I'm almost certain I just bought a Mexican Mach 1

[MustangNJ]

So I have been looking for a 71-73 Mach 1 for a few years.  I only wanted a 4 speed,  could not be rusted/rotted, and needed to be the right price.  I passed on many, many automatics, but finally found a car that met the requirements.

I noticed that the speedo was in kmh when I test drove it, and I knew it had spent time in Mexico, but did not give that much thought.

The seller advertised it as a Sportsroof because it didn't have the right VIN code for an American Mach 1.

So after discovering this website, I started reading the threads on 1973.5 Mexican Mach 1's, and I double checked my VIN code: AF02MY110...

Then I looked at the build plate which is all in Spanish.  The car has a Hurst shifter, and the wood pony plaques on the door cards.

so after all of that, verification, to the best of my knowledge it is indeed a Mexican Mach 1.

If I am missing something obvious here, please let me know. 

I don't have more pics with me this week, but I am posting a few.

I believe that the car has been repainted at some point, and I am guessing that the seats were probably re-covered

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

It will have a windsor 351 not cleveland if mexican and also a dana type rear without the removable center section. Most of the Mexican I have seen had a fancier door panel. There is a facebook page for the Mexican Mustangs.

 

[MustangNJ]

i should not have said it has a Cleveland. I don't know for a fact if its W or a C

 

[detritusmaximus]

It could still be a Mexican Mach1 even if the details aren't right. God knows how many US Mustangs, Mach1's or not, still have all their original parts.

 

[MustangNJ]

i should not have said it has a Cleveland. I don't know for a fact if its W or a C

 

[MustangNJ]

not a great pic, but all I have right now

 

[MustangNJ]

not a great pic, but all I have right now

 

[Pegleg]

Windsor 5-bolt straight valve covers. Radiator hose to the intake manifold. Regular 5/8" spark plugs

Cleveland 8 bolt 2-plane valve covers. Radiator hose does not connect to intake. Small 14mm spark plugs

That vin gives it away

 

[MustangNJ]

Windsor 5-bolt straight valve covers. Radiator hose to the intake manifold. Regular 5/8" spark plugs

Cleveland 8 bolt 2-plane valve covers. Radiator hose does not connect to intake. Small 14mm spark plugs

That vin gives it away

now the fun begins.  car is running rough.  starts right up and drives nicely, but farts and possibly backfiring when I am not on the throttle.  after engine gets to temp, stalls when I am off the throttle.  gonna check the basics starting with the fuel tank. the car was stored for a long time with very little gas. is suspect the fuel pickup may be clogged. the fact that the car stalls only after being warm is a clue. could be vapor lock, coil, or voltage issue at the coil, intake leak, or other vacuum issue.

 

[Pegleg]

Windsor 5-bolt straight valve covers. Radiator hose to the intake manifold. Regular 5/8" spark plugs

Cleveland 8 bolt 2-plane valve covers. Radiator hose does not connect to intake. Small 14mm spark plugs

That vin gives it away

now the fun begins.  car is running rough.  starts right up and drives nicely, but farts and possibly backfiring when I am not on the throttle.  after engine gets to temp, stalls when I am off the throttle.  gonna check the basics starting with the fuel tank. the car was stored for a long time with very little gas. is suspect the fuel pickup may be clogged. the fact that the car stalls only after being warm is a clue. could be vapor lock, coil, or voltage issue at the coil, intake leak, or other vacuum issue.

Get yourself one of those (dont know correct name) snake cameras so you can look inside the tank and check for rust. Remove fuel line from tank and carb end and blow fuel lines out. Drain the tank and put new fuel in. Put new points in. I would personally put new plugs in and pressure test while i was at it. Then use strobe light and check timing isnt out. Do the basics first and hopefully that will eliminate your issues. Keeps us posted on your progress

 

[73pony]

Cool find and welcome from Iowa.

 

[delawarebill]

get that car going... wildwood this fall on the boardwalk.

 

[detritusmaximus]

Windsor 5-bolt straight valve covers. Radiator hose to the intake manifold. Regular 5/8" spark plugs

Cleveland 8 bolt 2-plane valve covers. Radiator hose does not connect to intake. Small 14mm spark plugs

That vin gives it away

now the fun begins.  car is running rough.  starts right up and drives nicely, but farts and possibly backfiring when I am not on the throttle.  after engine gets to temp, stalls when I am off the throttle.  gonna check the basics starting with the fuel tank. the car was stored for a long time with very little gas. is suspect the fuel pickup may be clogged. the fact that the car stalls only after being warm is a clue. could be vapor lock, coil, or voltage issue at the coil, intake leak, or other vacuum issue.

Get yourself one of those (dont know correct name) snake cameras so you can look inside the tank and check for rust. Remove fuel line from tank and carb end and blow fuel lines out. Drain the tank and put new fuel in. Put new points in. I would personally put new plugs in and pressure test while i was at it. Then use strobe light and check timing isnt out. Do the basics first and hopefully that will eliminate your issues. Keeps us posted on your progress

Nice thing about those inspection cameras, I have a Bluetooth/Wireless Ryobi that uses my phone for the screen. Works okay, but the Ryobi with a screen won't save pics/video in a way that I can save them. Pick the right one to fit thru a sparkplug hole! It is really nice to be able to look inside the cylinder.

 

[MustangNJ]

Windsor 5-bolt straight valve covers. Radiator hose to the intake manifold. Regular 5/8" spark plugs

Cleveland 8 bolt 2-plane valve covers. Radiator hose does not connect to intake. Small 14mm spark plugs

That vin gives it away

now the fun begins.  car is running rough.  starts right up and drives nicely, but farts and possibly backfiring when I am not on the throttle.  after engine gets to temp, stalls when I am off the throttle.  gonna check the basics starting with the fuel tank. the car was stored for a long time with very little gas. is suspect the fuel pickup may be clogged. the fact that the car stalls only after being warm is a clue. could be vapor lock, coil, or voltage issue at the coil, intake leak, or other vacuum issue.

Get yourself one of those (dont know correct name) snake cameras so you can look inside the tank and check for rust. Remove fuel line from tank and carb end and blow fuel lines out. Drain the tank and put new fuel in. Put new points in. I would personally put new plugs in and pressure test while i was at it. Then use strobe light and check timing isnt out. Do the basics first and hopefully that will eliminate your issues. Keeps us posted on your progress

it seems near impossible to get a decode of that Mexican door plate. I found some old web archives for South of the Border mustangs, but they only have 1 sample door plate, but its diff than mine.  

car not running well now. starts up, and runs in high idle, stalls when drops down to low idle, or stalls when it goes in gear.  seems like a carb issue with adjustments, and or vacuum leak.  Hopefully will get to it this week

 

[MustangNJ]

now the fun begins.  car is running rough.  starts right up and drives nicely, but farts and possibly backfiring when I am not on the throttle.  after engine gets to temp, stalls when I am off the throttle.  gonna check the basics starting with the fuel tank. the car was stored for a long time with very little gas. is suspect the fuel pickup may be clogged. the fact that the car stalls only after being warm is a clue. could be vapor lock, coil, or voltage issue at the coil, intake leak, or other vacuum issue.

Get yourself one of those (dont know correct name) snake cameras so you can look inside the tank and check for rust. Remove fuel line from tank and carb end and blow fuel lines out. Drain the tank and put new fuel in. Put new points in. I would personally put new plugs in and pressure test while i was at it. Then use strobe light and check timing isnt out. Do the basics first and hopefully that will eliminate your issues. Keeps us posted on your progress

it seems near impossible to get a decode of that Mexican door plate. I found some old web archives for South of the Border mustangs, but they only have 1 sample door plate, but its diff than mine.  

car not running well now. starts up, and runs in high idle, stalls when drops down to low idle, or stalls when it goes in gear.  seems like a carb issue with adjustments, and or vacuum leak.  Hopefully will get to it this week

WOW! I forgot that I had a whole pack of documents that came with the car.  How about the original dealer invoice sheet!

also has various repair docs going back to 1981

 

[Pegleg]

HaHa you just got to hire a translator now

 

[MustangNJ]

HaHa you just got to hire a translator now

well I was able to translate Air Conditioning and radio. I also see the original color was bronze.

since I planned to add A/C anyway, I'm happy to see it was  factory AC car.

 

[detritusmaximus]

If you want to know what it says, type a line into google and add the word translate. Works pretty good.

Alot of that is easy to figure out. Most that looks unknown is taxes. insurance, etc.

 

[MustangNJ]

Windsor 5-bolt straight valve covers. Radiator hose to the intake manifold. Regular 5/8" spark plugs

Cleveland 8 bolt 2-plane valve covers. Radiator hose does not connect to intake. Small 14mm spark plugs

That vin gives it away

now the fun begins.  car is running rough.  starts right up and drives nicely, but farts and possibly backfiring when I am not on the throttle.  after engine gets to temp, stalls when I am off the throttle.  gonna check the basics starting with the fuel tank. the car was stored for a long time with very little gas. is suspect the fuel pickup may be clogged. the fact that the car stalls only after being warm is a clue. could be vapor lock, coil, or voltage issue at the coil, intake leak, or other vacuum issue.

Get yourself one of those (dont know correct name) snake cameras so you can look inside the tank and check for rust. Remove fuel line from tank and carb end and blow fuel lines out. Drain the tank and put new fuel in. Put new points in. I would personally put new plugs in and pressure test while i was at it. Then use strobe light and check timing isnt out. Do the basics first and hopefully that will eliminate your issues. Keeps us posted on your progress

turns out the fuel tank is clean.  the old sending unit had a cracked float, which was causing it to sink, which was causing the fuel gauge to register empty.  I also had to replace an electrical connection to the sending unit. I also cleaned the carb and adjusted the main idle. now it idles just fine, does not stall, and the surging that was happening is gone.  I also replaced the temp sensor so the engine temp gauge works.  but after that, I've discovered the engine is not running hot enough. I need to check the thermostat