bkelley

First off, greetings from Las Vegas. The name's Bryce and I'm currently a student majoring in electronic engineering. I was looking for a Mustang forum to post on and I figured this would be the best place to join.

My dad and I have a '73 Mach 1 that has been setting for some years now. He bought it back in the late 70s from the original owner and drove it up until the mid 90s when he had to park it. He started working construction and needed a truck. It's been sitting under a cover in the back yard since. Tried to keep it running but time eventually took over and it just sat. A few years back we pulled it out and got it running again but didn't have the time or money to do the full override. Now that I'm able to put money into it myself, we are gonna pull it out again and hopefully turn it daily drivable car. My dad was telling me how fast it used to be and it was getting me real excited. I've been looking for a fun car to drive for a while now but recently decided to focus my time and money on the Mach 1. It going to take some time to get it finished, but it'll definitely be worth it.

It's got a 351 Cleveland, 10:1 pistons, Hooker headers, dual glass packs and 4:10 gears. I guess back when he was driving it, the throw out bearings were bad and ate up the clutch. At the time he didn't have the money to fix it, so he got an auto transmission from a friend and threw that it. He also had to swap out the 750 double pumper Holley for a 650 single pump since the 750 was so gas hungry. Once we get it going, I plan on putting both a four speed and a 750 back in it.

Anyways, I just wanted to join up so I had somewhere to go for advice. I want to do this right. Not only for me, but for my dad. It's still his first love.

KMatch

A 72 fastback was my first AND second Mustang! They're harder to get parts for restoration purposes but they have this look and feel I just love. I wish I knew then what I know now as I crushed one and traded the other. Of course, the crushed one likely wouldn't have survived by today's lack of parts, either. It was pretty bad when I got it. The setup you have is a blast. It'll never get good gas mileage with 4.10s so look beyond that and focus on the fun factor which is what this car was made for.

GT500_CW3

In for the build

hightower2011

Sounds awesome, post up some pics if you can!

1971mach1

An origional 351 Mach1 with a 4 speed is a pretty rare and desireable car. The vast majority were made with automatics.
Get a deluxe Marti report. It will say how many were built in your configuration and what options, colors, trim it came from the factory with. It's only about $40 at martiauto.com

If you want gas mileage,,ha ha,,,,get a Honda and just drive the Mach on Saturdays.

bkelley

I'm not worried about mileage. My daily driver is an '85 Blazer, so I'm used to frequent trips to the station. Luckily my work commute is five miles round trip and I only have class at the college two days a week. This is just something we've been dreaming about doing for a while. My brother-in-law just just started a '70 Datsun 510 restoration. He's been taking it to the local car show every week and it's giving my dad and I the motivation to get going.

I'm gonna pull it out this week and drain all the fluids, put fresh stuff in and run some fresh fuel through it. Gonna take some pics and vids while I'm at it. I'm hoping the tank isn't too bad since we dropped it and took it down to get boiled a few years ago.

bkelley

Here are a couple pictures I just took. Motor isn't as bad as it looks, it's just covered in dust. Luckily, the car has very little rust since I live in the desert.

retro77

Very complete looking engine compartment. You're very lucky. I'd do up a Marti report on it, maybe not a deluxe right off the bat. Get the cheap one, then if it has some rare options and also the original engine, then that might help determine the route you take on your restoration.

bkelley

Guess the other pictures didn't post. Here they are.

5'Oclocksomewhere

Awesome, keep us updated with the progress! What a great car.