New to site

Hi ya’ll,
I’m Miguel, and new here. I am looking forward to start on my new project, restoring my ‘73 351 Cleveland Mack 1 which my uncle is the original owner that needs full restoration.

My 1973 Mach 1 was a gift from my uncle; unfortunately, squatters stole the factory 351 Cleveland engine and factory transmission, so now I don’t know what to do. Initially I wanted to keep it all original since it was all original, but now I’m at a loss since motor and trans are gone. What can I do for replacement motor and transmission? I doubt I can find another 351 Cleveland and factory trans, what would be the tactical approach to solve this issue? Cost wise, what am I looking at? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Going to take my time, learn as I go, and build her right, so wish me a lot of luck.

Welcome from PA. That really sucks. That's like stealing someone"s horse, and you know what happened back then!

Welcome from Chicago! That's a shame that someone stole the engine out of the car. I am sure you can find another Cleveland and transmission. I bought my 71 Mach 1 without an engine and was able to find one fairly easily. My Mustang did have the original FMX trans lying in the front floor when I bought it, which in retrospect I wish it didn't. If there was no transmission with the car, I might have looked for an overdrive transmission and rebuilt that instead of the FMX. Just a suggestion as long as you are looking for both, I would recommend looking for an overdrive transmission for the sake of drivability.

tpj71mach said:

Welcome from Chicago! That's a shame that someone stole the engine out of the car. I am sure you can find another Cleveland and transmission. I bought my 71 Mach 1 without an engine and was able to find one fairly easily. My Mustang did have the original FMX trans lying in the front floor when I bought it, which in retrospect I wish it didn't. If there was no transmission with the car, I might have looked for an overdrive transmission and rebuilt that instead of the FMX. Just a suggestion as long as you are looking for both, I would recommend looking for an overdrive transmission for the sake of drivability.

Click to expand...

Thank you for the insight

cv_72mustang said:

Welcome from PA. That's really sucks. That's like stealing someone"s horse, and you know what happened back then!

Click to expand...

Thank you and agreed, some people just suck!

Yea, here in So Cal, I’ve seen quite a few engines for sale. Why don’t you tell us more about your plans for the restoration. It will help calibrate us to know what to recommend along the way. Welcome.

The motor and trans are easy. As tj said, an AOD or T5 are relatively common and about the cheapest way to go overdrive.

There are plenty of motors out there. Use Facebook Marketplace or the Mustang/351Cleveland pages and forums. Heck, Craigslist and Ebay, too.

If you want to keep it more or less original, need to determine if it was an H- code (351c 2v carb) or a Q-code (351c 4v carb).
If it is an H (5th digit in the VIN), people will almost give away 2v heads/manifolds. Frequently decent or rebuilt heads come up pretty cheap. Blocks are pretty much the same and interchangeable.
There are many paths. Just need to figure out what you want to do and how much to spend.

You could buy a reman motor from mabbco https://www.mabbcomotors.com/catalo...bbl-no-core-required-1-year-limited-warranty/ Seems reasonable price for an engine with a warranty. Not sure on their quality, as reviews are mixed. As for transmission, I would go AOD for auto or TKX for manual.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome from Opelika, Alabama

Welcome from NW Oregon.

Welcome from B.C. Canada. Ton of great info on this site.

Howdy from Phoenix. I would start by doing an inventory of what you do have. I am assuming the butt wipes who stole the engine and transmission were not particularly careful about the removal. They certainly didn't keep track of and organize all of the bolts and parts that were removed. What do you still have? Front accessories? Engine mounts (including the base that goes onto the crossmember). Exhaust manifolds. Transmission mounts. Even the drive shaft. This will help you decide on a route to take. For example: If a car is complete and someone decided to swap in a big block then pretty much everything I listed would be needed, plus a few others, for the swap. On the other hand if much of that stuff is still in your possession then putting a Cleveland back in the bay will be less expensive.

It might also help you decide on a route to take. In your case you might watch for another car that is being parted out or sold complete cheap due to rust or an accident. This strategy will help you pick up many of those small parts and give you a chance to organize as you pull the parts from a doner car. Take note, there are a few things 'unique' to the 73, like the motor mounts, but if you buy a complete 71/72 you should be able to swap drive train components. (Body parts like the fenders, bumpers and such are different). And if you do find a big block then you'll get the springs and other parts you'll need for the extra weight.

Make sure to keep asking questions. I don't know what you know about Fords and old Fords in particular. The 351 Cleveland is different from a 351W or 351M so be careful when shopping around. You could make the other two engines work but certain parts won't be available to 'bolt in' to our cars.

Depending on your time and budget the sky's the limit on what you can put in the bay. No one here will shun you if you decide on a 5.0 or Coyote engine or swap in a Ford Big block. You'll get some detractors if you go with a small block chevy though..

will e said:

You'll get some detractors if you go with a small block chevy though..

Click to expand...

Yes, distinct possibility getting negative feedback on such an engine swap.....

MI6Agent007 said:

Hi ya’ll,
I’m Miguel, and new here. I am looking forward to start on my new project, restoring my ‘73 351 Cleveland Mack 1 which my uncle is the original owner that needs full restoration.

My 1973 Mach 1 was a gift from my uncle; unfortunately, squatters stole the factory 351 Cleveland engine and factory transmission, so now I don’t know what to do. Initially I wanted to keep it all original since it was all original, but now I’m at a loss since motor and trans are gone. What can I do for replacement motor and transmission? I doubt I can find another 351 Cleveland and factory trans, what would be the tactical approach to solve this issue? Cost wise, what am I looking at? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Going to take my time, learn as I go, and build her right, so wish me a lot of luck.

Click to expand...

This has been my take on bringing a car back.......and I've done restorations on various makes of cars, as well as working at a Mustang shop and a Thunderbird shop, If the car's body isn't rusted out, then first, get it running, get things operable, get the braking system working correctly. Before you spend any money on things that you'll lose money on completely, like stereos, headers, new wheels, etc. What is the drawing point of an older car, is the car itself. Now, if the car's BODY is rusted out, has rusty floorboards, or sections of rust, these things MUST be cut out and repaired by professionals, or at very least, in a professional manner. The body should be done first. Be absolutely honest about what is bad on the car, and how much this is going to take to do it right. There are people here on the boards who have many years of experience that have the expertise to do very good work, and make some of this look easy. Others, have a fairly good budget and have the coin to get deep into it. Still, other, are everyday Joes , not in the business, and have kids and rent to take care of. Which one are you? I guess where I'm going with all of this, is if you haven't done any of this, and it appears you are about to delve deep into debt, it is better to pass on trying to do this car. Generally, it costs MORE to restore, or repair, a vehicle, than to buy one already done. If "squatters" had access to the car at all, enough to be able to pull the motor and trans without anyone knowing, that car was left outside, derelict, rusting, and those parts pullers certainly have damaged other areas while yanking the engine and trans. That "gift" is more than likely not such a gift after all.

Welcome from San Diego. What part of Socal are you from ?