1973 Mustang Mach 1

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased a 1973 Mustang Mach 1 and realized a childhood dream. I've been wanting this car since I was about 10 years old (I'm now close to 30). I first saw this car on a kids TV show growing up called Degrassi High. One of the main characters bought a '73 Mach 1. I don't know why, but I thought it was the coolest car ever... and my passion for Mach 1's and classic cars in general was ignited.

I promised myself that in 2012 I would buy a muscle car. I had a large camera collection that I accumulated over the years. I still love photography, but when I realized I could have a muscle car for the value of the collection it was no contest.

I didn't have anything really in mind. I just had a price range... and most Mach 1's (actually all) were out of it. All except one that I passed up last year. It was for sale locally for a reasonable price. However financially it wasn't a good time to buy, and I let it go. I regretted not buying it... to the point that I would randomly think about that car and why I passed it up.

Regardless, I put up a posting on a classifieds website in January, saying that I was looking to buy a muscle car in the spring and if anyone was planning on selling one, to let me know. I got several responses. But the one that interested me the most was regarding a '73 Mach 1 someone was selling. They were thinning out their collection and were going to be selling it in the spring. It was the SAME Mach 1 that was for sale the year before... and they were selling it for the same price!

After many conversations with the owner, and a few visits inspecting and photographing the car (for inspection purposes), and sleeping on it that one last night... I bought it!

Right now I have the interior gutted because I'm putting in a new carpet. The car has all original sheet metal and it is in great shape. There is some surface rust on the floorboards which I am taking care of now as well (with POR15). I was going to wait until winter to do the work, however I figured that I might as well take care of it now.

Here are a couple pics of my car from a few weeks back. I will post some pics of the work to the floors later. Oh, and I put the rear spoiler on the right way when I realized it was on backwards in the pics...

Nice car! Welcome to the site from west Michigan.

Looks to me you found a keeper Welcome from Noth Carolina ::welcome:: from a fellow 73 owner!

Welcome from coastal Alabama! That's a very nice looking car and is one of my favorite colors for these cars. By the way, I would skip the POR15 and use Rust Bullet instead. The consensus is that the RB is a much better product.

Welcome to the site from Virginia! Nice looking 73, I bet it was worth the wait.

Welcome......what part of Ontario are you from? Don't forget to drop a pin on the members map when you get a chance!

Nice looking Mach 1. I like the color combo.

Welcome aboard from Wisconsin. That's a sweet mustang.

::welcome:: From San Diego. Congrats on the new ride.

Welcome from washignton state...What a beauty...And a car to be proud of ...Btw...Got to ask.. do you know what code she is? and what motor?..and did you get a marti report?...Got to know the details..hehe

Welcome from Oz.

Looks like Destiny had written your name on that car!

Nice Mustang! Welcome to 7173Mustangs.com!

::welcome::

Very nice car and story! Welcome from N. Alabama... the movie that "did it" for me was Steven Segall's "Marked for Death"...

Welcome to the site and great looking Mach

WELCOME aboard!

Great story on the acquisition of your 1973 Mach 1. As mentioned, it would appear that you were "destined" to be together.

I look forward to interacting with you on the individual Forums as you continue the journey with your Mustang.

Again, Welcome!

BT

::welcome:: from Kansas

it's a surreal feeling to wake the next morning and realise a long time dream has become a reality... Congrats...

Thank you all for the warm welcome.

The car is not numbers matching. It is an 'H' code Mach 1 and originally it had the basic interior. Sometime during its life it had a 'M' code motor put in from a '71 Mach 1 (which was rebuilt) as well as the deluxe interior components. The interior was originally black with white seats and trim, now it is blue. I personally don't care if it is numbers matching or not... personally if I had to choose between the original 'H' code and the power of the 'M' code motor... I would probably go with the latter.

Some other options that it has is power discs in the front, power steering, rear window defrost... no Ram Air unfortunately. Maybe in the future I will add a working Ram Air system.

The original owner had it for 27 years. He lived in a small town a few hours from where I'm from. The car has under 70,000 miles, and I don't believe the odometer rolled over since it really IS a small town.

I can't wait to get it on the road again... I'm not going to rush anything though, I want to do things right the first time.

Welcome, and congrats on fulfilling your dream! I had a similar dream, except I was 14 and it took me a little longer to find mine... not to mention, mine's needing a bit more attention than yours, which is a fine-looking specimen BTW.

Ram-Air won't be too bad. Just a matter of dropping a good chunk of change, and pretty much bolting on the parts you'll need. Don at Ohio Mustang should have everything you'll need to make that happen.

Again - welcome, and keep us posted on your progress. If you get stuck, come here first - the folks here most knowledgeable experts on '71-'73 Mustangs anywhere on the 'net... not to mention, just a bunch of great guys.