K into mine - parts and paint alone (not counting sales tax, shipping costs, or putting a price on my labor for putting it all back together - would be north of $100K, if that were the case).

It's not what you put into it [money-wise], it's what you get out of it [smiles per gallon]!

 
Radio original am/fm with blue tooth conversion $650

glass (entire car ebay) $650

Chris's Stang various parts $700, $1,400, $1374

NPD $1050

Frame straighten with tow $150

Bumper brackets $150

Steering wheel (rimblow resto) $450

Horn rimblow switch $100

Wheels (factory alum resto) $750 no time to do myself

Wheels machine work for broken center bolts $210

tires $400

centers $210

lugs $60

paint trunk replacement and stripping $10,000

Stripes $1,000

seat belts (don't have bill yet but approx) $500

Stripe kit (hockey stripes not 73 but I prefer) $150

wiring-wiring by midlife for dash approx $400

guages clock resto amm-to-voltmeter and re-calibration $200

bulbs all new led lights entire car $300

new tailight bezels Daniel Carpenter $120

NOS battery inner panel $75

battery support $30

battery tray $20

sound deadener $200

roof trim $186

3 gauge bezel $40

vertical weatherstripping $125

door seal $10

NOS crank handle  2 $60

ash tray $31

$22,241!!!!!!!!!!

New Addition upholstery $1200

$23,441

 
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That comment about hardly seeing your wife or car again....lol. Glad too see the car being brought back to better than new. Looking forward to shots. Really LOVE that cobra. Everett Morrison? Congrats on some sweeeet rides. Looks like we have much in common.

 
Looking around the site here I found Fignewton's car.  I decided I loved his paint and he was nice enough to forward me the paint code.  The car is now painted the lower stripes were painted last week.  Last I spoke to the body guy he has to buff it out and install the hockey stripes.  He is doing the headliner glass and weatherstripping.  When I get it back I will be finishing the interior and rewiring the gauges and installed new dash (bezels, new tach setup center console center triplet gauges with new voltmeter by rocket man etc).  Tonight me and a bud decided to sit and add it all up.  Now mind you I already had the car!

Radio original am/fm with blue tooth conversion $650

glass (entire car ebay) $650

Chris's Stang various parts $700, $1,400, $1374

NPD $1050

Frame straighten with tow $150

Bumper brackets $150

Steering wheel (rimblow resto) $450

Horn rimblow switch $100

Wheels (factory alum resto) $750 no time to do myself

Wheels machine work for broken center bolts $210

tires $400

centers $210

lugs $60

paint trunk replacement and stripping $10,000

Stripes $1,000

seat belts (don't have bill yet but approx) $500

Stripe kit (hockey stripes not 73 but I prefer) $150

wiring-wiring by midlife for dash approx $400

guages clock resto amm-to-voltmeter and re-calibration $200

bulbs all new led lights entire car $300

new tailight bezels Daniel Carpenter $120

NOS battery inner panel $75

battery support $30

battery tray $20

sound deadener $200

roof trim $186

3 gauge bezel $40

vertical weatherstripping $125

door seal $10

NOS crank handle  2 $60

ash tray $31

$22,241!!!!!!!!!!
I can only wish...

 
I'm over $45K into mine - parts and paint alone (not counting sales tax, shipping costs, or putting a price on my labor for putting it all back together - would be north of $100K, if that were the case).

It's not what you put into it [money-wise], it's what you get out of it [smiles per gallon]!
Adds up...

 
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And here I am sweating putting $4k into my engine build lol, I guess it's not so bad

 
Well I got some money back the rims looked crappy.  So we are not paying for them.  So I guess I have another $800.  That said i will neeed to redo them at some time.  I think I'll buy 4 new shocks as well.............

 
Well I got some money back the rims looked crappy.  So we are not paying for them.  So I guess I have another $800.  That said i will neeed to redo them at some time.  I think I'll buy 4 new shocks as well.............
This car is going to be immaculate, I can't wait!

 
I worked the last two weekends on the damn seats. What a pain that was. I stripped them down and bead blasted the frames and epoxy primed all the frames and springs rebuilt the seat tracks. I then put all new foam and the MACHI gray/black covers. They came out pretty nice. I may of screwed up one part. I did not see a place for a listing rod behind the seat button. It's a little boggy there.. otherwise THEY LOOK GREAT

 
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