71 Mach1(Trans Am) 2" nose drop

[timachone]

Glad to hear you make some motivation for the Mach 1 out of another car, that is already able to drive. The AMX has a similar looking front end, so it's ok to talk about

 

[Sheriff41]

Very nice work, as usual. So, you have a Ford, a Mopar, an AMC, and GM brakes. That covers the Big Four!

 

[71Rustang]

Very nice work, as usual. So, you have a Ford, a Mopar, an AMC, and GM brakes. That covers the Big Four!

Thank you.

 

[71Rustang]

Hi everybody.....Just wanted to do an update......I got to drive my AMX for the first time this weekend. Its a fantastic car,if you like 71-73 Mustangs then a Javelin is a natural fit. Javelin interior plastic is the stuff of nitemares though,nothing is available new and we all know what 50 year old plastic is like.......... The Mustang even donated its old wiper motor and tail light attaching hardware to the cause.Its been a 8 month thrash to get the car into solid rust free and safe state,I rebuilt a rear frame rail ,made and replaced the rear section of trunk and rebuilt the entire filler neck cover,among a million other things. It is a blast to drive,so now I can bring out my inner Mark Donahue.I'm gearing up to start work again on the TA car and am really looking forward to it. So I bring ya'll a new family photo. I still have some tinkering to do with the AMC,but I know exactly what I have now. So stay tuned for Mustang updates in the very near future. pictures were from today.

 

[71Rustang]

Hi all, so here is the latest. I blame my AMX.......partly. This is the plan moving forward. We all know that B9s are full of rare expensive parts,even new stuff. So I'm still going to put together 429,but in the mean time, I put together a mock up Boss 302 and put it in the car. Just a 68 302 block with a very nice set of 70 4V Cleveland,closed chamber,heads with a Comp Cams adjustable roller rocker kit.....I'm going to use those. A couple things......I can install a B2 without taking off the hood or the export braces,winning. The front suspension only is 3/16" higher than it was before and my drive line angles are all still the same. So swapping from big block to small block is a one for one deal....I can build two sets of exhaust and change the gears and have two completely different engines for the car.......but for now the B2 is going to happen...With this drivetrain I can now run the car in vintage TA classes and continue to look for B9 parts to put together a crazy engine with no compromises............or......or..........I could look for another 71,2 or 3 Mustangs and build a copy of my car for the other engine.........This never stops....does it.......

 

[droptop73]

It's good to see you back on this project. I look forward to seeing what's next.

 

[71Rustang]

It's good to see you back on this project. I look forward to seeing what's next.

Thanks.Focusing on a totally new to me, brand of car was really fun and a ton of hard work at the same time,but I do love the AMX dearly.It also sparked the ''how would a Boss 302 look in my Mustang thought''.Since Javelins have Trans Am history and mine being a 4 speed,it just took me there,ya know........

 

[71Rustang]

Just a quickie..........I just put down a deposit on a brand new 4.125''x 3.25'',11.6 compression 347 Boss short block from FordStrokers.Yes it will look exactly like a Boss 302,except a blue Dart block aaannd I have a full roller clutch linkage kit coming from Opentracker. He dosen't have ready made parts,because no demand for our cars,but he has done them so he is sending me all the parts,heims,bearings and such and I can do the install and modifications.

 

[71Rustang]

Hi again,I've been busy. I have my first Boss intake.It's any early 80s Track Boss,it's vintage,just not vintage enough. I'm working on trying to get a 70s Roush intake,but this one will get me going. I modified all the clutch linkage for heim joints and installed a roller bearings for the clutch pedal pivot.I converted the car to a manual brake pedal support and changed the pedal from power to manual.I also made a 1/4 inch firewall reinforcement plate for the brakes and it ties into the bottom of the cowl and is welded on the inside. I don't really know if these cars suffer from the firewall flex that the earlier cars do, but I'd rather not find out. Lastly I clearanced the flange where the firewall meets the cowl to get the 1970 F250 master cylinder to sit flush against the firewall. I cut it back to where the 3 panels meet and welded them up and finished it. On to the next thing

 

[droptop73]

Nice work... gonna be way cool!!

 

[71Rustang]

Nice work... gonna be way cool!!

Thanks.

 

[mjlan]

Looking great! Can you provide some more info on the Opentracker clutch linkage parts? Does this modify the equalizer bar pivots from nylon to spherical bearings as well? I have heim joints on my links (pedal to bar and bar to fork) but didn't think about the bar pivots themselves...

 

[71Rustang]

Looking great! Can you provide some more info on the Opentracker clutch linkage parts? Does this modify the equalizer bar pivots from nylon to spherical bearings as well? I have heim joints on my links (pedal to bar and bar to fork) but didn't think about the bar pivots themselves...

Thanks. Yes,he sent me a spherical bearing for the engine side and some sort of fancy delrin bushing for the frame side. I think I'm going to also use a bearing on the frame side also though. Right now the new problem is trying to find the correct small block clutch fork.Its always something....

 

[71Rustang]

Me again,with the latest. I moved the mounting point for the drivers side of the transmission crossmember to the top hole. This allowed me to get a nice straight line across the chassis to cut out most of the bottom of the crossmember. This is another TA chassis modification for exhaust clearance. I cut the crossmember to within 1/4'' of the floor out by the floor supports and to 1/4'' at the sides. I then made 1/8'' plates to box in what was left.I haven't made the decision just yet to tunnel the floor for the tailpipes,but in all likely hood its a good bet that I will. I will cross that bridge while I am making the tailpipes.

 

[71Rustang]

Hello everyone. It was suggested by a friend of mine who also has a beautiful 69 TA Mustang he built that I also cut off the end of my clutch fork and install a heim joint there as well. Soooo......I did,but not how you would think,I'll explain. First ,I didn't have the correct fork for a 71 in the first place,out of all the forks I have I didn't have a small block 71 fork,so I went and found one and bought it. All happy ,after I got it,I installed it and then it was suggested I cut the end off to install a heim......ummmm,not on my 71 fork I'm not.Too hard to replace,but I do now have one I can build copies from..........So,I took a 70s Ford truck fork and modified it to match the original fork,then I cut the end off and proceeded to construct a completely new end on the fork to accept the 3/8 heim joint. That is what you see.Now I can begin to plan the exhaust.

 

[tony-muscle]

Hello everyone. It was suggested by a friend of mine who also has a beautiful 69 TA Mustang he built that I also cut off the end of my clutch fork and install a heim joint there as well. Soooo......I did,but not how you would think,I'll explain. First ,I didn't have the correct fork for a 71 in the first place,out of all the forks I have I didn't have a small block 71 fork,so I went and found one and bought it. All happy ,after I got it,I installed it and then it was suggested I cut the end off to install a heim......ummmm,not on my 71 fork I'm not.Too hard to replace,but I do now have one I can build copies from..........So,I took a 70s Ford truck fork and modified it to match the original fork,then I cut the end off and proceeded to construct a completely new end on the fork to accept the 3/8 heim joint. That is what you see.Now I can begin to plan the exhaust.

Great idea and awesome work. I wonder if they have aftermarket forks with the heim already included.

 

[71Rustang]

Great idea and awesome work. I wonder if they have aftermarket forks with the heim already included.

Thanks. As far as I know there are no reproduction 71-73 forks.That's why I just didn't want to cut up the one I have.If you could just buy a new one sure......as for the heim joint you're pretty much on your own. A truck fork is about 3/4'' shorter,but you can buy them new for about 20$. i have them because I'm into 70s trucks.

 

[Hemikiller]

Hi again,I've been busy. I have my first Boss intake.It's any early 80s Track Boss,it's vintage,just not vintage enough. I'm working on trying to get a 70s Roush intake,but this one will get me going.

looking for one if these?

 

[71Rustang]

looking for one if these?

View attachment 67656

Sure.........I'd be interested in one of those. I'll send you a pm.

 

[71Rustang]

I call this update:Adventures in tig welding.Hi again,so I went and bought a new Lincoln tig welder.Something I should have done millions of years ago.Since the exhaust is all stainless the best method of gluing it together is tig,I messed with stainless wire in my small mig for about 10 minutes,then came to the conclusion ,just buy a tig and be done with it.There are other projects on the car that will require it and the door is now open for all new sorts of fabrication with it,and learning something new is fun anyway.I've been teaching myself how to weld stainless for about 3 weeks now and I'm pretty happy with where I'm at with it ,now to begin making pipes. The trick with stainless is a gas lens on the torch,a big cup(using a #12 pyrex) and just a ton of gas flow.Its a pretty unforgiving metal,too hot is a grey weld and you have cooked out all the chromium and nickel,thus making it not stainless anymore. So colors are a good thing and pretty. So one pic is of my latest practice,I have the welder set up really well,my technique is getting better and plenty of shielding gas. I have also started making exhaust parts. the other picture shows the 4 , 3 1/2'',304 stainless pipes that will be the collectors that the header pipes slip into. So it's 2inch x 2 into 3 1/2''. I first flattened the pipe ends into ovals,then made a die to hammer into the end of the pipe to hold the shape,then I formed the center. Slip fit connectors will then be welded to the formed end. That's all for now,back at it this week.