’71 Mach 1 Resto Project

[PoFoMoCo]

Very, very nice.

 

[tpj71mach]

I guess you can say I chickened out on the EFI, I never was sure I wanted to attempt it in the first place, to be honest. The Aeromotive tank with the built in electric fuel pump has been on back order for a while and last week they said they still didn't have a promise date. I took that as a sign the EFI wasn't meant to be. I ordered a conventional fuel tank, a mechanical fuel pump and a 650 double pumper carb. These are all more in my comfort zone anyway. Also, the engine was run on a 650 double pumper on the dyno, so I know how that will perform. None of my toys have ever had EFI but I was thinking I would attempt it for drivability sake on this car.

Anyway, now that the Christmas and New Year's festivities are over I got back to work on the car. I got the tank and fuel pump installed and started installing the carb yesterday. I also started installing the heater hoses and control valve and the trans dipstick. Just trying to install all of the little things I will need to get the car started. I installed the filler neck and gas cap temporarily, to keep the tank clean inside when transporting to and from the exhaust shop. In the next few weeks, weather permitting, I plan to send it out for the exhaust and then get it back in the garage and get it started.

I did confirm that the MSD distributor is WAY too tall for the Ram Air air cleaner to fit, I am going to order a Pertronix stock look distributor. Guys on this forum have said they fit fine with Ram Air and haven't had any problems with them.

Unfortunately, once the car is running I will have no excuse not to work on body work and paint, LOL. That is not my favorite thing, I am much more comfortable with the mechanical, but I won't have the mechanical to use as an excuse any more.

 

[Sheriff41]

More incredible work! It's really looking great!

 

[revsitup]

I guess you can say I chickened out on the EFI, I never was sure I wanted to attempt it in the first place, to be honest. The Aeromotive tank with the built in electric fuel pump has been on back order for a while and last week they said they still didn't have a promise date. I took that as a sign the EFI wasn't meant to be. I ordered a conventional fuel tank, a mechanical fuel pump and a 650 double pumper carb. These are all more in my comfort zone anyway. Also, the engine was run on a 650 double pumper on the dyno, so I know how that will perform. None of my toys have ever had EFI but I was thinking I would attempt it for drivability sake on this car.

Anyway, now that the Christmas and New Year's festivities are over I got back to work on the car. I got the tank and fuel pump installed and started installing the carb yesterday. I also started installing the heater hoses and control valve and the trans dipstick. Just trying to install all of the little things I will need to get the car started. I installed the filler neck and gas cap temporarily, to keep the tank clean inside when transporting to and from the exhaust shop. In the next few weeks, weather permitting, I plan to send it out for the exhaust and then get it back in the garage and get it started.

I did confirm that the MSD distributor is WAY too tall for the Ram Air air cleaner to fit, I am going to order a Pertronix stock look distributor. Guys on this forum have said they fit fine with Ram Air and haven't had any problems with them.

Unfortunately, once the car is running I will have no excuse not to work on body work and paint, LOL. That is not my favorite thing, I am much more comfortable with the mechanical, but I won't have the mechanical to use as an excuse any more.

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Very nice! Great attention to detail

 

[PoFoMoCo]

Awesome job!!! The attention detail in that engine compartment

JMHO, but I agree 100% with the direction of the mechanical fuel pump and carb setup, these are more in my comfort zone too. I'm running a Quick Fuel carb as well. Maybe later on if I get really brave..... but most likely it'll stay this way as long as it's mine. My 30 year old son can make those changes when he inherits it.... LOL

 

[bdennis]

Great thread and great updates.

 

[72Wasp]

What a great build thread. Very inspiring! I'm at chapter 1, got the car home. Now the fun begins!

 

[tpj71mach]

What a great build thread. Very inspiring! I'm at chapter 1, got the car home. Now the fun begins!

Thanks! Yes the fun is just beginning, enjoy!

 

[tpj71mach]

I got some stuff done this weekend. I replaced the u-joints and installed the drive shaft. I swapped the MSD distributor out and installed a Pertronix that fits under the Ram Air air cleaner, and I painted the Ram Air air cleaner. I removed the shock tower brackets and repainted them Slop Gray and once they are cured I will reinstall them with the bolts heading out from the engine compartment. I originally painted them black and installed them with the bolts facing in but wasn't sure I liked that look. I am not sure which is correct but the bolt heads facing the engine compartment is a cleaner look, IMO. As long as I was changing the bolts I decided to change the color. I have seen an equal amount of cars with these supports painted black and slop gray. I am not really sure which is correct but I like the gray against the black apron to give some separation. I will post pictures of the supports once they are installed. Also got the spark plug wires installed, now I need to figure out how to mount the coil. As you can see from the third and fourth picture the fuel inlet for the double pumper is taking up some of the coil mount area. I bought a 1 inch spacer to lift the coil mount above it but that might have the coil interfere with the air cleaner. I will have to see how it all fits together.

 

[tpj71mach]

Last night, I had some time to get out to the garage and reinstall the shock tower supports. I think they look good painted the dark slop gray color, and I like the bolt heads facing the engine compartment better. Just another example of my OCD kicking in and doing a lot of work for very little noticeable difference. I tend to get hung up on stupid little details that no one else would probably notice or care about.

 

[Sheriff41]

Did you mix your own slop gray? Looks great!

 

[PoFoMoCo]

In my world we call that attention to detail! Nice work.

 

[72Wasp]

You do great work!

 

[tpj71mach]

Did you mix your own slop gray? Looks great!

Thank you. I bought the slop gray in a rattle can from NPD

 

[tpj71mach]

I cleaned the tar and over spray off of the front fender inner splash shields and installed them today. I also buttoned up a few more things in the engine compartment. I installed the speedo cable, throttle cable, ran vacuum lines and installed shock tower to firewall braces and hood hinges. I also double checked all the lines and hoses to make sure they were tight and filled the transmission, radiator and power steering pump. Tomorrow hopefully will find time to wire up alternator, distributor and coil and then engine will be ready to start once I ship the car out for an exhaust. I ordered my exhaust tips from Stainless Works and the ETA is the first week of February. After they arrive I will schedule with exhaust shop to get the car over there and have them install exhaust, then it will be time to start her up, I can't wait.

 

[PoFoMoCo]

Ridiculousness....

 

[James Bond]

Fantastic, your OCD superpowers are really impressive.

 

[tpj71mach]

Fantastic, your OCD superpowers are really impressive.

Thanks, my OCD can be a blessing and a curse, but I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested

 

[tpj71mach]

This last weekend we were on the go most of the time, but I did get some things done on the Mach 1. I installed the battery and wired up the electric choke, distributor and coil. I also found a mounting solution for my coil, I think. I added a 1" spacer under the mounting face of the coil bracket. This raised the the coil up over my fuel inlet for the double pumper. The coil then interfered with the air cleaner, so I backed it up a little in the bracket and turned it so it fits between the air cleaner or the upper hose. All of the lights work except the headlights, which I think is a dimmer switch, and the dash lights do not adjust with the headlight switch. I ordered a new headlight and dimmer switch they should be here today and hopefully will solve those issues. Other than that the riding lights, brake lights, back up lights, wipers, radio and blower motor all work, so that's good. Mechanically, all I need to do is get the exhaust installed and pour some fuel in the tank and it should start.I suppose I should start focusing on the body work, I guess I can't put it off any longer. It looks like winter is finally going to hit us here in Chicago. They are forecasting snow from late Wednesday all through the weekend. I can't complain it has been really mild for our area so far this winter.

 

[tpj71mach]

I got the headlights working last night, the high beam dimmer switch was the cause. Now, I just need to figure out why the turn signals won't work. The hazards work but the turn signals don't do anything. I installed a new turn signal switch when I rebuilt my column, so I am going to start by checking connections and maybe swapping flashers. Hopefully it is something relatively simple.