1970 Mach 1 H Code Build

[Klutch 17]

Greetings.

 

I've been working on a 1970 Mach 1 for the past year. I'm pretty good with mechanical things, but don't know much about body/sheet metal work. Asking around and looking online, I heard just so many stories of project cars sitting at local body shops for two years with absolutely no progress. So, I decided to buy a welder and dig in myself.

 

I've been following Buckeye Demon's build for awhile. I've learned a lot from Buckeye as well received much inspiration. (Thanks, Buckeye!) So, I wanted to share my build here and, hopefully, get some tips and suggestions as well. I'll try to post a pretty detailed photo essay of the journey thus far.

 

Hope you like it. And, if you see something really biscuit-headed I did, please don't be afraid to point it out. I don't at all mind constructive criticism.

[Klutch 17]

Here's what I started with.

 

I picked it up just north of the Mexican border in Las Cruces. I had been looking a long time for a 69 or 70 Mach 1 project. I wasn't finding much in Colorado. What I was finding was either already restored and very pricey, or completely shot and very pricey. A friend of mine and I drove over four hours each way to look at a '70 Mach 1 on the Eastern Slope of the Rockies. According to the seller, it needed new floor pans, but was other wise, "Good to go!". Of course, we found a completely rusted out Chicago car.

 

So, I didn't mind driving to Las Cruces to look at this car.

 

You'll see in picture 8 the shaker has "351" badges on it, like a '69 shaker. I assumed the previous owner added the shaker, from a '69 Mach 1, at some point. But I got a Marti Report which revealed it's a factory shaker car. Since my Mustang was built in July of 1970, making it a very "late" car, I'm thinking the guys at the Dearborn factory just threw on a leftover '69 shaker.

 

Other than the Mach 1 package, the shaker was the ONLY option ordered on the car. It's a 351 Cleveland 2V car. Since it's not really a "valuable" Mach 1, I don't feel so bad about doing most of the work myself.

Edited July 12, 2012 by Klutch

[Klutch 17]

I knew the previous owner had riveted sheet metal to the bottoms of the floor pans (and elsewhere). But I was pretty surprised when I removed that sheet metal, turned it over and saw "LOADING ZONE". As you can see, the other side was also a road sign.

 

What's nice about this car is almost everything is there and original. What's not so nice is almost everything there was completely shot. The car ran and drove when I bought it. Supposedly, the Cleveland had about 50K miles on a rebuild. That may be the case, but the carburetor was dumping so much fuel into the engine, it was very gunked up inside.

Edited July 12, 2012 by Klutch

[Klutch 17]

During the teardown, I found two build sheets. The one under the front floorboard carpet was completely shot (like the floor pan). But the build sheet under the rear seat was actually legible.

 

Although this Mach 1 spent its life in the desert, it still has a lot of rust. However, I was optimistic that the frame rails and torque boxes were solid. Turns out I was right about that, which is nice. Apparently, the desert saved those, but not the battery tray, radiator support, cowl, floor pans, trunk pan an lower, right-rear quarter. Such is the way with a Mustang.

 

The trans is the original 3-speed toploader. (As I said, no options.) I didn't know a Mach 1 could come with a 3-speed manual until I found this car and did some research. I plan to replace it with a 5-speed.

 

According to the Marti Report and previous owner, the car was originally purchased in El Paso, TX. The guy who sold it to me bought it from the original owner in 1977 and had kept it, outside, in Las Cruces ever since. So, I'm the third owner of this Mach 1 of which the previous owners got a LOT of use!

Edited July 12, 2012 by Klutch

[Klutch 17]

More pics of the teardown process. And, eventually, after I had the car media blasted. I know there's a lot of controversey whether a car should be sand blasted, but I think it turned out pretty well. And I'm sure glad I didn't have to hand sand the entire car.

 

My Mach 1 had the original paint, a bad Earl Scheib paint job and a coat of orange primer.

[Klutch 17]

I'm a long way from building the engine. But I found a nice set of Aussie heads on Craigslist. A Pastor in Boise was selling them for a very reasonable price. They're fresh from the machine shop. And they've already got screw-in, adjustable rocker studs and Boss 302 pushrod guides. They also came with a new set of roller rockers. But they're BB Chevy rockers, which will work, but they're less than optimal. I'll sell them to a Bowtie Guy and pick up some Harlan Sharps, or something similar. I'll have the heads checked out at a machine shop before bolting them on.

 

I live at 7,000 feet above sea level and I'm thinking the Aussie heads will work well here.

[rd49221 14]

Looks like you've got a good project to start with - Mach and decent body. Keep us posted

[Ash 145]

Subscribed! Loving all the pics.

 

Don't you love a sellers interpretation of the condition of their car. At least you only drove 4 hours. I travelled for 4 days to get to the other side of the world, then the same to return, followed by waiting 3 months for the car to arrive home to only disassemble it and find out my "restored" car requires a full rotisserie rebuild. Mustangs and hidden rust hey, go hand in hand.

 

This site is tremendous for body/paint information. I've learnt so much, the guys there are very helpful and very experienced. I'm sure I wont be the only one to vouch for that.

 

http://www.spiuserforum.com/forum.php

 

What colour you going with for yours, have thought that far along?

[Klutch 17]

Thanks for the encouragement, guys!

 

Ash, whoa, major bummer about flying halway around the world and getting a rusted out car. I saw pictures of a similar story on another forum. That Australian's car literally had 2x4 boards crammed into the frame rails.

 

I'm further along than the pictures above reveal. Since everyone seems to like pics, I'll post more tonight to get caught up with my build.

 

My Mach 1 was originally Calypso Coral and that's the color I'm going to paint it. In fact, one of the reasons I bought this car was because it's an original Calypso Coral Mach 1.

 

My first car as a lad was a 1971 Fastback. I soon bought a 1970 fastback with a 351 Cleveland and a 4-speed. I loved that car. It was Calypso Coral. :thumbup1:

 

Strangely, I don't see many Calypso Coral Mustangs anymore. It seems a lot of those cars were re-painted red or black. At the Rocky Mountain Mustang Roundup last month, of over 500 Mustangs, there was exactly one that was Calypso Coral. It was a '69 Mach 1. And boy, did it look great!

[maxum96 32]

Your car has another option I think you might not have realized. It has factory hood locks. The mechanism is missing, but the housings are there. Someone repaired them by stuffing conventional hood pins in the housings.

 

[Klutch 17]

Your car has another option I think you might not have realized. It has factory hood locks. The mechanism is missing, but the housings are there. Someone repaired them by stuffing conventional hood pins in the housings.

 

That's a good point, maxum. I was under the impression the hood locks were part of the Mach 1 package. They're not listed on the Marti Report. Perhaps they were a dealer installed option? I was aware the original "twist-lock" fasteners had been replaced by pins. I'm sure if my Mustang had the original twist-locks, they'd be shot anyway.

 

I'm wondering if I can save the orginal shaker hood. It's pretty rough. It appears someone welded in a patch with a coat hangar and a car battery. I'll try to post some pics of this soon. I'd like to save the Ford hood as I've heard horror stories about the re-pop shaker hoods. A guy in my Mustang club offered me a re-pop shaker hood. I would just have to figure out how to compensate for that hood being a full 1/2" too short at the back. No thanks.

[Klutch 17]

Even the biggest nerd looks cool...

 

 

When he's welding! Here we go...

 

Edited July 12, 2012 by Klutch

[Klutch 17]

I installed the "Premium" long floor pans from Mustangs Unlimited. They're made in Canada by Spectra Premium. I had heard that the 69/70 replacement floor pans look very different from the originals. But these appear to be almost spot-on. The only difference I could see is the extra drain plug at the front. Even the ribs match the original pans.

 

 

I'm a beginner, self-taught welder. This took awhile. I decided to butt-weld the pans in. I don't really like the overlap look.

 

[Klutch 17]

Cowl separated.

 

 

You can see I also removed the right, front fender apron. It was all rusted out from leaking batteries. (Imagine that.)

 

 

You can also see the original hood against the wall. Note patch at the front, driver side area. I'll try to get some closer pictures of this soon. I'd like to save that hood. But I fear it's a goner.

[Klutch 17]

And here's the new cowl just before I welded it in. It's a Dynacorn. As I recall, the 69/70 cowls come as one, pre-assembled piece, or just the upper. Just as well. My cowl was pretty shot.

 

 

Time to pin the tail on the pony!

 

Edited July 12, 2012 by Klutch

[Klutch 17]

I'm amassing quite a collection of old sheet metal from this poor pony.

 

 

And the driver side B-pillar is also shot. Yay!

 

 

I found a farm kid in "50 Miles Beyond Nowhere", Colorado who was parting out a '70 coupe. He had a very nice plasma cutter and happily removed the B-pillar for me. I had it blasted with the rest of the car.

 

I installed that B-pillar a few weeks ago. I'll try to get some pics of it soon.

 

So whattaya think so far?

[Grabber70Mach 107]

Looking good, keep up the momentum and you get there before you know it.

[jmlay 80]

Very nice work. Want to come over to my house to get me started on mine again?

[stangnet33 88]

coming along nicely ! So is the taillight panel and rear metal all in ? Thanks for not doing the pics as thumbnails, makes veiwing more enjoyable :thumbup1:

[Ash 145]

I saw pictures of a similar story on another forum. That Australian's car literally had 2x4 boards crammed into the frame rails.

 

I know the car you mean. I think the guys name is Paul who owns it. They went to a lot of trouble to rebuild that car with timber. Unfortunately, this same old story happens very often, so many hidden problems and people getting scammed.

 

All the pics are great mate, keep it up. It's come such a long way, well done!!

[Junior2561 10]

Looking Good!

[Klutch 17]

coming along nicely ! So is the taillight panel and rear metal all in ?

 

Yes, the taillight panel is in. Although, I had a little trouble on the driver side. The left quarter panel has been replaced at some point. Not surprisingly, it's a little off at the back. So, if the taillight panel is straight, it seems a little high on the left. I wasn't sure if should have tried to compensate for this. I left it straight.

 

I'll try to get some recent pictures up soon. I could really use some help with a few things.

 

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone.

[Klutch 17]

Sorry it's been awhile without an update. I was on vacation in Seattle and Victoria, BC. Now I'm back, rested up from vacation, and ready to get back to Project Moonshot.

 

I mentioned previously I was unsure about a few things. First, I lined up the taillight panel as best I could. It appears a little high on the left side when looking at it from the bottom. But the left quarter has been replaced at some point and doesn't seem to be exactly where it should be. Here are some pics:

 

Below it looks like the taillight panel lines up just where it should on the right side.

 

 

But on the left side, here's where it looks a little too high.

 

 

What do you guys think? I bolted on the fender extension and it seems to fit OK. I also clamped on the rear valance last weekend and that too looked OK. But I haven't yet bolted it in which might be a different story.

Edited August 2, 2012 by Klutch

[Klutch 17]

I welded in a replacement B-pillar awhile back. (The original had a LOT of rust!) It's from a '70 coupe and one piece of it was just a little bit different than my fastback B-pillar. Rather use than use the piece that was different, I reused the piece from my car. I think it turned OK. But again, what say you guys?

 

[Ash 145]

B-pillar looks good. Did it need much work on the back, much rust?

 

That left hand side does look high, doesn't seem to follow the body line as well as the right hand side.