’71 Mach 1 Resto Project

[tpj71mach]

Yesterday, the center section arrived. I opened it up and inspected it last night but did not have any time to work on it. I am hoping today to get it painted so it will be cured enough to install it tomorrow.

 

[Sheriff41]

You may want to look into swapping the pinion yokes. Your new one looks to have the short yoke. Our cars came from the factory with the long yoke.

 

[tpj71mach]

You may want to look into swapping the pinion yokes. Your new one looks to have the short yoke. Our cars came from the factory with the long yoke.

Thanks, I noticed that and planned to swap them out.

 

[tpj71mach]

I painted the center section this afternoon and will let it cure for a day or two. It is a satin clear so it should dull down after it cures fully.

My 23-year-old son, the body builder, said he is available tomorrow afternoon or Saturday morning to lift that bad boy into place for me. I have lifted a few 9-inch center sections into place when I was younger but that is what the young guys are best at, haha.

I also got my axles back with the new bearings pressed on, so I am ready to put a bit of gear lube on the new seals and slide them in after the center section is installed. Hopefully it will be back on all four tires by Saturday afternoon and tucked away back in the corner of the garage for its long winter nap.

 

[tpj71mach]

I was able to assemble the rear differential today and get her back on all four tires and tucked back into her corner of the garage.

The next project will be reupholstering the seats, but that won't be for a couple months. A few weeks ago when I ordered the comfort weave, SMS told me that it would be a minimum of 10 weeks before they ship the comfort weave that I purchased from them to TMI. TMI told me it would take 6-8 weeks to make and ship me the seat covers. Kind of funny how it takes 2-4 weeks longer to walk to a shelf and cut two yards of fabric off of a roll and place it into an envelope than it takes to sew together a full set of seat covers and ship them, oh well it is what it is. So, once I know the seat covers are about to be shipped, I will remove the seats and start tearing them down and media blast and paint the frames. Hopefully, I can time it right to where the frames are ready for foam and upholstery about the same time that all shows up.

Here are a couple pics of my new center section with a limited slip and 3.25:1 gears.

I also bought new hardware from NPD just to make it look pretty, haha.

 

[Sheriff41]

When you tear down your seats check the rear corners of the bottom seat frames for cracks. Also, some of the holes in the frame where you'd fasten hog rings may have cracked open and may need repair. Check out this thread: https://7173mustangs.com/threads/help-finding-1973-mach-1-seat-frame.45270/#post-456371

 

[California 72]

Very nice!


Umm, err uhh, does your old one have a new home yet?

 

[tony-muscle]

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

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

Timken and SKF are worldwide know as mentioned.
However, I have been using Moser's with the o-ring that you can get away with no seal. I have been using this design for 5+ years. I had to replace once but it is because I autocross and race my car which is very hard on the bearings. I will be removing the axle next week to check the bearings but it is something I have to do every year to be in the safe side and be ready for the annual beating. For normal street use they should last a long time.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/MSR-9507T

 

[tpj71mach]

Very nice!


Umm, err uhh, does your old one have a new home yet?

Thanks!

Sorry, but yes it has found a new home, a friend of mine, (guy that helped me build the 454 for my Chevelle) wants it and is planning to swing by this weekend to get it. He asked what I was asking but I told him just to take it, it needs to be rebuilt, it would only be good as a case to build anyways. The pinion seal started to leak shortly after I got it running and driving. I noticed that the pinion bearing was a little noisy right from the first test drive I took but it was good enough until I saved my pennies and upgraded, ha-ha.

 

[tpj71mach]

The stars might just align for a road test of my "new" rear differential this weekend.

The weather has been unseasonably warm here in Chicago this week. It has been in the 40's and has even broken into the 50's.

This may sound like a ridiculous statement, but the best news is that it rained all day yesterday and is going to rain all day today as well. All this rain should help to wash away the road salt left from previous snows. It is supposed to stop raining today around 4:00 pm and be dry and remain in the 40's until Wednesday.

The roads should be dry and mostly salt free by Sunday which just so happens to be my Mach's 54th birthday, it was built 2/2/1971. It might just be the perfect day to take the Mustang out for a nice drive to road test the rear diff and get a little behind the wheel time.

 

[tpj71mach]

Happy 54th Birthday to my 1971 Mach 1!

Its production date was 2/2/1971, 54 years ago today!

My wife and I are planning to take it out for a joy ride this afternoon. With the unseasonably warm weather here in Chicago and the rain on Thursday and Friday the road salt got washed away. The streets are clean and dry right now and it is 47 degrees today, not bad for February in Chicago.

I took the car for a road test yesterday to make sure the recently installed rear differential was nice and quiet and there were no leaks or issues. The test drive went well, and it was clean and dry underneath after I returned, so I am now confident to take it for a longer joy ride with my wife today.

It has come a long way since I bought it and since each of its last birthdays during the restoration process.

This is how it looked when I bought it in November 2021 at the ripe old age of 50.



This is the car on its 51st birthday 2/2/2022



This is how it looked on its 52nd birthday 2/2/2023



This is how it looked on its 53rd birthday 2/2/2024



This is how it looks on its 54th birthday today 2/2/2025



It will be nice to drive it around some and get some more miles on it before Wednesday when winter returns to Chicago, the weather app is forecasting temperatures to drop and snow on Wednesday.

 

[Sheriff41]

Happy 54th Birthday to my 1971 Mach 1!

Its production date was 2/2/1971, 54 years ago today!

My wife and I are planning to take it out for a joy ride this afternoon. With the unseasonably warm weather here in Chicago and the rain on Thursday and Friday the road salt got washed away. The streets are clean and dry right now and it is 47 degrees today, not bad for February in Chicago.

I took the car for a road test yesterday to make sure the recently installed rear differential was nice and quiet and there were no leaks or issues. The test drive went well, and it was clean and dry underneath after I returned, so I am now confident to take it for a longer joy ride with my wife today.

It has come a long way since I bought it and since each of its last birthdays during the restoration process.

This is how it looked when I bought it in November 2021 at the ripe old age of 50.

View attachment 97231

This is the car on its 51st birthday 2/2/2022

View attachment 97232

This is how it looked on its 52nd birthday 2/2/2023

View attachment 97233

This is how it looked on its 53rd birthday 2/2/2024

View attachment 97234

This is how it looks on its 54th birthday today 2/2/2025

View attachment 97235

It will be nice to drive it around some and get some more miles on it before Wednesday when winter returns to Chicago, the weather app is forecasting temperatures to drop and snow on Wednesday.

Happy birthday to your Mach 1! It's been through an amazing transformation in your care.