The Rickster - a 73 Mach 1 work in progress

[skerwath]

Not gonna lie. I got a little mahogany looking at your pictures. She looks amazing!

 

[1973grandeklar]

Wow. Amazing. I am partial to that green

 

[73MustangCoupe]

I've spent a good part of the day trying to get the motor in place. I pulled the alternator, PS pump and AC compressor, and got it hanging from the engine hoist. Working alone, it took a little time, but I got the driver side motor mount bolted up.



I thought things were going pretty well, but after getting the driver side engine and frame mounts bolted together, the passenger side is about 1-1/4" off. I've got the 72 frame mount and the 2257 motor mounts, so it should mate, but the engine is level, side to side, but the mounts aren't lining up.

Am I missing something? Anyone got any suggestions?

 

[rio1856]

Ron I 'm not sure if the 72 motor mounts would work in your 73. I believe the 73 mounts are different. Just throwing that out there. Then again I'm probably wrong I'm definitely not an expert by any means.

 

[rio1856]

Mike at motor city mustang has a pair of the 73 mount brackets on E-bay right now
https://www.ebay.com/itm/165220567912
And just for reference WCCC has some pics of the 73 motor mount
https://secure.cougarpartscatalog.c...ar-/-1973-Ford-Mustang.html?sessionthemeid=26

 

[OMS]

Ron, those mounts look like 73 frame mounts not 71-2

 

[OMS]

Ron, I will send a set of 71-2 frame mounts on Monday, sorry for the mistake.

 

[73MustangCoupe]

Thanks, Don.


I got the motor pulled out and pulled the frame mounts. Here's a picture of one of them. I didn't find a part number on them, but they look like 73's.

 

[OMS]

Yes they are 73's ... Hang them on the garage wall of shame with my name on under them
The set of 71-2 s will go out today - no need to return the incorrect 73's, it was my mistake, sorry don't know how
the heck I did that.

 

[JJU9507]

Yes they are 73's ... Hang them on the garage wall of shame with my name on under them
The set of 71-2 s will go out today - no need to return the incorrect 73's, it was my mistake, sorry don't know how
the heck I did that.

Man, you noticed and manned up, you are a very stand-up dude, congrats, OMS!!

 

[JJU9507]

Thanks guys.

This morning I got a call from the paint shop. They wanted me to come by to check that the paint color was right and the hood blackout was laid out correctly. They had sprayed the entire hood, and cut and buffed the driver side to see what it will look like when it's done. I think it looks awesome.

I am so excited, I can't wait for it to get done. They say they should be 2-3 weeks.
View attachment 60504

I finished up the harness for the center gauge cluster. I had installed VDO gauges a while back, but had been putting off building the harness for it until I got closer to getting the wiring stage.
View attachment 60505

So for now, I'll just try to be patient waiting for the Rickster to return. Slowly, but surely.

Was that free-hand, or which stencil did they use? That looks bitchin, I want to pant mine this week.

 

[JJU9507]

Alright! Someone did the hood stencil right! Looks great.

Right! What stencil did they use?

 

[73MustangCoupe]

Absolutely. Don at Ohio Mustang Supply is a stand up guy. The 72 mounts arrived in the mail Thursday afternoon, and were blasted and painted before suppertime. Friday morning, I was able to drop the motor in and it bolted right in. I ran battery cables from the engine bay to the trunk for the relocated battery, and reinstalled the alternator in prep for wiring. Grandkids are visiting so time is limited, but more pictures coming, I promise.

JJU, as far as the hood "blackout" goes, we didn't use a stencil. I gave the painter the picture that David, AKA Carolina Mountain Mustangs, and 7173vert posted on this site, some time back. The painters used the measurements and drawings to lay it out by hand. If you do a search on this site for hood stencil you should find them.

 

[carguy47]

Great work on the car. Paint looks amazing!

 

[73MustangCoupe]

No need to steal pictures, Fabrice. Consider them a gift. ;-)

I have been working on the Rickster. I've got the trunk pretty much completed. I've got the inside of the trunk sprayed with spatter paint, and I think it looks really good. I've got to get a plug for that drain hole in the floor, and I did save a little paint for that.



As you can see, I've also got the tail lights and marker lights installed. The fuel tank is in, with the filler neck secured. I've also got the tail light panel installed, too, as you will see below.

I've relocated the battery to the trunk. I used 1" angle to make a tray that extends from the trunk drop to about an inch from the quarter panel skin. Pieces angle from the bottom of the trunk drop to the outer edge of the tray to support it. If I was doing it again, I think I would just use 3/16" plate, for the top and drop, with a couple gussetts. What I have works just fine, but the plate would have been a more elegant solution.

I am using an Optima battery, and have a billet tray to secure it. It bolts to the frame I made with 3/8" bolts. The frame is bolted to the trunk drop and trunk floor with 3/8" bolts, as well. I ran 1/0 cable along the wheel well behind the quarter panel, and into the gutter under the passenger door sill, and into the A-pillar.

From there, the cables run behind the kick panel, up to the firewall. I used waterproof bulkhead connectors to pass the cables into the wheel well and then through the inner fender


I've also got the fuel supply line run from the fuel tank to the firewall. Tomorrow, I'll get it back up on the lift, and finish the fuel return line, and start getting the transmission installed.

I also got the rear bumper attached. I had the bumper guards rechromed, and installed new rubber strips. They didn't fit as well as I thought they should, so I left them off, but the wife pointed out that the bumper guards on the Ranchero don't fit that great, either, so I will plan to install them later.



I am still working to have it completed and running by Jun 1.
Slowly, but surely.

 

[droptop73]

Just in time for Power Tour! We'll be in Memphis and Nashville.

 

[73MustangCoupe]

I would love to have it done in time for Power Tour, but I don't think it will happen. Nashville is 4 hours away, and I think that might be a little ambitious until after I've put a couple hundred local miles on it.

I do have the motor and transmission in it, though. Measuring for a driveshaft this morning, and getting the starter installed. I am making progress, slowly, but surely.

 

[73 SGM Mach]

Ron,
I just found this thread! So excited for you! I had alot of the same issues with rust but not as bad. After 20 years of being in a shop it is running down the road. I was so excited to get it to that point! I'm sure you will be too! Congrats! And keep posting!
Jeff

 

[73MustangCoupe]

Thanks, Jeff.

Over the last few days, I've been able to get the motor dropped in, and the mounts bolted up. Since the trunk is now painted, I got the battery tray bolted in and the battery secured. I got a transmission jack, to put the AOD transmission in place. I loosened the headers just a bit so they would wiggle, and that gave me plenty of room to get the transmission up in place. After placing the separator plate and bolting on the flex plate, it was time for the transmission.

A bit of shoving, twisting, and manipulating the angles finally allowed everything to line up and the transmission to slip into place. I got it bolted up without much difficulty. I had purchased a crossmember from Summit Racing to adapt an AOD into the 73 Mustang. It fit perfectly. A trans mount from O'Reilly's got it all tied up and ready for a driveshaft.

With the transmission installed, I was able to measure for the driveshaft. I dropped the measurements off on Tuesday morning, and Wednesday afternoon I got a call that it was ready for pickup. I ran down and picked it up, and within about 15 min of getting it home, it was in it's new home.

So, now I need to get the shift linkage, neutral safety switch, speedometer cable, and TV cable. Then, I can finish up the exhaust and the underside will be about done.

At this point, it looks like engine first startup is only 2-3 weeks away. Slowly, but surely.

 

[mrgmhale]

I am pleased to see you dropped in an AOD. We did the same for our 1973 Mach 1 last year, and LOVE the outcome. We are running a 3.5:1 TractionLok, which spun the engine at just under 3,000 RPM at 60 MPH. With the AOD we are now turning just under 2,000 RPM at 60 MPH and since our 351 is not stock we have plenty of torque and horsepower to gain some upper end on its top speed with the AOD, despite the impact of air resistance at high speeds.

I do not know how much you have read about the AOD, and how critical it is to properly adjust its Throttle Valve (TV) pressure at the carb. And I am not certain if you already cut over from the original Neutral Safety/Backup Lamp switch over to the AOD NSS/BUL switch. I have some videos I think can help you. One of the attached PDF files has all the YouTube links for the videos I shot while doing our AOD transplant work. There are two video files showing how to set the TV pressure. Both are worth looking at, IMHO.

When I set my TV pressure I went higher than the factory 35 PSI level. That was because I wanted my upshifts to be at a higher road speed, and firmer. Having more TV pressure than spec is fine, although it will result in a firmer upshift, and a little later upshift as well. It is when the TV pressure is too low that you will run into problems with clutch friction material burning out. You will find some videos covering those area, and more, listed below and in the attached Word document.

Also, I opted to keep using the original floor shifter. It works fine using the adjustable shift rod shown in one of the attached documents. The correlation between the shifter gear positions and the AOD gear position is a little unusual at first, but I quickly became comfortable with it. That difference in shifter and AOD behavior is also covered in one of the videos for the TV pressure setting.

Have fun!