New member, 73 mach 1

[giantpune]

HI guys.  I just stumbled on this forum.

My car is a 73 mach 1.  Bought it back when I was in highschool, sitting in a field with no motor or transmission for a whopping $600.  It took me a few years to get it running, but eventually we got there.  I drove it for several years and it got me through college and even did alright delivering pizzas for dominos.  I ended up wrecking it when some guy pulled out in front of me.  Bent the frame, totaled it, and I bought it back from the insurance company.  I straightened the frame on it and replaced all the suspension and steering bits and some of the body.  Life got in the way and the car sat for the past 9 or 10 years.

I recently pulled the old girl out of the garage from under all the layers of junk and dust to get her going again.  Replaced the carb and gas tank.  Toyed with the timing and a couple other things and the engine fired right up.  Thats about where I'm at now.  She's running, I paid the 9 years back taxes and late fees and got tags.  I'm waiting for the vapor fitting to arrive so I can get the gas tank up in her.  I've ordered some parts from cjponyparts.  And I'm scouring the internet trying to find some of the parts you can't buy, like the 73 bumper and headlight bezels.

 

[Bobby]

Hey Dude!  Welcome from League City Texas!  post some pics and more info.  eBay has your bumper!  Search for 1973 Mustang front bumper.  I tried to load the link but it wont open.  Always check eBay as parts are always available from time to time.  Admire your dedication to your Stang!  

 

[timachone]

Welcome from Germany and keep us up to date. Pictures welcome  :classic_cool:

Thank you for your story I like about most that you held on her for all the years...  :thumb:

 

[giantpune]

Hey Dude!  Welcome from League City Texas!  post some pics and more info.  eBay has your bumper!  Search for 1973 Mustang front bumper.  I tried to load the link but it wont open.  Always check eBay as parts are always available from time to time.  Admire your dedication to your Stang!  

Here she is as she sits today.  Like I said, when I got it, there was nothing under the hood.  So as I was buying parts 15-20yr ago, it was easier and cheaper to find performance parts rather than factory. 

I ended up with a 1969 remanufactured long block 351w, edlebrock performer intake, holley 4 barrel carb, aluminum radiator, underdrive pulleys, headers to dual exhaust, and a rebuilt C4 with a shift kit in it.

I did most of the mechanical stuff already like brakes, suspension, steering.  But given that last time I drove it, the guy pulled out in front of me and I couldn't stop fast enough, I'm really considering looking to upgrade my front discs and swap the rear over to discs.  New gas tank with the sending unit and straps and stuff is sitting here in my living room.  Waiting on the fedex man to bring the filler neck and vapor fitting before everything can go in.

Rims and tires are styled like the newer mach1 wheels.  

Interior is still pretty much the original stuff.  Its usable but not gonna win any awards.

My current plan is get it back on the road and drive it around a bit and fix the little things as they come up to make it road worthy.  Then swing by a body shop and see how much its going to run me to get all the body work done and get it looking right.

 

[72Mach168Cam]

Welcome! This is the best car site on the internet. Not just 71-73 Mustangs.  So many helpful and knowledgeable folks.

That is a fantastic backstory to your Mustang!

 

[mach71351c]

Welcome from San Diego.  Congrats you found the best source for your 73. 

 

[goodnigh]

Welcome from northern California.

mike

 

[Kilgon]

Welcome from Ohio.  Glad to see that you held onto it over the years.  Lot of info and help available for the asking. 

You might want to check with Don at Ohio Mustang Supply and also Motor City Mustang for some of the parts you need.  If you go to the home page and scroll down you will see the sponsors listed and you can click on their name to go to their websites.

Keep us posted on your progress and post updated pictures.

 

[droptop73]

Welcome from west Michigan! 

Best wishes on your project. I think the best way to keep interest up in a project is to do like you plan. Get it running and driving, make it safe, and add upgrades as you go. I like tinkering on mine but it's WAY more fun to drive!

 

[mjseakan]

Welcome from Central New York.

You'll find all the advice and help you could want right here.

Good luck with your project.

Mike

 

[cwalker509]

Welcome from Missouri!

 

[Zill]

hello from AZ,

I couldn't seem to part with my Mustang either. After 20 years I put it back together and drove it around the block. Working on the front suspension now. Lots of people here with a wealth of information. Just ask. Good luck!

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Welcome to the Forum from North Carolina. I have a 12,000 mile original 1973 Mach 1 I ordered new so might can answer some questions if you have any. Glad you held on to it. I know how life gets in the way and puts the cars on the back burner for sure. This one sat in barn for 38 years before I pulled it back out and cleaned it up.

 

[autonomousbronco]

Regarding stopping fast enough, if you go to front discs…don’t forget to change the proportioning valve and the master cylinder!
 

The drum/standard aforementioned parts won’t have the right pressure to send to the front calipers vs the rear and the master will be a different volume as well as pedal pressure and travel. These parts are often an overlooked part of this upgrade and can lead to paradoxically longer stopping distances if not done right. You can do it on a budget if you get used parts, but make sure they all are designed to work with each other (trust me…I’ve also learned the hard way)

Good luck with your ‘stang’s restoration and the forums are a fantastic resource, welcome back to the hobby! 

 

[giantpune]

Regarding stopping fast enough, if you go to front discs…don’t forget to change the proportioning valve and the master cylinder!
 

The drum/standard aforementioned parts won’t have the right pressure to send to the front calipers vs the rear and the master will be a different volume as well as pedal pressure and travel. These parts are often an overlooked part of this upgrade and can lead to paradoxically longer stopping distances if not done right. You can do it on a budget if you get used parts, but make sure they all are designed to work with each other (trust me…I’ve also learned the hard way)

Good luck with your ‘stang’s restoration and the forums are a fantastic resource, welcome back to the hobby! 

My car came from the factory with power disc brakes.  Hopefully the master cylinder and proportioning valve are correct in it.  But its been a long and rough life and many guys have been tinkering in this car over the years.

I did figure out that the master cylinder lines running to the proportioning valve were crossed.  So the line meant for the front brakes was running to the rear and vice versa.  I bent and flared some new lines to correct that.  And then I was not able to bleed the rear brakes.  After a bunch of investigating and taking things apart, I narrowed it down to the rubber line at the rear of the car. It was clogged and blocking 100% of the fluid and pressure to making it to the rear drums.  I replaced that line and got all 4 brakes working and a nice firm pedal.

Since the first post in this thread I've made a bunch of progress.

I got the gas tank installed and plumbed all the fuel lines and filters up to the carb.

My tires were dry rotted.  And they were an oddball size that nobody carries anymore.  It was cheaper to buy a set of new 16x8 magnum 500 rims and tires than to replace my existing tires.

Got an alignment.

Got most of my lights working.  Taillights, headlights, blinkers, reverse lights, and most of the dash lights work now.

I got the bumper, headlight bezels, and most of the grille and chrome in.  Have not installed any of those yet.

Replaced the passenger seat lower half because the frame was completely rusted out.

Sorted out some wiring in the dash and under the hood.

Its at least roadworthy now.  This forum has been very helpful in getting me this far.  Its still a pretty noisy and rattly ride.  Every bump in the road, some parts of the body are knocking together and some parts of the interior are clapping.  I need to go through everything and tighten it all up.  The only sounds I want to hear is the motor rumbling and the tires chirping.   

Unfortunately,  all the body shops in town have completely stopped dealing with older cars.  Nobody will take on work involving cutting and welding sheet metal.  I found a shop in Atlanta (2.5hr away @ 80MPH) that specializes in the classic mustangs.  They pretty much told me my body is too far gone and they won't touch it.  Even when I offer them money, they said its not worth it.  So thats where I'm at on the body.  Still trying to find a body shop.  I'd hate to have to fill it with bondo, but thats kinda what its looking like for now, at least to keep it from taking on water when it rains.

Either way, I'm going to keep the car and drive it like it was meant to be driven.  That place in atlanta did put me on the schedule for some time this fall to swap out my C4 transmission for a tremec and a hydraulic clutch.

I also need to swap out the steering gear and possibly the power steering pump.  The pump worked when the car was on the road around 2005.  But there was a leak around the gear box and the fluid didn't stay in it very long.  I removed the belt for the power steering pump.  So, at least in theory, my pump is still good and if I replace the steering gear, I can have power steering again.

 

[autonomousbronco]

Sounds like you’ve made much progress to say the least, and that’s great you don’t have to worry about ancillary brake components.
 

I hope that you have luck with finding a body shop…Sadly, I’ve found that most people these days are just “part changers” or just talk out of their hindquarters; given that working on our stang’s requires a skilled craftsman, word of mouth is 10/10 better than suspect google reviews when finding a decent shop. I’d chat it up with your local mustang club and ask about prior experiences
 

Lastly, I didn’t want to forget to mention, given you’ve redone everything forward of the firewall…don’t do what I did…run a relay if you don’t switch to LED headlights, the dash mounted headlight switch is easily overloaded with modern halogens and can turn your ‘stang into a “roadside Webber.”

 

[giantpune]

Sadly, I’ve found that most people these days are just “part changers” or just talk out of their hindquarters; 

Around here, all the body shop guys want to do is pull out dents and bill insurance.  Anything that involves cutting and welding, they can't do and will just total the car out.

Similar story with the mechanical stuff.  I know a bunch of professional mechanics.  They're the younger crowd who didn't get into that line of work till the 2000s.  They know how to hook up the fancy tablet up to a modern car and let the computer tell them whats wrong and they rely on having all the sensors everywhere.  When it comes to everything being mechanical and analog, they don't know where to start.  I guess they stopped teaching about vacuum gauges and timing lights at the community college coarses.

What I think happened is all the guys who's bread and butter was doing that sort of body and mechanical work in the 80s and 90s have pretty much all retired or died off.  And in my area, it may be 1-2% of cars you see on the road are from the 70s or earlier.  So not much opportunity for the new mechanics and body guys to learn those skills.

 

[Steve McMahan]

Maybe a dumb idea, but I wonder if any of the technical schools in GA that teach bodywork, are looking for an older car to learn on? It wasn’t that many years ago I did the same for the owner of a Fiat 850 at community college body shop 101. Just saying.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Something ate my last post. This is near Atlanta and they do nothing but panel replacement no paint  and body work. Will not be perfect but  that is all they do so good at it.   Forget the tech school they get people looking all the time.

https://www.graverobberssheetmetal.com/index.php/custom-frame-jigs