Found my 1970 Mach 1 Mustang

[Aussie Chris]

Gday folks.

Well my quest for the right '70 Mach 1 ended on Monday. After looking for 8 years at about 28-30 cars here around Australia and also a United States trip looking at a few, I have finally found the right car!

The car is dark ivy green metallic (it's factory colour) and is a 4 speed air-con car which in itself is rare.
The car is the best I have seen and is better then Ford made them new in 1970! It has also been already converted to RHD so changing gears with the 4 speed will be in the correct hand (you yanks are a little backwards

The seller is a really good older bloke who unfortunately cannot finish the car due to his health.

He really wanted a father and son like me and dad to buy it and told us before we had even seen it that he wanted to sell it to us. He had a few other investors that wanted it just to re-sell it. I got the car for a great price, too good actually.

It has been fully restored, to a very high standard to the point that you could eat your dinner off the underside.
The suspension and steering and 4 wheel disc brakes are all new modern parts so the car will be much safer to drive and will handle like a new model Mustang.

Part of the payment for the car is going to a great cause, Malcolm's (the owner) treatment and the Phillipines appeal for the recent disaster. It puts things in perspective for me and I am glad my money is going towards it.

The car just needs a few small things to be wired up and an couple of interior bits put back in, nothing that me and dad can't do. Should be on the road shortly hopefully.

Dad is a bit of a Ford specialist with these cars and you can see his 1960 Ford Thunder bird in the first pic.

So happy I finally found the right Mach 1.

Chris

[Borregos]

That's a great looker, sounds like you did really well, look forward to the road report

You guys drive on the left

[2ndovc]

Wow!

Right hand drive too, that's wicked cool!

I hit one with my Jeep CJ7 years ago when I was in high school. Mashed the snot out of the Mustang and
felt really bad.

I've wanted one of those since the Bond movie "Diamonds are Forever".



jb

[Borregos]

What have you done to your leg/foot?

[KirkD]

VERY nice! It must feel great to finally bring that baby home after so many years of searching.

[CowboyTutt]

Nice! You can spend a fortune restoring those things. Modern repro parts are expensive. I had a 73 Mustang convertible with a 2 barrel 351 C motor for years, but it eventually needed so much work I had to let it go. What engine does your 70 have? It doesn't by chance have a Cleveland with the 2 barrel Aussie heads does it? -Tutt

[Aussie Chris]

Thanks fellas

Borregos, I ruptured a ligament a few weeks back so have to wear the boot while it heals up. Bit annoying but what can you do. Have a couple of weeks leave and when I go back to work on Monday i'll be on light duites. I am what you guys call a LEO so light duties in the office is kinda boring!

Tutt, it has a brand new 302 Windsor crate motor and a Tremec 5 speed backed by the good old 9''. This will do for now getting me around until a we build one of dads radical 351 Clevelands for it.

I do have a set if the Aussie 2v heads whic as as you know were great for a relatively mild street motor because of the closed chambers and higher compression. But it will be getting a set of the 4v heads, the real big ones!

Can't wait to get it on the road and just looking foward to some quality time with dad working on it and learning things

[pwl44m]

I like Ponys but I'm more interested in the Bird in the first Pic. Is it by chance a 60 ?
Perry

[okdee]

Thats awesome! I still love those lines of the Mach I. I had one that was the baby blue or sky blue color, gosh I sure miss her!

I am real happy for you all!

OkD

[Aussie Chris]

Yeah Perry, it's a '60. Dads favourite car. Dad has wanted one since he first saw one when he was 5 years old! He is crazy, putting his 7.1 litre BOSS 429 in it!! Guess the blood runs blue in our family

OkD, sounds like you had a grabber blue car, great colour! You would miss it, get another!!

Chris

[okdee]

Boy howdy, my boy and I see them once in awhile down here in Texas. She was a 1971 Mach 1. I used call her the Blue Bullet.

Maybe, I will revisit acquiring another one, once we get back on the farm.

Til then, thanks for the memories!

OkD

[bdhold]

sly ride

[Griff]

Awesome!

[Bullard4075]

I had a 69, the key word here is HAD! I'm interested in the RHD conversion. Is the dash (sheet metal behind) such that the
dash instrument panel,wheel,etc. can be moved from the left to the right without much trouble?

[peter richards]

Great to see old american fords down under, I am rebuilding a 1954 F100 at the moment, it's a lot of work, but looks like most of the hard work is already done on the 'stang.

[Aussie Chris]

Okdee the blue bullet sounds cool! Get one again mate, you won't regret it! And your son will love it!

Bullard, as you know the 69 and 70 dash is pretty symmetrical so makes it pretty easy. There is a mob down here called RRS that are making a full RHD firewall to make conversions easier.

The stock LHD 4 speed is a mechanical clutch linkage with a Z bar/bell crank but with this conversion it has been converted to a hydraulic setup which is better for exhaust clearance. Ford Falcons here used a hydraulic clutch setup as opposed to the mechanical Mustang one. They did a good job by replacing the cowl panel below the windscreen and the wipers panel. That is rare for guys to go to that much trouble, just shows how good the owner did this car!

Here are some pics of converted parts you can get.

Peter, it is great seeing these old muscle cars about! Dad has had two genuine Phase III's back in the day but has now shifted to the old classic '60 T-bird. All the hard work has been done, dad says it's the perfect car for me. Just a few loose ends like the back seat fitment, engine wiring and exhaust.

Chris

[Ysabel Kid]

Very cool!

My first car was a Mustang Mach I. Unfortunately, I wrapped it around a tree. I've always loved the model!

[FatJackDurham]

Congratulations.. Sadly, due to my liberal upbringing, my first car was a 1980 Tercel. But, it was absolutely indestructible. Believe me, I tried.....

That is a beautiful car.....

[gamekeeper]

Totally Awesome! .....

[tman]

You gotta drop the 351 C in it, then, look out!

[piller]

Thanks fellas

Borregos, I ruptured a ligament a few weeks back so have to wear the boot while it heals up. Bit annoying but what can you do. Have a couple of weeks leave and when I go back to work on Monday i'll be on light duites. I am what you guys call a LEO so light duties in the office is kinda boring!

Tutt, it has a brand new 302 Windsor crate motor and a Tremec 5 speed backed by the good old 9''. This will do for now getting me around until a we build one of dads radical 351 Clevelands for it.

I do have a set if the Aussie 2v heads whic as as you know were great for a relatively mild street motor because of the closed chambers and higher compression. But it will be getting a set of the 4v heads, the real big ones!

Can't wait to get it on the road and just looking foward to some quality time with dad working on it and learning things

You hadn't been on the antibiotic ciprofloxacin before you ruptured the ligament, by any chance? I had a Windsor 351 engine in a '76 Ford LTD. It was slow as molasses in Winter, but it would drag a house off of its foundation. That thing had enough torque that I never did find out what its practical limit was.

[Aussie Chris]

Yeah a Ford small block 351 is a pretty potent powerplant, even with very little work.

What is antibiotic ciprofloxacin?

[piller]

Ciprofloxacin is an antibiotic that is used widely here in the U.S., and probably elsewhere. It works by stopping the enzyme that bacterial use to coil their DNA so that it fits inside the cell. This results in the DNA uncoiling inside the bacteria in a violent manner and causing the bacteria to explode. The bacterial enzyme is DNA Gyrase II. Ask a Pharmacist, or Chemist, if that is what you were taking. One of the side effects of these medicines is that some unlucky users get swollen tendons from the medicine, and that leads to a ruptured tendon. Another way of naming these medicines is calling them fluoroquinolones, or nalidixic acid derivatives.

The 351 Windsor used a different head from what the 351 Cleveland did, and it produced less horsepower, but way more useable torque. That long stroke to bore size that Ford used would sure create the useable torque.