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.

 

[Hemikiller]

Yes, that's an 8"rear. The WCZ-F was used in Mustangs from 65-73. The 3AC is the date code, 1973-January-third week. That u-joint is completely demolished, pretty surprised you didn't hear that thing clunking around. Not sure if that driveshaft yoke is going to survive the replacement process. You might be wise to have a driveshaft shop replace that. Given all the parts swapping that's happened to this car, you should verify the length is correct.

I have serious doubts that the rear axle is bent 1/2" out of square. IMO, you'd have heard the rear tires squealing while driving. Since you have the tires off, put a couple straight edges on the drum face and measure the distance front and back. You should also rotate the axles and check for runout at the axle flange face. If that checks out, then put the tires on, rotate them and check for runout at the wheel bead.

 

[351mach1]

Well the Eagles won today so I need to have this car on the road and relatively solid by the superbowl. But what does the superbowl have to do with the Mach you ask? My family and I are originally from NJ right across the river from Philadelphia and while I myself am not a huge sports guy, My Father and Uncle are. I purchased this car with the dream of having my pops drive it before he's gone. [A little backstory about our history with 71's] My Uncle lives in LA and helped me look at the car before I bought it. My Dad called me after the Eagles won today to tell me he is going to fly to LA to watch the superbowl with my Uncle.

The pipe dream would be to drive the Mach down to LA for that weekend but between work commitments and the car not being ready; it ain't gunna happen. Luckily, my Dad wants to swing through Las Vegas on his way home and he will get to drive the Mach if I can get it road worthy. I hate to say it like this, but this might be the only chance I get to have my Dad drive the Mach.

So!... I am putting all grand illusions about this car on hold for now and just focusing on making it road worthy. Luckily, I think it's pretty darn close and I have a little bit of time between now and then to figure it out. I am going to find a driveshaft and Ujoints to fit the 8"/C6 that's currently in the car and that should pretty much be the last thing to get it up to snuff while I continue to work out all the other little bugs.

I am going to pull the driveshaft out and measure it. I am hoping its the same size as the Explorer axle and I will go snag one from a junkyard. From there I believe I will need a 1310/1330 conversion joint for the axle side of the driveshaft and a 1330 or 1350 for the transmission side. I will measure the yoke to verify which U joints I need.

Looking further down the road, I am currently playing vehicle musical chairs and upgrading my DD and selling some others that I don't use. I am hoping to have another chunk of cash together by the end of February for the next round of work on the Mach. I have until the beginning of June to get as much work done as I can before it will go into storage for the summer and I drive off into the sunset to work in other states until the temps come back down in Vegas. I think the goal by June will be to upgrade the rear axle and do the TKX swap and any other electrical/mechanical issues to make it a solid driver. I will save my dreams and aspirations for the engine for when I get back to Las Vegas in the fall if work is good to me this summer.

 

[tpj71mach]

You can do it!

I like your idea of doing the major upgrades that will make it your dream car down the road a bit. Get her ready and let your dad drive it and you will treasure that moment for ever. You and your dad can drive and enjoy it and then you will have time to put money aside for the "pipe dream" stuff and make the dream a reality when the budget allows.

My dad was also the motivation for the purchase and restoration of my car, My Dad was the used car manager at the dealership I worked at in high school and let me buy my 73 Mach 1 when it was traded in at the dealership. Of course, not until after he tormented for a few days, by telling me that he wasn't going to sell a "hot rod" like that to a 16-year-old kid. Flash forward to 10 years ago when I bought my Chevelle, which was to be my first classic car restoration as an adult after being out of it since my early twenties due to mortgages and kids etc. I told my dad I bought a car to restore, and he immediately said that he knew what I bought, and said "it's a Mach 1 like the one I let you buy in high school, right"? Until that moment, I didn't realize how much he enjoyed watching me love that car that he let me buy, I'm sure against his better judgement and most likely my mother's objections. He understood as I explained that I had a limited budget, and I bought the Chevelle for next to nothing and the parts are more available and cheaper and actually would be worth more when completed. He agreed that all made sense and that was the right direction to go, but I still felt like I let him down somehow though and resolved to do a tribute to the 73 Mach for him as much as myself once I could afford it. Unfortunately, he passed before I could find the right one to build and I wish I had been able to get to it sooner. One of my first longer test drives after I completed it last August was the drive to the cemetery to show it off. Although my other cars are all worth more than double what it cost me to buy and build them, and I will have more in this car than I believe it is worth, it is totally worth it to me.

Sorry to go off on a tangent there, but back to the point, get her done. like the Roadkill slogan says "don't get it right, just get it running"