’71 Mach 1 Resto Project

Cleveland Crush said:

The sequential taillights are a nice touch! (In video two).

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Thanks, I bought them knowing they are sequential as the turn signal flashes, but wasn't aware that they light up sequentially when you hit the brakes, that was just a nice surprise, haha.

I drove the Mustang over to a friends to work on his car this morning and it ran really well. I got home around 12:00 and the front spoiler I ordered Thursday from NPD had already arrived. I felt obligated to install it considering it came so quickly, haha. One step closer to being done, of course getting around to painting and installing the bumper is the big step that I need to get to, hopefully soon.

So far I have driven it 87 miles since completion per the odometer, plus probably about 14-15 miles while the speedo was inop. In actuality, I probably have over 100 miles on it since I have semi-completed it, well on the way to being "broken in".

Congrats on a great build! Your car has come a long way from where you started and looks amazing.

Not trying to be critical here but is your left hood lock too tight? It seems to be pulling the hood down at the front and distorting the hood. You shouldn't need to push down on the hood to latch them. I've found if I set them to where they don't distort the metal when locked and add a little blue Loctite on the threads, they work well and look good.

On another note, and since you're able to spend some time behind the wheel, what do you think of the tilt steering column? I like the feature and am considering adding one to my '72. What is your opinion of it's worth it from an ergonomic perspective?

Sheriff41 said:

Congrats on a great build! Your car has come a long way from where you started and looks amazing.

Not trying to be critical here but is your left hood lock too tight? It seems to be pulling the hood down at the front and distorting the hood. You shouldn't need to push down on the hood to latch them. I've found if I set them to where they don't distort the metal when locked and add a little blue Loctite on the threads, they work well and look good.

On another note, and since you're able to spend some time behind the wheel, what do you think of the tilt steering column? I like the feature and am considering adding one to my '72. What is your opinion of it's worth it from an ergonomic perspective?

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Thank you, I am very pleased with the results thus far, although there are plenty of things on my punch list of stuff that still needs to get done The drivers hood lock adjustment is one of the things on my punch list that I still need to revisit. I am trying to get to the big things that keep me from driving it and am making a list of smaller things to circle back around to. I copied Roadkill's process. I took a piece of cardboard and taped it up on the wall of the garage. Every time I see something I need to address, I take the Sharpie and write it on the cardboard. I cross each task off as I resolve them. I have found it's a good way to stay organized and on task, and I must say the crossed off things give a sense of accomplishment.

Regarding the tilt column, I am a big fan and would definitely make the investment again. I actually have added tilt wheel to all of my cars, I don't drive around with the steering wheel in my lap, just maybe one notch lower than a standard column would be is comfortable for me. I also like to tilt the wheel up for a more comfortable entry or exit. It is a small luxury that I always try to treat myself with. Neither of my Camaro's or my Chevelle had the option originally but I added it to each when I restored them.

Here is a pic of a punch list from the Roadkill garage TV show, although they have the luxury of going through the list at the end of an episode and cross off the stuff that just not going to happen, haha.

Below is my current list I made when I brought the Mustang home from the body shop. This cardboard is about full, I probably need to transfer the undone to a new piece of cardboard, so I can continue to add as I come across stuff. I tend to delay starting a new cardboard because I do like to glance over and see the crossed off stuff for motivation, LOL.

I also received my new buck tag from Marti yesterday in the mail. When I bought my car it only had the corner of it left, and the screw that was holding it on.

I ordered it from Marti last December and they said they make them when they have enough ordered so it finally came and I painted it and installed it this morning.

Last night after work, I got the dash speakers assembled and installed, I am trying to get as much sound as I can from the three factory locations. I definitely do not want to cut any of the trim panels if I can achieve decent sound quality without it. I realize it will not be audiophile quality just trying to get a clean sound with decent fill and separation. I fabricated a beveled wood mounting plate for the two 3 1/2" Kicker coaxial speakers to fit the factory speaker mount. I am hoping by pitching the two speakers away from each other they will gain some separation as the sound bounces off the windshield. I also installed speaker baffles to try keep sound from getting lost inside the dash. I won't wire these up to the radio until after I send it out to have the stock radio upgraded to a four channel system with 40 watts nominal per channel and blue tooth. These speakers are rated up to 50 watts nominal so they should be a good match. I also bought 4x6 Kicker coaxial speakers for the door location that are also rated up to 50 watts nominal. I will install them in the doors, also with speaker baffles, once the radio is upgraded and it is a cleaner source.. I put cheaper speakers in the doors and hooked them up to the stock Ford radio for now. I don't want to chance damaging the better speakers feeding them stock ohm levels and distortion.

I also found the map light that I bought off of eBay a year ago and installed and wired that up. After that I installed the dash pad for good, hopefully.

I am hoping to take it to it's first car show tonight, it is the last monthly show for the year tonight, so it is tonight or next spring for this show. We will see how the work day goes if I can slip out early and go.

tpj71mach said:

Last night after work, I got the dash speakers assembled and installed, I am trying to get as much sound as I can from the three factory locations. I definitely do not want to cut any of the trim panels if I can achieve decent sound quality without it. I realize it will not be audiophile quality just trying to get a clean sound with decent fill and separation. I fabricated a beveled wood mounting plate for the two 3 1/2" Kicker coaxial speakers to fit the factory speaker mount. I am hoping by pitching the two speakers away from each other they will gain some separation as the sound bounces off the windshield. I also installed speaker baffles to try keep sound from getting lost inside the dash. I won't wire these up to the radio until after I send it out to have the stock radio upgraded to a four channel system with 40 watts nominal per channel and blue tooth. These speakers are rated up to 50 watts nominal so they should be a good match. I also bought 4x6 Kicker coaxial speakers for the door location that are also rated up to 50 watts nominal. I will install them in the doors, also with speaker baffles, once the radio is upgraded and it is a cleaner source.. I put cheaper speakers in the doors and hooked them up to the stock Ford radio for now. I don't want to chance damaging the better speakers feeding them stock ohm levels and distortion.

I also found the map light that I bought off of eBay a year ago and installed and wired that up. After that I installed the dash pad for good, hopefully.

I am hoping to take it to it's first car show tonight, it is the last monthly show for the year tonight, so it is tonight or next spring for this show. We will see how the work day goes if I can slip out early and go.

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Looks like it should work. Where'd you get the baffles for the door speakers?

Sheriff41 said:

Looks like it should work. Where'd you get the baffles for the door speakers?

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I bought them from crutchfield.com, I have been getting a lot of my audio equipment from them since I was a teenager, back when you ordered out of their paper catalog, LOL. I like to use the speaker baffles in car audio installs to help control the sound. I always cut a slightly larger than necessary hole in the side of the baffle for the wires. The holes somewhat works as a poor man's bass port and lets the speaker breathe a little.

tpj71mach said:

Last night after work, I got the dash speakers assembled and installed, I am trying to get as much sound as I can from the three factory locations. I definitely do not want to cut any of the trim panels if I can achieve decent sound quality without it. I realize it will not be audiophile quality just trying to get a clean sound with decent fill and separation. I fabricated a beveled wood mounting plate for the two 3 1/2" Kicker coaxial speakers to fit the factory speaker mount. I am hoping by pitching the two speakers away from each other they will gain some separation as the sound bounces off the windshield. I also installed speaker baffles to try keep sound from getting lost inside the dash. I won't wire these up to the radio until after I send it out to have the stock radio upgraded to a four channel system with 40 watts nominal per channel and blue tooth. These speakers are rated up to 50 watts nominal so they should be a good match. I also bought 4x6 Kicker coaxial speakers for the door location that are also rated up to 50 watts nominal. I will install them in the doors, also with speaker baffles, once the radio is upgraded and it is a cleaner source.. I put cheaper speakers in the doors and hooked them up to the stock Ford radio for now. I don't want to chance damaging the better speakers feeding them stock ohm levels and distortion.

I also found the map light that I bought off of eBay a year ago and installed and wired that up. After that I installed the dash pad for good, hopefully.

I am hoping to take it to it's first car show tonight, it is the last monthly show for the year tonight, so it is tonight or next spring for this show. We will see how the work day goes if I can slip out early and go.

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Great Pictures , nice ride, keep up the good work

I tried to cross a few things off of the punch list yesterday. I hooked up the detent rod and did an initial adjustment at the carb. I figured out the problem with the tach having stopped working and repaired the connection for that. Right now, all of the gauges, radio and clock are working properly. I added an antenna signal booster to try and cut down on the static in the radio. It actually helped a lot, it's still a stock 53 year old radio but it now gets more channels than it did, and the ones I got before are now clearer. I also checked the torque on all of the front suspension bolts and greased all of the zirc fittings again. I greased all of them initially when I assembled the front suspension but added a little to each now that it has driven a bit. I also found the power steering pressure line was seeping at the back of the pump, I tightened the connection there and cleaned up the fluid.

After that, I took it out and drove it around to make sure the down shift worked and see how it drove. It seems to be working pretty well, passing gear kicks in when it should and the tach continued to work. I checked the power steering pump and it was clean and dry, but I will continue to check that to make sure the leak is resolved.

Oh and BTW, it's a hell of a lot of fun to drive, it definitely has some "giddy-up"!

Haha, I installed a convex mirror glass in the passenger mirror to help with blind spot, that from personal experience with my 73 can hide an 18-wheeler. After I was done I took a couple pics of the mirror on my tool box trying to capture the "objects are closer than they appear" etching. I ended up getting some cool hood pics of the car in the mirrors reflection, I couldn't have staged it better if I had tried, LOL. Maybe I missed my true calling, professional photographer, haha.

In case you are wondering why the mirror head is on my tool box and not my car. It is because I still haven't found time to repaint the passenger mirror base that I left a run in the paint when I first painted the car. The front bumper is also ready and waiting for me and my friend Mike to coordinate our schedules to find time to have him let me paint them in his spray booth.

The good news is the trip odometer went over 250 miles this weekend on the car since the resto was "completed". It seems to be running well and I haven't seen any new issues, knock on wood.

My wife has ridden in it 3 times so far. One more and she will break the record for riding in my "old cars", haha. The 69 Camaro that I have owned for 6 years she has ridden in three times over 6 years. She said she actually likes this car, although she thinks there is something wrong with the mufflers, they are too loud, LOL. She even said she wouldn't mind driving this one, but not until I get the mirror installed on the passenger side. This one is much more civilized than the other cars, less horsepower but much more streetable.

Your car looks great!

I wish I had realized that Marti did buck tags, I would have gotten one for my car when I had him make me a new VIN tag for the dash!

+1 on the convex mirror. Wish I had done it years ago.

mjlan said:

Your car looks great!

I wish I had realized that Marti did buck tags, I would have gotten one for my car when I had him make me a new VIN tag for the dash!

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Thanks, I stumbled across the fact that they did buck tags on their website, when I bought my car it only had the corner of the original tag.

tpj71mach said:

…I installed a convex mirror glass in the passenger mirror to help with blind spot, that from personal experience with my 73…

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The very first time I had to drive the car with the top up, I said there has to be a convection available somewhere. It was a cool autumn morning and the DW has some issues with cold so it’s not like I had a choice. Didn’t take me 30 years to lern it either. lol.
The vert has a horrible blind spot so I can’t imagine what the sports roof is like.
I believe I found mine at CJ. Rather inexpensive for what it costs if you found the car adjacent to you the hard way.



I actually used some old double sided tape from the aviation side of things. No, not 600 mph strength but dang close. They would seam carpet patches in the cabin with it so it was ultra durable.
I’m on my last yard of it. Only took 50 years to get there from a roll that was a remnant anyhow.
Come to think of it, every car I’ve ever owned has a strip or three in or in it.

So my friend Mike was nice enough to paint my bumper and mirror base for me on Wednesday after work. He didn't tell me he was going to do it, he just called me Thursday and said they were done and I could swing by and get them. We have been trying to coordinate a Saturday so I could get over there and paint them but it has been challenging. He decided to take matters in to his own hands and get it done. He did an awesome job! They are like glass, TBH, much better than I would have done if I had painted them. I picked them up this afternoon and couldn't wait to install them and finally get the body "done". So I got to work as soon as I got home with them.

Before...



And after....

I think it looks much better with the passenger mirror installed, and bonus I can actually see what is behind me on that side now, haha. Especially with the convex mirror glass!



The front end definitely looked like something major was missing, because it was.



Much better, now it looks complete, definitely an improvement.



It still needs a little fine tuning but I didn't have any bumper shims at home here, and my wife was finishing up dinner. I will need to pick some up shims and play around with it when I have some time to kill.

For now I am just going to drive and enjoy it. One of our sons and I are planning to go to a car show on Sunday, as far as I know this is the last show for the year around here. It is a big show and usually has a few hundred cars and I usually go every year. I plan to change the oil and filter tomorrow and recheck the torque on all the suspension bolts that I started to do last week. The show is in Morris Il. which is about 45 minutes away by freeway so I just want to give it a good once over before we head out. I have almost 300 miles on it so far and have had it up to freeway speeds already so I am fairly confident in the old girl, but just want to recheck everything for piece of mind.

Now that's the way it's done!

Amazing how something as little as a front bumper improves the look of our cars

I agree, I love how integral to the body design our bumpers are.

When Ford referred to the Mach 1 front bumper as the color-keyed "spoiler bumper" in the ads, they were dead on, it is a fitting description.

Haha, now that I look at the pics, I think my front bumper lines up better than the ones in the brochures. Wow, especially the red one, that bumper is sticking out an inch on the driver's side, LOL

I took the Mustang to it's first car show and the last for this season in the Chicago area. The show was held at the Grundy County Fairgrounds about 37 miles from my house and it was mostly highway all the way. She ran really well and I didn't experience any drivability issues at all. I was sticking around 75 most of the way and it ran smooth, about 3200 RPM at 75 or so. The weather was perfect, 80 degrees and sunny and the show had a good turnout with a few hundred cars there. There were quite a few Mustangs, 4 other 71-73's and a bunch of older first gen's. There were three 69 Mach 1's and a 70 Mach with a 428 and a shaker hood and a 70 Shelby that was Wimbledon white with black stripes. I saw a Maverick Grabber also white with black stripes and interior. My son came with and took a bunch of nice pictures of the car. As far as I can recall, these are the first pictures that were not taken in my garage, driveway or in the body shop, LOL. It looks good to see it out in the real world for a change.

Here are a couple of the pics that my son took of the car. As you can see we got there a little late and were in the second to last row but in the pictures from the rear of the vehicle you can see the huge field of cars in front of ours.



The angle of this picture my son took makes the hood look twice as long as the 6 feet that it actually is.



I let my son drive the Mustang home from the show



We met my wife after the show at one of our other son's and daughter-in-law's house on the way home.

Our first grand child Tommy came out and checked out the Mustang. I think he approved, he grabbed the steering wheel and didn't want to let go, haha.

He only has 15 years and 10 months until he turns 16, and can take it for a spin.