New Member

Hello Everyone. My name is Paul Deahl and I just became a member of this forum today. A little background about myself; My first '73 Mach 1 was bought back in 1985 when I was 16 yrs old. I flipped quite a few hamburgers to buy it. It was a basic Mach1 with a 351C 2V and an FMX tranny, nothing special. I worked on it for 3 years and was just about finished with it. I had rebuilt the motor, tranny, interior and was ready for the paint job when I got T-boned by another driver who ran a red light.

I bought the car back from insurance and used a lot of the parts on my 2nd Mach 1. This car was a little more special. It had a set of 1970 351C 4V heads, ram air hood with all duct work and vacum inlets, fold down rear seat, C6 tranny, pop open gas cap, heavy duty suspension with front and rear sway bars, and the deluxe interior.

Needless to say I've hung onto the car and despite some minor mishaps along the way its almost finished, I think.

I'll post some pics and a description of the modifications I've done once I figure out where and how to do so.

Welcome .

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the site Paul.

I hope you like it here.

Welcome. I hope you enjoy the site as much as we do.

Welcome to the site from Virginia! Thanks for the background on you and Mach 1's and looking forward to seeing the pics!

Welcome welcome!

::welcome:: to the site from Ont Canada

::welcome::From So-Cal.

::welcome:: Nice story, it appears we are almost the same age, I didn't get my first until 2002, and it's only been around the block a few times... hope to get cranking on it before too much longer though!

Nice, hello, and can't wait for pics!

Welcome Paul,

Glad to have along for the ride. You needn't wait till its completely done to post pictures. It is always an encouragement to watch one come together.

Hi Paul and ::welcome:: to the site.

and...:

:worthlesswithoutpics:

YESS!

Welcome to the forums! I hope you enjoy...

::welcome::

Welcome from the Midwest, Paul!

Mac

thanks for the warm welcome. i got some pics posted in the photo gallery in the '73 mustang section. the pics are titled '73 mach at carlisle, pa. I took the car there back in 2009 for the 40th anniversary of the mach 1 at the all ford nationals held in carlisle, pa.

In the last pic I listed the specs for the car and everything I did to it. All the work was done by myself, except for the painting (no room), in a small two car garage that also had my '69 mach 1. I was fortunate enough to be employed in a machine shop and learned many skills including welding and fabrication and machining that I could take home and apply to the car.

I was trying to build the car and raise a family at the same time so money of course was tight sometimes, therefore I designed and made my own four link rear suspension, 12 point rollcage, rear sway bar, sub frame connectors, aluminum interior, narrowed the rear end etc, etc, etc. It was not the easiest route to go but I did get a tremendous sense of accomplishment by doing it all myself. My philosophy during the build was that I'd rather do as much of the work myself and have the car be 95% correct than to have someone else do it and it be 100%.

Anyways.....I really like the forum and I hope you all enjoy the pics of my car. Her name is Josephine. Named after the George Thoroughood song. And if anyone has any questions about the car or see something on the car they like and would like to maybe do it on their car let me know. I'd be happy to share.

Welcome. That is an awesome 73 you have. I was thinking of doing an aluminum interior how hard was it to fabricate all of the pieces? Do you have any pictures of the interior?

Welcome. That is an awesome 73 you have. I was thinking of doing an aluminum interior how hard was it to fabricate all of the pieces? Do you have any pictures of the interior?

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I can get some pics posted. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most difficult, I would say it was an 8 for me. It was my first attempt and I had a limited supply of aluminum so scrapping a piece of sheetmetal if a mistake was made was not an option. I had all the tools ( brake, bead roller, air shears, hand shears, hand punch, Cleco pliers and clips, blind nut setter, etc) to make the job easier. The two tools I needed but did not have was an English Wheel and a TIG welder. This one particular panel had a compound angle and the wheel would have made it much simpler and the job would have looked more professional if I had welded some mounting tabs instead of riveting them.

If I had it to do over again I would have gotten clear anodized aluminum sheet metal and bought it with the plastic adhesive protective cover. I would have done all my layout work, cutting and installing and then removed the plastic covering when finished. The plastic can temporarily be peeled back and then put back on the sheetmetal until you're ready to remove it for good. It costs more but it would have saved a lot of polishing and buffing out the scratches and it would have already been protected from oxidation. I'm going to buff the aluminum and then spray a coat of clear (from The Eastwood Company) to keep oxidation and dulling from reoccuring on my interior.

I recommend using thin cardboard for templates, marking the aluminum with Sharpie ink pens, buying the rear wheel tubs instead of making them yourself (they're pretty cheap and worth the money because they save time). Make and fit one panel at a time, and invest in Cleco clips and pliers. Use the closed rivets found in the "Pegasus Racing catalog". They keep air and liquids out and just look better than the run of the mill hardware store rivets.

Find and read as many fabricating books as you can lay your hands on. They are full of tips from, in what order to start installing the panels to spacing of the pop rivets (do not skimp to save money). Things I never thought of being important were mentioned in these books. Most importantly.....take your time and make it look good. Your going to be looking at it while you're in the car more than you realize.

I'll work on getting those pics posted.

Welcome Paul, Glad your here to share.

Alan L