Tim's 1973 Mach 1 rebuild thread - it's done in 2023 on it's 50th birthday!

[71ProjectJunk]

Excellent work!

 

[timachone]

Excellent work!

Thank you very much  :wrench:

 

[Sheriff41]

It's an amazing journey you're on with your Mach!  It has come a long way and you're doing it right.

 

[Idaho Chris]

So much more fun to put it back together with new parts than taking it apart!  Great progress.

 

[timachone]

It's an amazing journey you're on with your Mach!  It has come a long way and you're doing it right.

Thank you very much for your words, very appreciated! 

So much more fun to put it back together with new parts than taking it apart!  Great progress.

Thank you very much. Yeah, you're totally right, now it's the fun part of the restoration  :wrench:

 

[timachone]

Last evening I was in the freezing garage too and managed some parts of the steering linkage together. One finished front spring cover found it's way too onto the car. 











On the linkage parts I used all Proforged parts which were a perfect fit. For the steering linkage middle arm I found a NOS one on eBay some time ago, perfect. For the idler arm I used an old NOS Moog one which is obsolete now but has the correct geometry for our cars unlike most of the new ones. All went well but the idler arm made some hassle: as I have to use one old castle nut for the linkage it was to tall on both the upper and the lower mounting points. As torqued a good cotter pin did not come through! So I came to the conclusion to file down the sleeve of the bearing 3/64 or 5/64 of an inch so a cotter pin will fit easily through. But therefore it was too late last evening, will follow up soon. Then all could be finished smoothly, steering completed  :thumb:  

 

[Klug]

Freezing? Why?

 

[71ProjectJunk]

I used that same Moog K-8165 NOS idler arm with my original center link, as I was aware of the issues with the idler arms that are currently being made. It fit perfectly, and I did not have to file anything. I wonder if the NOS center link may have been a little thicker than the ones that were used on the assembly line. 

 

[timachone]

I used that same Moog K-8165 NOS idler arm with my original center link, as I was aware of the issues with the idler arms that are currently being made. It fit perfectly, and I did not have to file anything. I wonder if the NOS center link may have been a little thicker than the ones that were used on the assembly line. 

It's only the hole on the thread of the center link which is a little bit to low for the castle nut cotter pin to fit through when torqued. So perhaps the NOS part is a little off there... But that's nothing serious, only five minutes of accurate filing I think 

 

[mach71351c]

Wow Tim!!! Your on a roll. Everything looks fantastic nice job!

 

[timachone]

Wow Tim!!! Your on a roll. Everything looks fantastic nice job!

Thank you very much, Mike, very appreciated!

 

[timachone]

It's only the hole on the thread of the center link which is a little bit to low for the castle nut cotter pin to fit through when torqued. So perhaps the NOS part is a little off there... But that's nothing serious, only five minutes of accurate filing I think

I used that same Moog K-8165 NOS idler arm with my original center link, as I was aware of the issues with the idler arms that are currently being made. It fit perfectly, and I did not have to file anything. I wonder if the NOS center link may have been a little thicker than the ones that were used on the assembly line.

After some digging in my used parts bins I grabbed a castle nut which had the right height! So it doesn't needed any filing, fit was perfect, idler arm is done Sometimes waiting and calm down, letting the right parts find you is the key...

 

[timachone]

Since Christmas I was able to got a lot done on the car so it's starting to look slowly like a real car again

First I applied some Seam Sealer with a brush






Then I applied 2 light coats of Gold Glow paint with one light coat of 2K clear paint. Here is the result - I was quite satisfied how it came out
























After let it dry about some days I applied sound deadener and isolation. The original materials were some sort of tar/butyl with padding. The padding was directly on the floor which soaked water and humidity over the years and fed rust. Instead I used some Dynamat-type material which was a compound of self-adhesive aluminum butyl and applied it first. Then I used some self-adhesive padding after it and everything went quite well.

 

[71 gbvert]

Looking very good!

 

[timachone]

Now it was time to lay down the carpet and get the seats and the other thins installed. I have to say it took some time to get the carpet right, it was quite some fiddling and I had the feeling that the pre-formed carpet was formed a bit to narrow width-wise. But in the end I am quite satisfied with the result and how it looks and feels now. Nothing in comparison to the old one which was wrong, filthy and at the end of its lifetime. With the new door sill plates it looks awesome and like a real car again. My mind lets me already sit in there, hearing the engine, tapping the gas and let the trees on the side of the street fly by

 

[timachone]

In the meantime I was under the floor, connecting rear axle and transmission with the driveshaft and some heavy duty Spicer universal joints, non-greasable as original from the factory! In the end I installed a driveshaft safety loop on the original seat belt mounts on the transmission tunnel. I used some grade 8 yellow zinc bolts in 7/16-20 UNF thread and 1 1/2 inch length with some washers and self-locking nuts. Give me some feeling of safety - still better than nothing...

New rear transmission seal








This one connects the driveshaft with the OE slip yoke to the transmission



This one is for the rear to connect the third member with the OE yoke and driveshaft







For the rear connection to the third member

















That's it for now. Will follow up with emergency brake lines install, exhaust system and brakes front and rear the next time...

 

[mach71351c]

Nice work Tim! Your moving right along.

 

[71ProjectJunk]

Excellent work.

 

[mrgmhale]

I have been enjoying looking over your progress photos. A labor of love, no doubt. For me it is more about the Love For The Breed than anything else.

 

[Idaho Chris]

Just beautiful. Hoping to be back on the road this summer?

 

[timachone]

Nice work Tim! Your moving right along.

Thank you! Yeah, piece for piece in the right direction now

Excellent work.

Thank you very much!

I have been enjoying looking over your progress photos. A labor of love, no doubt. For me it is more about the Love For The Breed than anything else.

Yeah, you're right, thank you! Such work over this long time with not that much free time it could only be made with love, nothing else!

Just beautiful. Hoping to be back on the road this summer?

Thank you very much! Yeah, that's the plan, back on the road this summer, even when it's end of summer or autumn. It have to be now, this year, not one more!