Frankenstein Mach 1 in Vegas

[Spaceman]

This is a familiar struggle to a lot of us. I have like $15k more into my car than I planned when I bought it, and that's not even close to thinking about paint and body work. I don't have advice on the rear end work or anything, but just wanted to commiserate. I wish you the best of luck in getting it to at least a reliable car you can take out whenever you feel like. I'm at that point now, and while my car still needs a ton of work I also love being able to just take it out for an hour if I want without worry.

 

[tpj71mach]

The Mach has been at the alignment shop for the last week. They really had to fight to get it as straight as they could. They ended up replacing essentially the whole front end. Unfortunately they think the rear axle is bent 1/2". The rear wheels are towed out about 1/4" on each side. I am not sure how concerned to be about 1/2". Should I be thinking about an Explorer 8.8 axle swap?

I also have a driveline vibration that wasn't fixed with a tire balance (even though the tires were out of balance too). Its from 60-70 mph with or without throttle; slower than 60 and its pretty smooth and faster than 70 it is reasonably smooth but can get a little rough here and there. I took her up to 100 twice and decided that probably isn't very smart until I fix this vibration. I am guessing first stop here is U-joints and possibly a driveshaft. I read that the early model mustangs benefit from a ford explorer aluminum driveshaft. Are 71-73 owners doing the same thing? Being that the alignment shop thinks the axle is bent, I guess that could be a potential source of the vibration as well.

I am still fighting the carb tuning as well. I updated my engine thread with the current story. If I can get the carb tuned and fix the driveline vibration, I would consider her reliable enough for daily driving.

I have all but given up on the idea of the T5 swap; mainly because the T5 I bought is the wrong model for the 71 without significant modification. I listed the T5 on craigslist and I am trying to convince myself that the TKX swap is worth the money. I haven't ruled out trying to go back to the factory 4 speed toploader but they seem to be hard to find and from what I am seeing, I wouldn't be saving that much money over the TKX. I don't think I will ever be satisfied with an automatic transmission in this car.

Reality check: After the unexpectedly large bill from the alignment shop and the possibility of needing a new rear axle, I have some soul searching to do to figure out what exactly my vision with this car is. Between body, paint, driveline, engine build and transmission swap, I could easily see throwing another $30k into this car (realistically probably more). I didn't really know what I was getting myself into when I bought the car. I envisioned having a nice daily driver with the manual swap for about $25k all in. I am quickly approaching the 25k mark without the transmission swap and definitely not a reliable daily yet (though getting kinda close). The fact that it's a salvage car that isn't straight is weighing heavily on me too. It seems that $35k gets you a straight good condition M code with 4 speed. I know any 50 year old car is going to need TLC but this car is really fighting me.

I was contemplating all this while the Mach wouldn't start on the side of the highway.

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I believe we have all had those moments where we are thinking what am I doing, why am I doing this? For me personally it is usually in a "car won't start on the side of a highway" scenario. Usually after the issue causing the doubt is resolved we forget all of that and we start enjoying the car again.

I know that you really want the manual transmission in the car, but couldn't you replace the differential and just drive and enjoy it for a while. While you are enjoying it you could decide how you want to make the manual transmission a reality in the future. As they say, Rome wasn't built in a day, and you don't need to have everything done immediately. I bought my car as a roller, with no engine, so I tore it down and did everything at once mostly because it needed it. I did not drive the car until I had owned it for almost three years, not the easiest way to stay motivated. IMO, you are in a better position, your car is a running driving vehicle that you can enjoy while you make your improvements.

As far as budget, did I go over my intended budget?

Officially, No I did not, I am officially under budget, just in case my wife asks, haha.

In reality everything is expensive, and it takes a strong resolve to stay the course sometimes. Especially when the car leaves you stranded on the highway, these questions pop into our brains. I believe once it is running dependably, and you are enjoying it again you will be glad you stayed the course.

 

[giantpune]

About the only way to do these cars and not spend 3x what they're worth is to do the work yourself. Whatever the bill was to do the front end on your car, those parts start at about $300 for the front end rebuild kit. https://stores.a-resto-parts.com/pr...mustang-front-end-suspension-rebuild-kit.html

If you're paying somebody else to do the work, you're paying double for parts plus $100/hr on the low end.

 

[73Rosco]

The Mach has been at the alignment shop for the last week. They really had to fight to get it as straight as they could. They ended up replacing essentially the whole front end. Unfortunately they think the rear axle is bent 1/2". The rear wheels are towed out about 1/4" on each side. I am not sure how concerned to be about 1/2". Should I be thinking about an Explorer 8.8 axle swap?

I also have a driveline vibration that wasn't fixed with a tire balance (even though the tires were out of balance too). Its from 60-70 mph with or without throttle; slower than 60 and its pretty smooth and faster than 70 it is reasonably smooth but can get a little rough here and there. I took her up to 100 twice and decided that probably isn't very smart until I fix this vibration. I am guessing first stop here is U-joints and possibly a driveshaft. I read that the early model mustangs benefit from a ford explorer aluminum driveshaft. Are 71-73 owners doing the same thing? Being that the alignment shop thinks the axle is bent, I guess that could be a potential source of the vibration as well.

I am still fighting the carb tuning as well. I updated my engine thread with the current story. If I can get the carb tuned and fix the driveline vibration, I would consider her reliable enough for daily driving.

I have all but given up on the idea of the T5 swap; mainly because the T5 I bought is the wrong model for the 71 without significant modification. I listed the T5 on craigslist and I am trying to convince myself that the TKX swap is worth the money. I haven't ruled out trying to go back to the factory 4 speed toploader but they seem to be hard to find and from what I am seeing, I wouldn't be saving that much money over the TKX. I don't think I will ever be satisfied with an automatic transmission in this car.

Reality check: After the unexpectedly large bill from the alignment shop and the possibility of needing a new rear axle, I have some soul searching to do to figure out what exactly my vision with this car is. Between body, paint, driveline, engine build and transmission swap, I could easily see throwing another $30k into this car (realistically probably more). I didn't really know what I was getting myself into when I bought the car. I envisioned having a nice daily driver with the manual swap for about $25k all in. I am quickly approaching the 25k mark without the transmission swap and definitely not a reliable daily yet (though getting kinda close). The fact that it's a salvage car that isn't straight is weighing heavily on me too. It seems that $35k gets you a straight good condition M code with 4 speed. I know any 50 year old car is going to need TLC but this car is really fighting me.

I was contemplating all this while the Mach wouldn't start on the side of the highway.

View attachment 96987

Drive it and love it! Stop spending money on it. It looks great.

 

[351mach1]

I did not drive the car until I had owned it for almost three years, not the easiest way to stay motivated.

That would be hard! But your time, patience, and skill [and money ] has definitely paid off with a beautiful restoration!

About the only way to do these cars and not spend 3x what they're worth is to do the work yourself.

That's usually the plan and I do most of the work myself. I was planning on a $250 alignment and for a myriad of reasons told the shop to just do the work. Hindsight being 20/20....

Drive it and love it! Stop spending money on it. It looks great.

I like your mentality here. My first car was an 89 Jeep that I would beat the crap out of in the woods. I'd push it until it broke and then fix it before having to go back to work. I should probably embrace that mindset here.

Thanks for the thoughts here. I was more thinking out loud than anything and trying to put this project into perspective and wrap my head around it. I am pretty damn stoked on what I have accomplished with this car so far and to go from where it was when I bought it to what it is now is a huge difference. I am a bit of a perfectionist so I probably wont be satisfied until this car is perfect for me which will probably be on a much longer time line and budget than originally anticipated. At the end of the day I have already saved this car from an unknown future so I am proud of that!

 

[basstrix]

You should be able to get the rear axle housing straightened. The tough part will be finding the right shop to do it and for that shop to do it properly. I had a housing straightened when I was a teenager....it was a machine shop with a press who did it for me....when I got it all bolted into the truck, I was not able to get the 3rd member over the studs in the housing. The "banjo" section had closed up during the straightening....it should have had a some sort of fixture to prevent that....just a forewarning, should you go that route.

 

[351mach1]

Well Frankenstein is living up to its name. If this tag is to be believed, it no longer has its 9" rear end and 3.5 gears. That could also help explain the sluggish feeling aside from the C6... An explorer rear end with the 3.73 LSD just popped up on FB Marketplace up the street for $200...I will make a separate thread pertaining to the drive line issues but I have to run to work now...

I did find out the likely cause of the vibration though...

Can anyone confirm that this is in fact an 8"? Also the driveshaft isnt looking too solid...




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[giantpune]

Since you have it up in the air, you can easily spin a tire and count how many times the driveshaft spins over for 1 rotation of the tire. If its an open diff, block the other tire and spin the one you're working with 2 rotations.

As far as the price goes, $200 is the going rate for a complete disk brake rear axle at the pull-a-part yard, including the brakes, lines, and sales tax. Its $100 without the brakes. And there are a metric boatload of explorers and mercury mountaineers out there. Thats not a bad deal, but not exactly the deal of the century. Not worth skipping work to get it, or running up a credit card.

 

[Sheriff41]

Well Frankenstein is living up to its name. If this tag is to be believed, it no longer has its 9" rear end and 3.5 gears. That could also help explain the sluggish feeling aside from the C6... An explorer rear end with the 3.73 LSD just popped up on FB Marketplace up the street for $200...I will make a separate thread pertaining to the drive line issues but I have to run to work now...

I did find out the likely cause of the vibration though...

Can anyone confirm that this is in fact an 8"? Also the driveshaft isnt looking too solid...
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Yep, that joint would cause a vibration. 3.00 8" axle. 3.00 is a good gear for a cruiser. The 8.8/3.73 swap would wake things up a bit.