Starting on the 1972 Mach 1

[mrgmhale]

Just got the electric power steering pump. Figure out a place to mount this and trial run it:
View attachment 58666
Nice thing here is all we need is a battery and we can test this. No wiring or engine running required. Getting tires mounted and put this on the ground and then run the steering. We plan on getting the steering column installed soon as well. More pictures coming. One hold up on this project is the roll cage keeps getting back ordered! We want to hold off on any interior, glass, or fuel systems until this bit of welding is complete.

I have no need to replace our hydraulic power steering pumps on our 73 Mustangs quite yet. But, I am interested in to these electric power steering units work out. I will be following any more posts you make on this project. Many thanks for taking the time to do this.

 

[1973grandeklar]

NC snow, sleet, and ice. Not going to get any work done today. Tarped the top to try and keep some of the snow and ice out of the inside. With the new floor pans, the water will sit in the car until I dry it out (good leak test).

 

[72MustangSprint]

The coupe in the background looks like the one David bought a while back. Can’t be many light blue Grande in NC ? Race car coming along nice

 

[1973grandeklar]

The coupe in the background looks like the one David bought a while back. Can’t be many light blue Grande in NC ? Race car coming along nice

That Grande was found in the bush. The only reason I am saving it is the car has clean title, exterior is OK (needs a little work), and it was $500.

 

[Bill Perkins]

That Grande was found in the bush. The only reason I am saving it is the car has clean title, exterior is OK (needs a little work), and it was $500.
View attachment 58929

Nice Car

 

[1973grandeklar]

Finally warmed up and got to the Mach 1. Adjusted the passenger door and got a nice line to the quarter panel. Then I went to adjust the window and realized how the roof is skewed:

Seems that the roof no longer follows the same contour as the windows. Can see it as a gap in the rear quarter window (still have to install).

Adjusted a best I can but still small gaps:

I can tighten the window right into the corner and the gaps are closed, but I do not think one would want to close the door as the glass clips the metal tab as it closes. Drop 1/4", close door, then tighten window.
Also notice that we did get a roll cage, the main hoop is only set in, welding and fitment to commence shortly.
Driver's door had serious hinge issues, replaced with new pins and bushing.

Then a new striker:



The driver's door now opens and closes without sagging. Adjusted the gaps and found the same window issue. The roof is skewed so adjust as best we can.

 

[1973grandeklar]

Placed the trunk on with new weather-stripping:


Unfortunately, we re-attached the latch too low. Have to take off and re-weld it higher. Cannot even adjust it as it is all the way up and the trunk still will not catch and close. Minor fix. One of the problems when the rear of the car is rusted away and you are trying to piece it back together and make sure everything is back in the right location.
As soon as the roll cage is installed, the rest of the glass will be installed and the interior will be sealed. One exception, we decided to leave the front windshield out until the main part of the dash is installed and the ECM wiring is figured out. We will tarp the front to keep the rain out. FYI, in case one couldn't tell from the photos, we are doing this outside in front of the garage. would be in the garage, but the wife's car has priority and the other side is full of junk! At least we are on a large concrete pad.

 

[Hemikiller]

Your window issue may be the glass itself, coupe/vert glass is different than sportsroof.

 

[Michael O’Harran]

Placed the trunk on with new weather-stripping:
View attachment 59790

Unfortunately, we re-attached the latch too low. Have to take off and re-weld it higher. Cannot even adjust it as it is all the way up and the trunk still will not catch and close. Minor fix. One of the problems when the rear of the car is rusted away and you are trying to piece it back together and make sure everything is back in the right location.
As soon as the roll cage is installed, the rest of the glass will be installed and the interior will be sealed. One exception, we decided to leave the front windshield out until the main part of the dash is installed and the ECM wiring is figured out. We will tarp the front to keep the rain out. FYI, in case one couldn't tell from the photos, we are doing this outside in front of the garage. would be in the garage, but the wife's car has priority and the other side is full of junk! At least we are on a large concrete pad.

I’m sharing this link to any I see that have a 72 Mach 1 to help try and get them registered in one place since there’s only 336 R Codes. Good luck with your project. https://www.isomustangs.org/Registry.aspx

 

[1973grandeklar]

Did some more work. The windows are definitely for the fastback. Checked my Grande Coupe windows and those are a lot different. Got the windows pretty close Not ideal, but this is not a concourse restoration. Heck, it isn't even a good show restoration. It just has to function.
Started putting the front fenders on. Seems the front of the car is sloping downward as I had to add a bunch of shims on the front of the fenders to make an even gap at the doors. That means the front bolt has to be a longer bolt than OEM. Again not a big deal for this build. I think part of the problem is that we replaced the two front aprons and might have gotten them a little low and set back slightly to far. In the end, the fenders can be adjusted fairly good and the hood fits correctly. Will post some pictures soon as possible as it is raining today.
Rebuilt the steering column, ordered a new rag joint, need to refresh the main dash structure (dirty and surface rust). Dash looks like it is flat black. What is the correct paint for the dash and glovebox?

 

[1973grandeklar]

Here is some pictures of the front fenders and hood on the car. Steering column installed and dash soon to follow. Still waiting on a nice weekend to get that roll cage welded together and installed in car. Seat is mocked up, but need to build a custom mount. Son is 6'7" so he is moving the seat back quit a bit. What is nice about working on a car that has "patina", not worrying about chipping the edge of the door, fender, or hood (not that I am careless). Having worked on freshly painted cars, installing fenders and hood can be a bit nervous. Even if you tape the edges and are super careful, one miss and the chip on the new paint is heart wrenching! Not so with this build. The passenger fender is particularly bad in the bondo and dent department. You can see in the photos how much previous repair work was done to this fender. Also looks like they painted over the Argent stripe on the fender and door. It looks like the drivers side is a replacement fender. Amazing what one learns about the history of a car when you deep dive into it like this build. Another example, the hood does not have the Argent strip applied. It must also be a replacement and the previous repaint never reapplied this stripe. We will not be putting it on either as it would look funny with the rest of the cars weathered finish. I may put on a new Mach1 decal on the fenders and trunk. Kind of want that to stand out.

 

[1973grandeklar]

Weather turned nice for a few days! Started getting the roll cage welded in, heater box cleaned and new heater core installed. I had ordered the firewall pad from a Mustang vendor. They had the expensive one and the cheap one. I got the cheap one. This supposedly had cutouts for various options and you would simply 'pop' out the part you needed (pre-cut insulation and thick rubber). I got this part and tried to fit it into the car. No where in the part description did it indicate that this was for an A/C car (this car is non-A/C). None of the pre-cuts exists for this configuration! I had to custom cut the blower motor hole, the heater core pipes, and the holes for the heater box bolts and the rubber firewall push pins using my old pad as a template. Only one hole aligns. I realize that this is not a restoration, but it would be nice if the new pieces fit as expected. Even a little 'tweaking' would be understood, but I had to manufacture non-existent holes so the heater pipes can fit through the pad and the box can attach to the firewall. FYI, the pad does follow the general contour and fit so it is correct for the Mustang.
Why didn't the vendor clearly indicate the pad is for A/C cars only (I confirmed as my Grande is an A/C car)? I find no other style pad available and the expensive one looks just like this except more correct materials. Anyone else with standard heater have a firewall pad issue? Did I miss something?

 

[1973grandeklar]

Roll cage done, heater core in, dash frame installed. Now a ton of little stuff and put the rest of the glass in.


Also, notice how the tunnel is crumpled, more evidence of this car being in a major wreck at some time in its life. It will live on and not be scrapped!!!

 

[1973grandeklar]

One other note, the steering wheel is on as a place holder. A removable one is going to be installed. It became obvious for my son to get in and out of this car with the side bars, the steering wheel has to be removable.

 

[Lazarus]

I have no idea why the roll cage is gold but it looks surprisingly awesome against the green!

 

[1973grandeklar]

Finished putting a second coat of paint on the floor and some touch up on the roll cage. My son chose gold to add some "bling". It is a young guy thing, but it does look good. Started putting the wire harness and fresh air ducts on the cowl. We also started mapping out where the Holley terminator harness and computer will fit. Decided we might leave the glove box door off, build a custom mounting plate. Then I got the bright idea, the seat belt warning light hole will be re-purposed as the CANBUS port for connecting the laptop up. Also realized that the center gauges are not going to work with the engine we installed. Now I have a set of gauges for my 1973 Grande! I also got the gauges from the dash as my son is putting the Holley Touch screen! The Grande only had speedo, fuel, and warning lights. now I got full gauges.
Try to post up some more pictures.
Still holding off on the rest of the glass installation as my son has a small amount of welding to the roll cage to add in the necessary seat supports and seat back bars.

 

[1973grandeklar]

Mounted the electric power steering:

 

[1973grandeklar]

My son shared some pictures from his day job! A tad bit more expensive than what the Mach 1 is going to be!!!

 

[1973grandeklar]

Been a while, some more progress, but mostly just mechanical stuff. Pulled the rear axles. Had one side that was very gritty sounding. Bearing was rusty and was no good. New axle bearings and seals. Pulled the 9" rear pumpkin. Cleaned out very sticky oil, put in a posi-rear end set with 4.11 gears (may go even higher depending on how it goes down the 1/4 mile). Got all the brakes installed and bled. Then we had to find a good tow vehicle:


1982 C20 4-door. Got this cheap, had to extract it out of the weeds, and towed it home. Put a gas can on a hose attached to the fuel pump, new battery, and it cranked right up. Runs very good and the brakes actually work (though a little spongey). Need to clean up and fix a bit of rust in the floor pans and the Mach1 now has a tow vehicle to get it to the track. Yes, we are going to pull the fuel tanks and clean out all old gas, flush the lines, and new soft lines, bleed the brakes, and replace all vacuum lines. Then it will be good to go. Also needs some tires prior to actual towing, but these are good enough for initial testing and local drives.
Not sure that we can afford to fill 2 twenty gallon tanks!

 

[1973grandeklar]

Son started a Youtube channel:

This one is a general overview of current status and his plans. Been working on a bunch of little details and getting ready to put the glass in so the interior is sealed. Then the electronics and control package will go in.