1971 Mach 1 Direction

[mach71351c]

I had a friend I grew up with from 1st grade. When Tony was 16 his dad bought him a 69 428 Cougar Eliminator. The car was built to the hilt fast. Tony's dad was a mercury guy he had a 70 429 scj 4 speed Cyclone.

Now the sad part of the story. The accel duel point distributor was crapping out on 428. One morning he was driving his sisters 80 Bobcat to school and rolled several times. Tony was killed driving a 2.3 automatic Pinto! We all know how fast they are.

 

[wrobinson]

Thinking more on this and adding to my earlier post, I would definitely make sure the engine is running reliably and as strong as it can be without spending tons of cash on it. There is a lot that can be done to pep it up and IF you can find a 4 speed box, that would be a good thing for the car. Where I would spend my money is on making sure the suspension, steering and brakes are upgraded. Certainly better disc brakes up front, power preferably, but even non power disc work way better than drums. ( we don't know what's in it now). Also beefier anti-sway bars will make a huge difference to handling.

There is a ton of stuff you and your boy can do together without unduly risking his life. The 302 has more than enough power starting out and way more than one of those "rice-rockets"

This is just one guy's opinion, its' up to you what you decide to give your son.

With best intentions,

Geoff.

Geoff,

I totally agree that most kids do not need a muscle car. I will say if they bust their knuckles and sweat building/repairing the vehicle they are more apt to be responsible with it. Case in point my first vehicle was a 1977 Camaro. My dad and I built from the ground up. It was a full interior street/strip car. It had a 10:1 compression 454/468CI BBC, Comp R308 650 lift roller camshaft, Torker II intake, 850cfm holley double pumper, Mallory electronic ignition with MSD 6A, TCI reverse manual valve TH400, TCI 3500 stall converter, and 4.10 gears out back. To top off the combination twin Holley blue pumps one to supply the engine and the other for the 250hp Magnum Plus nitrous system. Yes all that without a roll cage. The quickest pass was 11.27 @ 128mph on Pro Trac N50's back in 1985. I had an absolute blast street racing and going to the track with my dad. Yep I was that 15 year old punk kid that was one of the quickest street cars on the MS Gulf Coast in the mid 80's.

Wow, that was some car!!! Hey, don't get me too wrong. You know what your sons temperament is and how they handle themselves. If you feel your son is able to respect that sort of power, then why not build something he will remember all his life........ which I hope will be a long one.

My own son had an 80's something Shelby Charger at age 16 and he handled that very well, no tickets, no crashes.

Good luck with whatever you decide to build.

Geoff.

That car with today's technology like drag radials/ET Street tires, digital timing retard systems, and progressive nitrous controllers would have easily went mid to low tens no doubt. in hind sight I would install at least a six point roll bar to minimize body/suspension flex. Short story, my dad and I decided to put a set of 28 X 9" slicks on the car once at the track. They held great on motor so we decided to use the nitrous off the line. Bad decision the car twisted so hard the radiator came out of the mounts and fell back into the flex fan. After taking out a four core radiator it cut all the belts on the front of the engine not to mention the passenger slick wrinkled to the point the traction bar cut the inside sidewall of the tire. Yep really bad night because we never trailered the car anywhere. Luckily I only lived 8 miles from the track. We filled the engine full of cool water stuck maglights in the upper and lower hoses installed the street tires on the rear and drove home. Stopping repeatedly for the engine to cool. That eight miles took over three hours to get home.

 

[wrobinson]

I don't understand this at all. What a kid wants most is an old station wagon, van, or mini-van with fold-down rear seats that lie flat along with a mattress. That's what most boys are mostly interested in, and that certainly would make it a chick magnet. Any Mustang just doesn't have the room in back to do submarine races.

JMHO from days gone by...

I always thought cool cars helped get hot women, hahahaha.

 

[73pony]

I don't understand this at all. What a kid wants most is an old station wagon, van, or mini-van with fold-down rear seats that lie flat along with a mattress. That's what most boys are mostly interested in, and that certainly would make it a chick magnet. Any Mustang just doesn't have the room in back to do submarine races.

JMHO from days gone by...

I always thought cool cars helped get hot women, hahahaha.

Nope. I had a conversion van in high school.

 

[Bill73Ragtop]

I don't understand this at all. What a kid wants most is an old station wagon, van, or mini-van with fold-down rear seats that lie flat along with a mattress. That's what most boys are mostly interested in, and that certainly would make it a chick magnet. Any Mustang just doesn't have the room in back to do submarine races.

JMHO from days gone by...

That's what fold down back seats are for!

 

[wrobinson]

I don't understand this at all. What a kid wants most is an old station wagon, van, or mini-van with fold-down rear seats that lie flat along with a mattress. That's what most boys are mostly interested in, and that certainly would make it a chick magnet. Any Mustang just doesn't have the room in back to do submarine races.

JMHO from days gone by...

I always thought cool cars helped get hot women, hahahaha.

Nope. I had a conversion van in high school.

The ole stabbin' cabin. Yep those were very cool in the 70's & 80's. I had access to a local hotel, Buena Vista, on the beach in Biloxi. Me and a friend of mine did maintenance on weekends and summers there. That was when a 15 or 16 year old kid could actually get a job.

 

[wrobinson]

Wow, just saw a guy on Facebook selling a 1973 Mach 1 "Q" code 4 speed car for $6500 in this area. It kind of peaked my interest being one of 3610 fastbacks fitted with Q code and 4 speed built in 1973.Waiting for his reply now.

 

[wrobinson]

Here are some pictures of the two 302 cars.

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[Stanglover]

Nope. I had a conversion van in high school.

I had a bicycle!! Beat that!

Couldn't afford anything else in England at that time. A motorcycle was as good as it got for several years. You "kids" in the US had it made.

Geoff.

 

[Stanglover]

Here are some pictures of the two 302 cars.

Nice rack of projects for a few years to come I'm thinking.

 

[wrobinson]

Here are some pictures of the two 302 cars.

Nice rack of projects for a few years to come I'm thinking.

Well the project time until my son is legal to drive is three years. Yes,

they need a lot of work.

 

[wrobinson]

Nope. I had a conversion van in high school.

I had a bicycle!! Beat that!

Couldn't afford anything else in England at that time. A motorcycle was as good as it got for several years. You "kids" in the US had it made.

Geoff.

We just finished my 16 year olds car. It was also a three year project. He has a 1978 W72 Tran Am. For those who are interested in his TA build "My Son's First Car".

Trans Am Country

I am working on a 1966 Plymouth Satellite Commando option car. Of course my build has been put on the back burner pending my boys projects.

For B-bodies Only

 

[Mister 4x4]

Nope. I had a conversion van in high school.

I had a bicycle!! Beat that!

Couldn't afford anything else in England at that time. A motorcycle was as good as it got for several years. You "kids" in the US had it made.

Geoff.

HA! I still have my 10-speed from high school (I didn't have a car, either), and I restored it a few years ago so I can ride it some more.