’71 Mach 1 Resto Project

7173Mustangs.com

Help Support 7173Mustangs.com:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
LOL, you are absolutely correct, it would have been perfect if I followed "Eruption" up with "You really got me" for the system's maiden voyage.
Unfortunately, my playlist was on shuffle, so it went to "Running with the devil". Still an awesome tune to break the system in with, haha.
 
Well? Please excuse my digression here, this is not a hijack. I just love a good conversation about good things in our lives. Mustangs and Rock are two good things most of all of us share.

Since its release in 1978, there's been an argument between my friends about what song should have followed Eruption on that album. It's always the same outcome now almost 47 years later so, we always seem to fall back into agreement that "Runnin' with the Devil" was, is and probably will ever be the greatest rock intro to an album that was also the intro album for a band! Although, we're hopelessly deadlocked between Eddie (Van Halen) and Randy (Rhoads) as the most innovate talents at the time. Until recently, I had always chosen EVH until I saw the Rockumentary of Randy and realized we were all off base by a mile. Rhoads should've been, unfortunately we were never able to see what could've been in store for music had the idiocy of his ending not come to pass.
 
Last edited:
Today it is 35 and sunny here in Chicago, so I took my Mustang out for its last drive before putting it officially away for the rest of the winter. I just needed to run a couple errands, but driving the Mach instead of my boring daily driver sure made it a lot more fun. 😁

View attachment Video (53).mov
 
Love it! You did SUCH a nice job on that car! I need to get mine back on the road - pretty sad when just a couple of hoses can sideline the car.
 
Love it! You did SUCH a nice job on that car! I need to get mine back on the road - pretty sad when just a couple of hoses can sideline the car.
Thank you, I agree it is sad when your car is down for some simple thing.
I am really glad that I decided to take my car for a ride earlier today because it actually started snowing here just a few hours later.
 
Th-th-th-that's all folks!

Until spring anyways. We were lucky this year, December was unusually mild here in Chicago, so I got to drive it later than I would normally be able to.

Mach 1 1067.jpg

Just settled down for a long winter's nap. 😢
 
Last edited:
Last week, I ordered a new center section for my Mustang rear differential, it should be here on Wednesday. I went with a clutch-type limited slip with a 3.25:1 gear ratio. It is pretty tame, but it is all I will need for what I am doing with the car. Considering it had an open case differential with 3.0:1 gear ratio and a noisy pinion bearing, it is an upgrade.
Yesterday, I decided to tear down the differential and get it all cleaned up and ready for the new center section. I also ordered new axle bearings and seals form O'Rielly's and they should be here later today. When they arrive, I am hoping to pick them up and drop the bearings off with my axles to a friend's shop to have him press the bearings onto the axles for me. He said he can get them done by tomorrow for me as a filler between real jobs he has going in his shop. I can then work on getting the axles seals installed in the housing and then when the center section arrives, hopefully everything will be ready to install, and it will go smoothly.🤞

Here are a couple pics of the differential pretty much as it sits right now. The only difference is I have removed the axles seals and cleaned out the tubes since I took the pics.

Mach 1 1069.jpgMach 1 1070.jpgMach 1 1071.jpgMach 1 1072.jpg
 
Last week, I ordered a new center section for my Mustang rear differential, it should be here on Wednesday. I went with a clutch-type limited slip with a 3.25:1 gear ratio. It is pretty tame, but it is all I will need for what I am doing with the car. Considering it had an open case differential with 3.0:1 gear ratio and a noisy pinion bearing, it is an upgrade.
Yesterday, I decided to tear down the differential and get it all cleaned up and ready for the new center section. I also ordered new axle bearings and seals form O'Rielly's and they should be here later today. When they arrive, I am hoping to pick them up and drop the bearings off with my axles to a friend's shop to have him press the bearings onto the axles for me. He said he can get them done by tomorrow for me as a filler between real jobs he has going in his shop. I can then work on getting the axles seals installed in the housing and then when the center section arrives, hopefully everything will be ready to install, and it will go smoothly.🤞

Here are a couple pics of the differential pretty much as it sits right now. The only difference is I have removed the axles seals and cleaned out the tubes since I took the pics.

View attachment 96901View attachment 96902View attachment 96903View attachment 96904
Be sure to smear some grease around the rubber perimeter of your new axle seals to ensure a happy start to their new life!
 
Last week, I ordered a new center section for my Mustang rear differential, it should be here on Wednesday. I went with a clutch-type limited slip with a 3.25:1 gear ratio. It is pretty tame, but it is all I will need for what I am doing with the car. Considering it had an open case differential with 3.0:1 gear ratio and a noisy pinion bearing, it is an upgrade.
Yesterday, I decided to tear down the differential and get it all cleaned up and ready for the new center section. I also ordered new axle bearings and seals form O'Rielly's and they should be here later today. When they arrive, I am hoping to pick them up and drop the bearings off with my axles to a friend's shop to have him press the bearings onto the axles for me. He said he can get them done by tomorrow for me as a filler between real jobs he has going in his shop. I can then work on getting the axles seals installed in the housing and then when the center section arrives, hopefully everything will be ready to install, and it will go smoothly.🤞

Here are a couple pics of the differential pretty much as it sits right now. The only difference is I have removed the axles seals and cleaned out the tubes since I took the pics.

View attachment 96901View attachment 96902View attachment 96903View attachment 96904
I sent you a message was wanting to know if you have the formula for the Wimbledon white you used.
Thanks
 
Last week, I ordered a new center section for my Mustang rear differential, it should be here on Wednesday. I went with a clutch-type limited slip with a 3.25:1 gear ratio. It is pretty tame, but it is all I will need for what I am doing with the car. Considering it had an open case differential with 3.0:1 gear ratio and a noisy pinion bearing, it is an upgrade.
Yesterday, I decided to tear down the differential and get it all cleaned up and ready for the new center section. I also ordered new axle bearings and seals form O'Rielly's and they should be here later today. When they arrive, I am hoping to pick them up and drop the bearings off with my axles to a friend's shop to have him press the bearings onto the axles for me. He said he can get them done by tomorrow for me as a filler between real jobs he has going in his shop. I can then work on getting the axles seals installed in the housing and then when the center section arrives, hopefully everything will be ready to install, and it will go smoothly.🤞

Here are a couple pics of the differential pretty much as it sits right now. The only difference is I have removed the axles seals and cleaned out the tubes since I took the pics.

View attachment 96901View attachment 96902View attachment 96903View attachment 96904
Don’t forget to add the friction modifier to the new gear oil.
 
I sent you a message was wanting to know if you have the formula for the Wimbledon white you used.
Thanks
Sorry, I don't have the formula here at the house, I texted my friend Mike who runs the body shop where he let me paint the car. We mixed the paint ourselves in their mixing station, and he is going to look it up in their computer to see what formula we used. When he gets me the formula, I will message you with it. I probably should have documented that at the time for a future repair that I hope I never need to do.
 
Sorry, I don't have the formula here at the house, I texted my friend Mike who runs the body shop where he let me paint the car. We mixed the paint ourselves in their mixing station, and he is going to look it up in their computer to see what formula we used. When he gets me the formula, I will message you with it. I probably should have documented that at the time for a future repair that I hope I never need to do.
Thanks appreciate it.
We sprayed out a sample and it was to yellow or tan to me.
I might not need it as I’m now leaning towards the original color again 😂
Picking a color has been a little stressful.
It is an all numbers matching drivetrain so I hate to completely change the car.
I did go from green interior to black.
If it was a roller or some cobbled together car I would paint whatever I felt.
Thanks again!
 
Sounds good, I am sorry I couldn't get you the information quicker, but I was waiting for my friend to find time at work to look up the formula for us.

I feel your pain, I had the same issue with picking a color, I eventually narrowed it down to Wimbledon White or Grabber Blue. I actually bought two swap-meet mirrors and painted each one of the two colors. I felt that gave me a better feel for the colors than I got from the spray out cards I painted. I was able at to look at the mirrors in all different lights and from different angles. IMO, the curve of the mirror body gave me a better idea how they would look on the body of the car. I had actually decided on the Grabber blue for a time but by the time the body work was done I had realized the Wimbedon White was right for me.

My car was originally green with a green interior originally also, but I am personally not a fan of green cars. I love to see a nice green car, my friend has a Camaro in a beautiful deep green metallic that is flawless, just wouldn't want to own one myself. I understand that you should keep your car all original since it is number matching car.

I feel like I was fortunate with this car, I felt free to guiltlessly make it exactly how I wanted it. Since my car was a roller when I bought it and I cobbled it together, I didn't have to deal with the guilt of altering a number matching car. My other three cars are all rarer optioned, all numbers matching cars. Doing the restorations on those cars, I felt obligated to be very careful to research all of the details and make them nearly concourse correct. I say nearly because I don't really have any ambition to build a concourse car, I just don't have the dedication and frankly the attention span that it takes. I have a high respect for people who can build a car to that quality and detail, sadly I am just not that guy.

Besides, I build all of my cars to just be driven, all of my family and a few trusted friends drive them regularly. My son and daughter in law had my 69 RS/SS 396 Camaro out last summer and it started raining. He called and asked what he should do, I told him to turn the wipers on and drive it, it just a car. All of my cars have seen some rain or bad weather on occasion, I am sure this one will eventually as well. I jsut clean them up afterwards and they are ready to go again.

Anyways, after building those other three "correct" cars, it felt good to get off the leash and just build this one the way I would have ordered it in 1971 if I wasn't 5 years old at the time, ha-ha.😁 Good luck with your color choice and paint job, I hope it turns out great!
 
Last edited:
I have only restored one car completely in the past, an 1970 Torino Cobra SCJ. And it was a roller when I bought it.
I made it as original as possible but with some extra juice I hide the best I could.
528 stroker with aluminum heads and a modified shaker I fabricated to fit with the stock flat hood.
I’m not a huge fan of green cars but one of the nicest 70/71 Torinos I have ever seen was a dark ivy green one. Green to me is so much nicer in person than pics. Also my car was sold new 30 minutes from my house and feel I should keep it close to original. I have talk to the original owners son and have meet a couple people who knew the original owner.
Attached are a couple pics of my Cobra. Should of held on to it 😢2-18-13 020.jpeg528 3-7.jpeg70 N Code Cobra 295.jpeg
 
I got my axle bearings and seals in and I dropped the axles off to my buddy to have the bearings pressed on. My center section shows out for delivery already today, I didn't expect it until tomorrow so that will be a pleasant surprise. I will have more time to paint it and get it ready to install when the axles come back it may even be in the rear end housing, haha.

Of course, the bearings were made in China, but the seals were made in Taiwan. I wonder, does that make them better or worse? LOL :LOL:

I checked everywhere I could think of, but I could not find any American-made bearings for this application.:unsure:

Mach 1 1073.jpgMach 1 1074.jpgMach 1 1075.jpg
 
I got my axle bearings and seals in and I dropped the axles off to my buddy to have the bearings pressed on. My center section shows out for delivery already today, I didn't expect it until tomorrow so that will be a pleasant surprise. I will have more time to paint it and get it ready to install when the axles come back it may even be in the rear end housing, haha.

Of course, the bearings were made in China, but the seals were made in Taiwan. I wonder, does that make them better or worse? LOL :LOL:

I checked everywhere I could think of, but I could not find any American-made bearings for this application.:unsure:

View attachment 96931View attachment 96932View attachment 96933
I've used Timken and SKF bearings recently. Hard to find US-made bearings. Japan has some good bearings.
 
I got my axle bearings and seals in and I dropped the axles off to my buddy to have the bearings pressed on. My center section shows out for delivery already today, I didn't expect it until tomorrow so that will be a pleasant surprise. I will have more time to paint it and get it ready to install when the axles come back it may even be in the rear end housing, haha.

Of course, the bearings were made in China, but the seals were made in Taiwan. I wonder, does that make them better or worse? LOL :LOL:

I checked everywhere I could think of, but I could not find any American-made bearings for this application.:unsure:

View attachment 96931View attachment 96932View attachment 96933

"I checked everywhere I could think of, but I could not find any American-made bearings for this application"

Moser sells a wide variety of USA mfg. axle bearings:
https://www.jegs.com/i/Moser-Engine...Fdevk3hxfIZPeqkZFvHFBAyYY1_oN5yepVhfVrexxE1SP
 
Back
Top