MuscleTang mod project thread (1971 M-Mach 1)

[turtle5353]

You'll get good noise with a 2.5 system, but if you run 3" just from the headers back to a pair of cut out pipes with a 2.5 system the rest of the way back, then when you open it up you can really turn the volume up to 11.

Jeff , with the kit he bought, the cutouts are right behind the header collectors. So they are pretty much straight headers when you crack them open. I don't think you can get much louder! ::thumb::

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

3" is louder than 2.5"

 

[turtle5353]

But the cutouts are hooked right to the header collectors... no 2.5 till after that. Straight to the x pipe.

 

[tony-muscle]

I may install a microphone right at the curouts and use a 500w amplifier with speakers to make it louder....

1971 M-code Mach 1

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

I may install a microphone right at the cutouts and use a 500w amplifier with speakers to make it louder....

1971 M-code Mach 1

Just make sure the amp goes to 11

 

[tony-muscle]

Hi guys, continuing testing the car. All is going good. A few minimal leaks so I have been tightening the lines a little more. One issue that I don't like is that the e-brake cable is contacting the floor panel and scratching the paint. Is this normal? The diagrams don't show any type of spacer so I wonder what others have done.

 

[turtle5353]

Mine touches my floor. you can kinda see in the pic above [/align]

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

I relocated mine to the transmission tunnel and moved the rear brackets, but you can spit a piece of hose and slide it over where the cable contacts the floor to prevent chafing-just put a layer of tape over it after installation.

 

[computercarguy]

I cut some old 3/16 fuel/vacuum hose into a few pieces just over an inch long, slit them and inserted over parking cable. No more cable to metal contact.

 

[tony-muscle]

So it happens that the Dynomax Super Turbo is much bigger than the stock size muffler. The exhaust guy is not able to fit the mufflers up in the "pocket" where the OEM mufflers go. The mufflers would fit, but then there is not enough space to bend the 2.5" pipe. Has any of you experience this issue? Right now the mufflers are hanging below the pocket. It is still higher than the axle, though.

Should I leave the mufflers below the "pocket" or should I see if he can fit a 2 1/4" pipe from the muffler to the tail pipe?

 

[tony-muscle]

Picked up the car. The exhaust sounds awesome. The mufflers are hanging lower than what I was expecting, but more on that later.

The new problem is that caster on the right side maxed out at -0.8. He maxed out the right side and matched the left. Even though it's within the car specs I was shooting for +1.75. So, now, when you steer the car doesn't go to center in any hurry. When I installed the strut rod on the right side I remember it didn't fit as smooth as the left side so I think there may be something out of square with the front rails. What are my options? Right now, the left strut rod is adjusted about 1" longer than the right. Does it make sense to machine more threads on the strut rod to allow for positive caster or are there longer strut rods? I am afraid of the other option of moving the frame.

As a matter of information, the strut rods bushings are new. When I did the floors I measured the frame points under the floors and all was squared, but I did not measure to the front rails.

The pictures below show the rear side of the strut rod bushing. The one fully threaded is the right side. In the picture, the right side bushing appears to be at a steeper angle than the left side, but this can be just a visual effect. Maybe this is an indication of something going on with that rail. I see some non factory welds in different places so that tells me that there was some kind of repair at some point. I know, based on the rocker panel and other clues, that the car had some kind of accident on the right side.

 

[73pony]

That is very odd indeed. When you removed them initially did you notice if the one side was threaded that far? Also I agree the angle looks odd. My guess would be that something with the frame rail or cross member is out of alignment based on what I see and you mentioning evidence of welding repairs on the frame. I'm not sure what to tell you on cutting more threads, that is beyond my scope.

 

[Qcode351mach]

One thing, the washers are on backwards the cup part is supposed to "cup the rubber bushing"

Your going to need to "x-measure" check for square AND check heights at the rails--all suspension mounting points-rails and shock towers. Theres is definitely a problem somewhere.

 

[tony-muscle]

One thing, the washers are on backwards the cup part is supposed to "cup the rubber bushing"

Your going to need to "x-measure" check for square AND check heights at the rails--all suspension mounting points-rails and shock towers. Theres is definitely a problem somewhere.

Q, I installed the bushings per Moog's instructions. They show the aft washers cupped the opposite way.

 

[73pony]

That is what mine shows as well.

 

[tony-muscle]

So I took some measurements and the "strut rod" cross member is about 1/2" more backwards on the passenger side than on the driver side. The threads of the strut rod stick out about 1" longer so I don't know where the other 1/2" is coming from. Are both strut rods symmetric? It almost looks like one may have the bolts a bit more forward than the other.

The actual cross member does not look that bad. However, I think it may have been rewelded to the frame in the wrong place, which would have been horrible workmanship. How difficult of a task would it be to cut it from the frame and reweld it again. I think I can do the cutting, but I am not too comfortable welding under the car. Or should I ignore it and get a shorter strut rod so I can pull the wheel further to the front. I really would like to have some positive caster.

 

[basstrix]

I have a set of strut rods available and I just checked...they are both the same length/symmetric.

With regard to the direction of rear washer on the bushings...I went through this recently. The manual shows them as Q describes, but the OEM bushing design is different from Moog's. Moog's instructions, as well as stampings on the washers, clearly indicate the convex side of washer faces the rubber. I was puzzled because I had remembered them the same as Q....but I ended up following Moog's.

 

[tony-muscle]

My main projects for the winter are/were:

-Check and fix rust in trunk area (more rust than expected )

-Fix some rust in the hat area of the cowl (may now have to wait)

-Install FiTech EFI

As I started cleaning the trunk I found more issues that what I was expecting.

-The trunk floor has mainly surface rust in a few areas so that's easy to fix.

-The tail lamp frame area has surface rust and some through rust along the edges. It seems that this was badly fixed in the past. See pics. I will remove all the rusted metal with the understanding that the edge of the frame won't be perfectly straight, but I can live with that. It should be mostly hidden once the tail lamps are installed.

-The bigger problem areas are by the trunk drop off where it meets the inner fender. The driver's side is worse than the passenger's. Both sides will need metal to be cut and replaced. The inner fender piece, I should be able to recreate after some origami sheetmetal work :huh:. For the driver's trunk drop off piece I may cut if from a new drop off since they are cheap. I am not looking for perfection here so I am thinking of spot welding the new pieces. A little of the outer fender, the lip behind the wheel, in this area will need to be cut. It is a small piece so I won't replace it. It is hidden so I am not to worried.

 

[turtle5353]

If your not wanting to replace the whole pieces, do as you said and cut out what is bad and patch it in. I wouldn't worry about butt welding those areas to make an invisible repair. Cut out the bad spots and make your patch1/2"-3/4" bigger than the hole. Punch some holes in the patch so you can spot weld it around the perimeter. finish them off with body seam sealer and some undercoating. Shouldn't be too bad of a repair. You got this!! The floor pans turned out great so this will be easy peasey for you! Good luck and keep us posted. Also if you don't want to make the patches yourself, you can do what I did and buy the out wheel housing and cut the part off you need. It saves a ton of time and fits great.

 

[tony-muscle]

If your not wanting to replace the whole pieces, do as you said and cut out what is bad and patch it in. I wouldn't worry about butt welding those areas to make an invisible repair. Cut out the bad spots and make your patch1/2"-3/4" bigger than the hole. Punch some holes in the patch so you can spot weld it around the perimeter. finish them off with body seam sealer and some undercoating. Shouldn't be too bad of a repair. You got this!! The floor pans turned out great so this will be easy peasey for you! Good luck and keep us posted. Also if you don't want to make the patches yourself, you can do what I did and buy the out wheel housing and cut the part off you need. It saves a ton of time and fits great.

Wow.... you had rust exactly in the same places. Thanks for the pictures.

I will guess is common. The design of that area is the perfect moisture trap so I am not surprised they commonly rust.

In my case I dont want to touch the exterior painted areas. Painting the car is not in my inmediate or medium term plans.

1971 M-code Mach 1