'70 Grabber Orange Mach 1 Resto

[UK Mach1 dude 13]

I love your confused shaker set-up. My 70 351 4V Cleveland mach1 has a shaker on it, trouble is the base is off a 428CJ car so I am not so sure its a factory shaker or the bits were taken off a dead 428 car.

The shaker did not sit central in the hole in the hood so I had to drill new mounting holes slightly further back, it now sits nice and central.

Can you tell if the car was a factory shaker anywhere?

I also use a T5 out of a dead 90GT without any problems, only use street tyres and you will be ok. I've done loads of quarter mile passes with no problems, just treat the T5 with respect no power shifting or anything like that.

Good project, I'm enjoying it.

[indianfiremach 170]

I love your confused shaker set-up. My 70 351 4V Cleveland mach1 has a shaker on it, trouble is the base is off a 428CJ car so I am not so sure its a factory shaker or the bits were taken off a dead 428 car.

The shaker did not sit central in the hole in the hood so I had to drill new mounting holes slightly further back, it now sits nice and central.

Can you tell if the car was a factory shaker anywhere?

I also use a T5 out of a dead 90GT without any problems, only use street tyres and you will be ok. I've done loads of quarter mile passes with no problems, just treat the T5 with respect no power shifting or anything like that.

Good project, I'm enjoying it.

 

My car was a factory shaker car per the Marti and Ford Invoice. Did you order either of those for your car?

 

That's good to know about the T5, people had me so paranoid about getting it all together and then blowing the trans that I bought another one out of a 93 Cobra, similar to the T5z. Will have to eBay the two T5's I already bought, as well as the two extra shaker setups.

[indianfiremach 170]

Update - took advantage of nice weather (79!) to get some misc parts cleaned up. It's amazing how many parts there are for these cars. I have a guy locally blast and prime most of my parts, which I then sand down, prep, and paint. Lot of detail work but it feels like I'm getting closer. Here's a few of the parts laid out, in addition to some new wheels for my other project, a 1952 John Deere pedal tractor my dad got new when he was 6.

 

 

I also tried my hand at restoring my rimblow wheel - very difficult! It had a number of cracks on the back, but was overall decent. Many hours went into this one - I watched a video on youtube about it but their solutions didn't all work for me. The channel where the chrome ring goes was a huge PITA to clean out and didn't leave a smooth, even section to lay the new chrome ring, so it had to be totally rebuilt. I used JB weld for the cracks 3M Di-Noc for the woodgrain, and HVAC tape for the chrome ring. Plus a bunch of misc paint and primers.

 

Edited March 12, 2014 by indianfiremach

[miketyler 15]

This one slid past me - you used Di-Noc for the wheel? Did you still plan to clear it or? I really would like to get more familiar with the 3M Di-Noc product.

[indianfiremach 170]

Yes, I used Di-Noc. It's a good product, takes time but the finish overall looks very good. I'm going to clear the back and strip where the chrome ring goes. I could do another one it a LOT less time, I definitely learned a lot doing this one. Spending $450 to have the wheel redone was out of budget for now, I'm only $20 into parts (chrome ring and paint / JB weld) as I already had the Di-Noc around. If you want to talk about it further PM me for my number, there's some tricks that make it a lot easier that I only figured out after I got the woodgrain on.

[indianfiremach 170]

Spent some time in the shop doing some misc cleanup projects - one of them being the '93 Cobra T5 I picked up. I didn't think the 87 GT T5 I had would be up to the 351c, so I stepped up to this one. Also put in an upgraded steel bearing retainer as used in the T5z. The shifter handle is off my Dad's 73 which had the factory Hurst. Drilled two new holes, and working well. I wish they made the Hurst "T" handle with the 5 speed pattern.

 

[Burn 14]

Looks good. I was thinking about going with a T5z too, but didn't think they would hold up behind a 351C. I'm anxious to see how it works for you, so hurry up and get it on the road. :scooter: LOL!!

[indianfiremach 170]

Looks good. I was thinking about going with a T5z too, but didn't think they would hold up behind a 351C. I'm anxious to see how it works for you, so hurry up and get it on the road. :scooter: LOL!!

 

Hopefully it will be back together soon - though it doubt it! I probably won't see it from the body shop for another 3-4 months. My hope is to have the mechanical, interior, and trim parts all sorted out buy then.

[Restomod 10]

Looks great, but I have questions that are more just curiosity. Did you find the z transmission used or did buy a refurb from someplace once you made that decision? I might have missed it someplace else on VMF.

 

Second did you sandblast the mach 1 cladding to bare? I think they are in that picture, what is the process to re-finishing them now?

[indianfiremach 170]

I bought the T5 locally going a guy going to auto in his '93 Cobra. He had hurt his leg and it was hard for him to drive stick shift anymore. I verified the vin # stamped in the case to make sure it was the correct trans for the car. People on Craigslist like to call any T5 they have a "cobra" T5, which more often than not, means a 4 cyl T5. I then cleaned it thoroughly and installed the steel retainer to finish it off. I would have liked to buy a new T5z, but with everything else I'm doing on the car (which is literally everything) I wanted to try this first. If the trans ends up not working out I can rebuild it and sell it and probably still get all my $ back out. From what I've read, if you want to run a Cobra T5/T5z behind something more stout than a 302, the following is important:

 

Don't race it - check

Don't use sticky tires - 14" Radial T/A's don't count, right?

Aftermarket shifter w/stops: as above

Stock clutch: clutch will slip before the trans can break itself

 

I'm not sure if those are true or mustang forum "old-wive's-tales." I'm more after the long-distance cruising potential of this car than any kind of racing.

 

As far as the rocker trim goes, these have been a bear. The set that was on my car was riveted on with 40 or so rivets - total overkill. So I hunted down a core set that was the best out of a friends collection of 50+ pieces. $250 later, I had the set media blasted and primed. They came out nice and I could have spent a little more time with "Ever-coat" glazing or something similar, but decided they were clean enough to sand and paint. I used the paint from NPD, one can did the whole set. Too bad I bought four! I bought new Mach 1 emblems from Scott Drake / CJs Pony Parts, I think they were $120/pair during their "up to 30%" off sale. Next is the chrome trim on top, which MustangDepot has the best price on currently at $205+ship. I'll wait until they have a coupon code to negate the shipping. I have at least two sets worth or straight, restorable trim, but they will oxidize if I polish them myself and sending them out will cost a fortune.

 

And of course, as soon as I spent all the time/$ restoring the set for the car, I find a guy selling these along with a lot of other parts. D'oh! I bought them anyway, will end up finding a new home for them later but for now they're a good guide for mine. I really like the "brushed" edge to the fins on these. Not sure if they came that way but it's a great look.

[Burn 14]

I read the same as you about the T5z's on what not to do to make them last behind a Cleveland and I would have to agree and what made me consider one.

 

Great find on the rocker panels. You probably already know this, but I think you can use that NPD Argent paint on the Mach 1 grill and headlight bezels too. I used it on my car and they look awesome.

 

Forget VMF, Post all your Pix's here. LOL!! What's the link to your VMF thread? I'd like to see more progress pixs.

[UK Mach1 dude 13]

 

 

My car was a factory shaker car per the Marti and Ford Invoice. Did you order either of those for your car?

That's good to know about the T5, people had me so paranoid about getting it all together and then blowing the trans that I bought another one out of a 93 Cobra, similar to the T5z. Will have to eBay the two T5's I already bought, as well as the two extra shaker setups.

I never have got around to getting a Marti report for my car, guess I should and find out for sure.

Here's a pic of my Mach1 launching hard on drag radials at around 4000rpm, in an attempt to get it into the twelves. This is on a stock T5 out of a 1990 5.0GT, the clutch is a Ford Motorsport King Cobra, the Cleveland was putting out around 380BHP.
As the car was set up for open track events it had very little weight transfer so couldn't really make use of the drag radials, and would run the same numbers on street tyres, grippy street tyres, I use yokohoma A539's on the street.
This pass did hurt the clutch a bit, had to slide underneath and adjust it back in the pits, the Cleveland eventually mashed up a bearing and is being rebuilt, the T5 is waiting to be refitted.



 

[Restomod 10]

I bought the T5 locally going a guy going to auto in his '93 Cobra. He had hurt his leg and it was hard for him to drive stick shift anymore. I verified the vin # stamped in the case to make sure it was the correct trans for the car. People on Craigslist like to call any T5 they have a "cobra" T5, which more often than not, means a 4 cyl T5. I then cleaned it thoroughly and installed the steel retainer to finish it off. I would have liked to buy a new T5z, but with everything else I'm doing on the car (which is literally everything) I wanted to try this first. If the trans ends up not working out I can rebuild it and sell it and probably still get all my $ back out. From what I've read, if you want to run a Cobra T5/T5z behind something more stout than a 302, the following is important:

 

 

As far as the rocker trim goes, these have been a bear. The set that was on my car was riveted on with 40 or so rivets - total overkill. So I hunted down a core set that was the best out of a friends collection of 50+ pieces. $250 later, I had the set media blasted and primed. They came out nice and I could have spent a little more time with "Ever-coat" glazing or something similar, but decided they were clean enough to sand and paint. I used the paint from NPD, one can did the whole set. Too bad I bought four! I bought new Mach 1 emblems from Scott Drake / CJs Pony Parts, I think they were $120/pair during their "up to 30%" off sale. Next is the chrome trim on top, which MustangDepot has the best price on currently at $205+ship. I'll wait until they have a coupon code to negate the shipping. I have at least two sets worth or straight, restorable trim, but they will oxidize if I polish them myself and sending them out will cost a fortune.

 

And of course, as soon as I spent all the time/$ restoring the set for the car, I find a guy selling these along with a lot of other parts. D'oh! I bought them anyway, will end up finding a new home for them later but for now they're a good guide for mine. I really like the "brushed" edge to the fins on these. Not sure if they came that way but it's a great look.

 

I kind of thought this kind of money/time/labor would be involved, every time I look at mine I can only imagine. Once you had the to bare I was curious how you got all the different pieces. Thanks for the details.

 

Seems like everyone on these boards seems to "luck" into t5z without buying one from the name brand sites. I feel as though this will never happen to me in upstate NY but dang it I will hold on hope.

 

Great build.

[indianfiremach 170]

I kind of thought this kind of money/time/labor would be involved, every time I look at mine I can only imagine. Once you had the to bare I was curious how you got all the different pieces. Thanks for the details.

 

Seems like everyone on these boards seems to "luck" into t5z without buying one from the name brand sites. I feel as though this will never happen to me in upstate NY but dang it I will hold on hope.

 

Great build.

 

Thanks for the interest! It's been fun so far. I'm looking forward to getting it on the road again. Probably won't spend any time on the strip like UK Mach but I can't wait to be driving down the interstate and drop it into 5th and cruise on down the road.

 

I may have ended up with a cobra t5, but I had to buy three to get me there! All from different sellers. Sold one of the t5's already and now I'll be listing and selling the other one. At the end of the day, I'll have about $300 into the cobra t5 and shifter shown above considering what I get out of the other ones. I've spent some time on Craigslist/eBay and sent a lot of $ out the door, will be good to see some come back in (and into the hands of my bodyman...)

[indianfiremach 170]

I never have got around to getting a Marti report for my car, guess I should and find out for sure.

 

Here's a pic of my Mach1 launching hard on drag radials at around 4000rpm, in an attempt to get it into the twelves. This is on a stock T5 out of a 1990 5.0GT, the clutch is a Ford Motorsport King Cobra, the Cleveland was putting out around 380BHP.

As the car was set up for open track events it had very little weight transfer so couldn't really make use of the drag radials, and would run the same numbers on street tyres, grippy street tyres, I use yokohoma A539's on the street.

This pass did hurt the clutch a bit, had to slide underneath and adjust it back in the pits, the Cleveland eventually mashed up a bearing and is being rebuilt, the T5 is waiting to be refitted.

 

 

Thanks for the info! Can't believe you're running that on a stock '90 T5. Gives me hope...

[UK Mach1 dude 13]

Very much enjoying your project, hopefully giving me inspiration to get to work on mine again after the winter break.

I'm sure you'll enjoy your 5 speed conversion, nothing like dropping it into 5th at cruising speed and seeing the rpm's drop to a nice relaxing level.

[indianfiremach 170]

Thanks all for the comments - I enjoy following yours as well. I'm considering changing the name of this thread to "What I bought on craigslist this week" but I'll keep it as-is for now. That said, a few finds for the car:

 

3.50 28 Spline Traction lock, rebuilt

 

 

After all the work to acquire and clean up the '93 Cobra T5, I come across a T5z priced right with the bell and Pro 5.0 shifter. Will likely use this one to take advantage of the 2.95 first gear and deeper overdrive.

 

 

And check out my groovy new door panels! As ugly as the upholstery is, the woodgrain, door lights, pony emblem, and chrome trim are mint w/o any pits. Picked them up for $40 and guy probably thought I was crazy to buy them at all. Been sitting in a garage 20 years. Got a teak set for a '69 from the same guy as well.

 

[Tgriffin91 27]

Make some fuzzy dice out of the door material to hang in the window when you're done! Nice find!

[indianfiremach 170]

Working on more parts this weekend - the devil is in the details! Redid the carpet on the fold down, re-using the original chrome. I was tempted to go new but the original cleaned up pretty nice. I've been wrapping all the parts in cellophane once I'm done since who knows how long until they'll be put back on.

 

 

Also had a guy respond to an add I had up looking for '70 Mustang parts. Bought these out of a dilapidated barn, with hay and everything (mostly spiders). That's a 70 Cougar XR7 dash, '70 "COUGAR" AM/FM Radio (anyone know where to get a new radio face?), Mustang AC vent, NOS "Mach 1" stripe kit for the trunk, 9" rear, and even a Motorcraft sign from the dealership he worked in. I felt like I was on American Pickers pulling all these parts out of the barn.

Edited May 20, 2014 by indianfiremach

[Mike65 475]

Very cool find.

[UK Mach1 dude 13]

The cougar dash is cool, can you use these on our mustangs as the lower is the same? Would make for an interesting interior.

I wish parts were as easy to come by over here in the UK, parts are rare and the sellers want silly money for them so you may as well buy new for a little more.

[indianfiremach 170]

The Cougar dash will fit, though I'll stick with the restored original setup I have. My first car was a '69 Cougar XR7 convertible, and we still have two now - a Gulfstream aqua '69 XR7 convertible and a black '69 XR7 hardtop. Over 10 years we owned about as many '69 Cougars, keeping the best parts and cars in the end. There's not much available aftermarket for these, so it often takes a lot of upgrading over the years to make a nice car. Our convertible will be on My Classic Car with Dennis Guage in a few months.

Edited April 8, 2014 by indianfiremach

[69gmachine 15]

The cougar dash is cool, can you use these on our mustangs as the lower is the same? Would make for an interesting interior.

I wish parts were as easy to come by over here in the UK, parts are rare and the sellers want silly money for them so you may as well buy new for a little more.

 

Although it will bolt in, the Cougar under dash wire harness is completely different as the connector at the gauge panel is in a different location. Not only would you need to use a Cougar under dash harness you would also need to use the Cougar taillight harness with sequential lights, so it's not a simple bolt in. Or you could use an aftermarket wiring kit.

[69gmachine 15]

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And check out my groovy new door panels!

Now those are just too cool not to use them! Add some shag carpet and you'll have a period correct hippie car restoration.

[indianfiremach 170]

Project update - car is still away getting the metal work done, next in the queue at the body shop. I've been working on the 351 cleveland detailing it. It was just rebuilt but while it's out I wanted to fully detail and clean it.

 

4 Bolt mains!

 

Chemically stripped, wire wheeled, and repainted Ford blue. I'm going to have the original "Power by Ford" valve covers chromed but these edelbrocks will keep it clean in the meantime.

Edited May 8, 2014 by indianfiremach