Back in the 80s, my mom, 18 at the time, had to sell her Mach 1 because she was extra pregnant and couldn't do the car seat in the back. She sold it for a 4 door chevelle, but thats a different story for a different forum. 
Anyhow, her current car is falling apart and we found what's advertised as a 73 Mach 1 not too far from me. I spoke with the guy and saw his title. Title showed 18k miles on it when he got it and he's put another 2k miles on it. He said this car belonged to a military guy who mostly left it parked in the garage. It spent most of its life sitting there, getting wiped down with diapers and waiting for the 1 weekend a month he would drive it around. Eventually that guy retired and sold it to the next military guy who did about the same thing with it. 1 or 2 owners later, and this guy ends up with it, and now its for sale. Mom is looking at buying it to be a daily driver to and from work and around town.
The vin on the title starts out 3F05H. From looking at the photos of the car, I do see a couple things that don't look quite right. Like the front headlight bezels are the silver instead of the black mach 1 ones. And its a standard gas cap instead of the flip open one. I do see the valve covers have been changed and the factory AC compressor is taken off. Seller says he has the AC compressor in the garage and it will be included, and the carb is swapped to a holley 650 or something around there. The paint in his first photos was a bit rough. He just got it back today from getting some sort of paint work, so later photos, at the least the black on the hood looks blacker.
I was thinking maybe the hive here could look at the photos and let me know if there are any red flags in his story or in the photos. The non-mach 1 parts have me a bit worried. I was thinking I can look up under the fender and verify the partial vin against the title and dash board. Are there other vins located on the tags on the cowl or radiator support or anything that would help verify the VIN of this car? On a '73 that shipped with a 351C 2V, and I'm guessing an FMX transmission, where would I look for tags and stampings to verify its numbers matching? Aside from the usual leaks and squeaks, shavings/coolant in the engine oil, burn up transmission fluid, and rust at the bottom of the doors and quarter panels, what sort of stuff would you suggest looking at on this car before purchasing? What sort of stuff would be a deal breaker and just walk away? And I guess if the VIN does check out an everything looks good and mechanically sound, what would be a fair price for the car, understanding my mom will probably be willing to pay a little over fair market just cause she had a car like this and gave it up as a teenager.
Anyhow, her current car is falling apart and we found what's advertised as a 73 Mach 1 not too far from me. I spoke with the guy and saw his title. Title showed 18k miles on it when he got it and he's put another 2k miles on it. He said this car belonged to a military guy who mostly left it parked in the garage. It spent most of its life sitting there, getting wiped down with diapers and waiting for the 1 weekend a month he would drive it around. Eventually that guy retired and sold it to the next military guy who did about the same thing with it. 1 or 2 owners later, and this guy ends up with it, and now its for sale. Mom is looking at buying it to be a daily driver to and from work and around town.
The vin on the title starts out 3F05H. From looking at the photos of the car, I do see a couple things that don't look quite right. Like the front headlight bezels are the silver instead of the black mach 1 ones. And its a standard gas cap instead of the flip open one. I do see the valve covers have been changed and the factory AC compressor is taken off. Seller says he has the AC compressor in the garage and it will be included, and the carb is swapped to a holley 650 or something around there. The paint in his first photos was a bit rough. He just got it back today from getting some sort of paint work, so later photos, at the least the black on the hood looks blacker.
I was thinking maybe the hive here could look at the photos and let me know if there are any red flags in his story or in the photos. The non-mach 1 parts have me a bit worried. I was thinking I can look up under the fender and verify the partial vin against the title and dash board. Are there other vins located on the tags on the cowl or radiator support or anything that would help verify the VIN of this car? On a '73 that shipped with a 351C 2V, and I'm guessing an FMX transmission, where would I look for tags and stampings to verify its numbers matching? Aside from the usual leaks and squeaks, shavings/coolant in the engine oil, burn up transmission fluid, and rust at the bottom of the doors and quarter panels, what sort of stuff would you suggest looking at on this car before purchasing? What sort of stuff would be a deal breaker and just walk away? And I guess if the VIN does check out an everything looks good and mechanically sound, what would be a fair price for the car, understanding my mom will probably be willing to pay a little over fair market just cause she had a car like this and gave it up as a teenager.
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