'71 Mach 1

[JRS02GT]

I am looking at a '71 Mach 1. The car is a bit rough, but I want to get some tips on what to look for. I have been around them before, but never really took the time to learn much about them (when it comes to classics, I have always been a Mopar guy). I know the trunk will need to be replaced, along with the rear panel & decklid. Other than floor pans, what else should I be looking for? Are there any certain problems these cars were known for?

Thanks in advance for the help.
Jason

 

[geostang351]

I don't think the availability of parts for a 71 is the same as 65-68. You may want to check this first before diving into a project that requires a lot of work.

 

[StangDreamin']

The two best people to ask would be jikelly and electricgreen. They're both bringing 'Big Stangs" back to life while we're talking about it. I don't know what shape jikelly's Mustang was in when he started; but electricgreen and her husband are learning more and more major body/chassis repair every time they work on their FB.

Another good place to check out would be oboebrian's webpage. Don't have the link right in front of me, but I think it's desertmustangs.com He spent quite a bit of time on his '72 and documented a lot of the work, including pictures.

Hope this helps.

 

[electricgreen]

Parts availablity isn't AS good as earlier classics, but it's getting better. Check out ohio mustang and npd for an idea of repop parts. ohio mustang sells "salvage" stuff too.

Why do those things need to be replaced? That's probably a good indication that here are other problems hiding somewhere. The cowl is another rot spot-northern cars (like ours)-check wheelhouses & torque boxes. If you're willing to do the work, ok at body work, you can probably rebuild it if you want to. When we're done with ours, the frame rails,roof, firewall, driver inner wheel house, and shock tower will be about all that's original left on ours.

cardomian w/pics:http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/796631

 

[jikelly]

When we're done with ours, the frame rails,roof, firewall, driver inner wheel house, and shock tower will be about all that's original left on ours.

cardomian w/pics:http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/796631

Wow!

You guys put in some serious work.

I got off easy. My floors are good, and I stopped the rust in the trunk before it became a problem. I started with a mostly rust free stang back in 92 when I bought it for 5500 bucks. I've driven it over 260,000 miles since then and was real stupid for not stopping the cancer that grew in the quarter panels. It only really took a couple years to eat through the panel once it started. Actually I made it worse when I striped the original paint off back in 98 and left it primer till 04 when I started the paint job over again. I didn't realize the rust was working behind the scenes when I stopped keeping it up in 01. Stupid me.

I discovered my car had been hit at least once when I removed the paint, BTW. Took a little massaging with a hammer to get back to shape, oh and hours of bondo work. Go ahead cake the filler on, but remember you are going to sand almost all of it off. Another lesson I learned. It was fun though!!

http://webpages.acs.ttu.edu/jikelly/

 

[electricgreen]

Oh yeah, expect at least one corner to show collison damage-if not, it's happy surprise. the driver's front appears to be the only corner on Eleanor that wasn't tagged-we figured by the "quality" & style of the work (LOTS of filler) that it was one incident-probably a spin into a guard rail.

There's also some bits of inner support (like for the back seat) that will also remain original-and at least the driver's side a-piller-and the rear window glass.

We had a friend who's a welder by trade replace the floor pans, trunk pan, taillight panel, patch the torque boxes (the "requires adjustment" note on the repop front pass torque box is the understatement of the century) and replace the entire pass quarter including the wheelhouses (it was cut from another car, so literally everything was removed and replaced in one big piece). the inner fender aprons, drivers door jamb, drivers quarter skin, rad support and frame extensions that the bumper attaches to are done by my Dh. I do the tedious stuff, like paint removal (I *heart* aircraft stripper), seam sealing, rustmorting, helping fit panels, grease removal, interior install, wirewheeling off rust (I don't weld in other words!)...

 

[my72mach1]

I'm restoring a 72 Mach 1 and have some of the same issues electricgreen was mentioning. New floors, quarter, 1 fender, tail lamp panel, trunk drop offs, outer wheel houses, door skins. Also, battery tray and underneatch were a problem. Needs cowl repair too! Those are the areas I would be checking next time around.

As for part availability. I have found that the body replacement parts are pretty easy to find. I think the interior requires a little searching on some things, but overall with a little work you should be able to find anything you might need.

 

[StangDreamin']

Wow.... I guess I'm lucky (for once)! Only rust I seem to be dealling with on the "Big Bad Cat" is in the front inner fenders (both sides) and the drivers' rear quarter panel/outer&inner wheelhouses/trunk dropoff areas. Floor's good (must be they don't use salt in Colorado) and I'm hoping it's good news when I pull the 3/4 vinyl roof off the car. Considering how much better the paint is on the passenger rear QP; I'm guessing that it probably smacked (or has been smacked by) something after it moved to Arizona. Also don't hear the usual "Bondo thud" when I rap on that corner with my knuckles.
The sound of that muffled "thud" on the Drivers' side made me decide not to rap on it again until I'm ready and have good used (ain't no repop for 71-73 Mercury's unless it's identical for the Mustang) sheetmetal sitting in the carport next to the Cougar!

EDIT: Yeahyeahyeah, it was supposed to be a '67 Mustang - preferably fastback, but I'd take a coupe for that "sleeper" aspect - in my carport; but what the heck, NoKitten owed us money and the former "Cleo" was already in our carport. And under that 7' hood lives the motor with that magical name, "Cleveland". I had one of those years ago in a Gran Torino; we laid down a quality 80 foot "1-1/2 peg-leg" burnout leaving the wedding reception with my new wife almost 24 years ago. I'd like to get this car on the road for our 25th Anniversary next year.

 

[72mach1]

Only problem My car had was the timing was off 180 deg. Later I dukes of hazard style jumped a 6' berm. Car faired well, only bent the radiator core support (from the curb) and mangled the chin spoiler. Still driving as is 7 years later, now it handles like a regular car.=( One day I'll get some cash saved up and straighten it out, but I dont put enough miles on it to justify that yet.


Just an indication of what these cars go through.