It looks like my bartering deal is going through after a full year of trying to get this car. I wanted a 71 or 72 with disc brakes or a 73 wit a 71or72 front cap. This is a 73 with disc and a combo 71, 72 front cap….. Just what the doctor ordered, right? I’m no sure now…. I mean it is just what I wanted, a car that does not need floor boards…. A non-original car made from a few wrecked cars… Something that I could turn into a Cadillac 500 powered pro-touring/autocross and daily driver (eventually with C 4 corvette suspension) without feeling guilty about modifying a hard to find to classic….. But, I’ve been thinking…. According to the title, it’s a Q code Mach 1….. Now, inspecting it, it looks to me like maybe the Q code Mach was one of the donors and the unibody may have originally been a 72 or 73 plane Jane fastback – but I’m not sure. So, am I getting a car that is worth something or not? I had planned to let a vo tech school de-rust and prep – possibly even paint the body while I gathered the parts for the Caddy 500 build up and saved for the TH200-4R tranny. I had planned to the Cad-Stang phase as a bolt in with brackets so that if someone wanted to buy the restored car, I could sell it undamaged without the engine and tranny. However, I sub frame connectors and a cage is a must or the engine would twist the body hard enough to break the front and back glass – so it would have to have weld in mods….. Also, for this thing to handle the way I want it to in the budget I can afford, I would eventually turn it into another Cad-Vette-Stang project. The C4 Vette front suspension swap would require cutting and welding to get the Corvette front K frame/crossmember under the car. From there it would be at the point of no return as far as a Ford enthusiast would be concerned because the unibody would be permanently altered in a non-Ford compatible way. So if – as I suspect- the Q code car was just a donor, do I have a low value toy on my hands that I can build into a dirt cheap super car, or do I have a junk yard gem that will bring good money if I leave this 460 powered Ford alone and sell it. What value am I talking here – as is, and/or with good paint? Would you race it or restore it? If it is worth enough, I can trade it for a C4 Vette project car and get 3 times the cornering ability, but the Mach 1 is soooooo much better looking…… What to do….. What to do…… Your opinion? Cody
I'm not sure how "special" Q-code Clevelands are in the '73 model year as all 4v Clevelands were "Q" codes in '73.
You could bring it to me, I've been needing a 73 fastback. I could find a 73 doghouse for it. Dude if you want it to handle and need a IRS see if one from a IRS equiped Ford will work and then a MII front suspension. Some people get all the luck.
I think there's a lot you can do to improve the handleing of your 73 without going to C4 suspension setup. Course all of it seems to be really expensive. It'd be great if someone made a rack and pinion kit for the 71 to 73 stangs. Posted via Mobile Device
I thought about using Jag rear steer spindles and its power rack as a cheap get-me-by until I could afford the C4 set up. That way 17” deep offset wheels would fit over the A Arms. I can get a full C4 front suspension setup with 13” disc brakes, stiff Z51 springs and quick steer ratio for $650 rotor – to – rotor that includes the rack and full K- frame. It would then take $500 - $1,000 labor for the install. However, and aftermarket disc setup made for the Mustang can cost up to $3,000 and a road racing front suspension can cost $1,500-$2,000 in addition to the disc conversion, so I would be WAY cheaper to upgrade with C4 Vette parts. If I could weld, I could do the job myself because the suspension width is very close and I will be setting the engine back to the fire wall making it line up with the proper placement to the Vette suspension.
I saw these... And it got me to thinking maybe there might be a way to adapt my 73 stang to use the front steer spindles, and gain the clearance needed to then use a rack mounted to the unaltered cross member under the engine bay. Plus you could grab the brakes off the new stangs too. Course my 73 already has disk brakes. Apparently the cobra guys use these on their builds. Factory Five Roadster Build Front Brakes - Mustang & Fords Magazine
