New Member, 71 Mach 1

[71coop]

Hi all - I recently picked up a "new to me" black 71 Mach 1 last week. Its the second Mustang I have owned, but that first was over 30 years ago (it was a black 78 Mustang II).

I spent a good bit of time looking, and found what I believe to be the straightest and cleanest body I could find - it is a turnkey car, in a very drivable condition, so not just a good roller. The metal has never been cut as far as I can tell, and its very clean and straight. The bottom is also exceptionally good compared to most of the cars I have looked at. Painted about 3 or 4 years ago, but the PO did not apply any of the Mach stripes or hood paint.

The car is really about 85% complete - some missing interior and trim items, and a few interior electrical bugs to work out - so it is a good drivable, working project (I love tinkering so right up my alley). The car attracted me because of the condition of the body/frame/chassis. everything is clean, all bushings are less than 5 or 6 years fairly new and in very good shape. Engine is a 351 Cleveland with the larger ports and open combustion chamber - it seems to run pretty good but it looks a budget build and I expect I will go through it within a year or so anyway. I'm sure I will find more, but that pretty well sums the car up. I am going through and changing/flushing all fluids for my own peace of mind this week.

Just introducing myself and looking for any help anyone is willing to offer - I will post threads as I tackle different items along the way. I believe I will attack the interior and electrical stuff this winter. Looking forward to it!

Jim



Bringing her home



Have to admit I am lucky have a very tolerant wife...



On a run to the hardware store

 

[73pony]

Welcome from Iowa. Nice looking ride.

 

[Stanglover]

Welcome from SW Ontario, Canada.

Definitely looks to be a very nice, straight car and a good find. No rust is the key, after that the rest is easy(er)!

You'll find lots of great help here from a great bunch of very knowledgeable folk.

Don't forget, we LOVE pictures, interior, engine bay, exterior etc.

By the way, does your wife get to drive the Corvette and is that why she is understanding?

Geoff,

 

[SVO2SCJ]

Welcome and congratulations. Smart buy - seems like a car you can finish a bit a time, not get into a ton of work at each area to see results.

Mark

P.S. To bad the NOS decal set I have for a 1971 Mach is black. I had to buy 5 kits to make one original for my Boss -so now I have to find a light colored 429 Mach

 

[jpaz]

Hello and Welcome from Michigan. That’s a cool looking Mach for sure, have fun with it!

 

[JD79]

Welcome from the Netherlands. Nice car!

 

[secluff]

Hello from Mississippi. Lots of knowledge and experience here and all willing to help in any way possible. Looks like you have assembled a nice Toy Box in your garage.

As already posted, no or little rust is a good start. These cars as others in the 40+ age range like to grow rust.

Welcome to your new Mustang home!

 

[Mac]

Hi Jim,

Nice looking ride. Having a tolerant wife is a big plus in the car hobby. Mine is not a car person, but loves me enough to allow me to enlarge our garage to a 4 car with a attached work area.

Happen to notice you are from Marysville, that is pretty close to Columbus. Keep in mind that every year on Thanksgiving weekend, the Ohio State fairgrounds has an all Ford show with vendors from across the country and car corral. Check out the web for complete details.

Good luck with your new toy.

Mac

 

[Fabrice]

Very nice car, protect it well. When these babies start to rust, they don't do it half!

Welcome from the northern Netherlands

 

[Don C]

Nice car. Welcome from Oregon. When your name said 71coop, I thought maybe it was a barn find and had been used as a chicken coop

 

[71coop]

Thanks everyone for making me feel welcome - it is appreciated.

Stanglover/Geoff - she actually does prefer the vette, but she won't drive it - it's got a pretty hopped up stroker and I converted it to a 5-speed (she doesn't like driving a standard). I'm just thankful she allows me to keep both!

SVO2SCJ/Mark - I have the silver stripe kits on (back) order, and may have found someone local who can help me do the hood paint - Hoping to get the Mach 1 markings in place this winter, but kinda doubt it'll come together that fast.

Mac - We actually talked about adding a 4th bay to our garage - I may do that in the next year or two, will see how things go. I was aware of the swap meet in Columbus, but can't make it this year. That weekend is our 25th anniversary and we are driving down to Gatlinburg for a long weekend away. I will be at the next one though, and am hitting the Springfield swap meet in 2 weeks to look for any odds or ends that I might need.

 

[donkost]

Awesome group of cars there, and great garage arrangement. Is that Vette '80/'81 or a slightly earlier year with the spoilers added? Those cars from around '75 to '81 have to be one of the best values around in performance cars. Yes the L48 350 models were slugs in stock form (L82 models only a little better), but that great styling is there and you can do whatever you like to the drivetrain to increase performance (383 stroker, etc.). Glad to hear the wife is ok with your hobby. Mine was pretty much against it, even though her dad has restored 40's/50's cars on the side for decades. He sells restored cars at Carlisle and other similar places and has a parts stand at those meets. I have a '71 Mach 1 429 CJ-R 4 speed, and close to a year ago I bought a Ferrari Mondial convertible which I told her about when the enclosed transport was a few hours away from our house. lol As long as it doesn't create financial ruin I think a lot more guys would like to have a classic car but are afraid to bring up the subject. It sounds like you maintain a good balance and that is the trick. Anyway, black is an awesome color on a Mach 1 and rarely seen. It will be interesting to see how it looks with the stripe package added, and if you keep the spoilers black or change to argent. I have always preferred the '71 to '73 Mustang body style, and they are beginning to have more widespread acceptance in the hobby.

 

[71coop]

Yes, the late 70's/early 80's vettes are a great platform to build a fast, fun car. This one is a 79. The previous owner put the 1980-style nose and pace car spoiler. I bought it with the body more or less as is, but redid the interior, and eventually put a dart-based SBC 427 in it. I swapped the automatic transmission out and put a TKO-600 in. I've also added a rack and pinion, added tubular control arms, stiffened up the suspension and lowered it about an inch. Its a blast to drive - pretty much tons of torque on demand.

I think the mustang will be more of a stock, "period-correct" car when I'm done - it was a 302 car, but now has a 351c, that I want to keep. I want to retain that original flavor, with minor exceptions - much like what I would have (tastefully) down with the same car back when I was growing up - close to stock form but with headers and a better intake. Keep it clean and functional and make it look like the car I wanted when I was 18.

 

[Boss1Ray]

Welcome from Oklahoma.

Ray

 

[NOT A T5]

Welcome from Omaha!

 

[eddyw]

:welcome2:   from Belgium

 

[OMS]

Welcome from Ohio

 

[luxstang]

Welcome from Luxembourg/ Europe. Nice car looks great in all black!

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Welcome to the group.

If you are coming to Gatlinburg you will be in my backyard, lol. I live near Asheville, NC.

Since you are new to the 71 - 73 family you might want to get your Marti report on the car. That will tell you how it came from the factory.

If your hood is original then you would not get the Argent stripe on the hood. The stripe is part of the package that added the twist type hood locks. They were never one or the other just both. An $18.00 option back then.

BTW 71 was the only year that Black was an option. In 72 & 73 Ford removed black from the list took too much handwork to make the bodies look good, lol. You could get black in 72 but had to get a chrome front bumper and in 73 if you got black you got an Argent front rubber bumper. I have one of the 73 verts in black. It cost you about $86 more to get black. The Special Order cars have 6 digit DSO codes. 

Some of the members have been finding that the repo stripe kits are not cut correctly maybe not so much the 71 - 72 but 73 way off over an inch in some areas.

They have a big Mustang show each spring in Gatlinburg maybe you can come back for a short vacation then.