1971 Mach1 Restomod

madwevl

New Member
Mar 27, 2011
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Hi all I’m Steve. I’m new to this site. I was looking up pics of 71 -73 mustangs and found a pic on here of a fastback mustang with a full vinyl roof, I was amazed! I am currently restomodding a 71 mach1 and when I had it blasted I found that it was a full top car itself. I’ve only seen a few pictures of this option and loved it. I had no idea I had one. Any info, advice or anything would be greatly appreciated. I sometimes think I’m the only person in the world that loves these mustangs. Every time I meet another mustang fan, I always hear the same thing……Why didn’t you do a 69, 68, 67? Don’t get me wrong I love them and all, it’s just the 71 is my favorite.
Here are a few pics of my car. I have been working on it for years now. It should be done by now but the economy sucks.

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This is when I first got the car. (The pic looks alot better than what the car actually looked like)
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Tear down before soda blasting
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After blasting I found holes where it was an original vinyl top car
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Tremec TKO 600 Lakewood Belhousing
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13 1/2" slotted rotors on all four corners. QA1 adjustable shocks and Comp Engineering slide-a-link traction bars. (By using these each has 2 mounts so you can retain your staggard shocks.)
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Currie crate rearend narrowed 2" on both sides
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460 stroked to 521. All roller 429 cobra jet heads.
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17x8 Vintage Wheel works, all grab a track front suspension 1" drop. Wheels have been powdered coated a dark gray in the middle.
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17x9 1/2 Custom offset with a 315-35-17 when the vehicle sits on the ground the wheel tucks nicely in the wheel well. I am also running grab a track 1" drop leaf springs in the back.
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Thank you, I probably would if I could find the trim. I’ve never seen one in person so Im not sure if it would look good? It’s so hard to find parts for these cars I usually pick up stuff here and there when I find it but I have never seen any full vinyl cars. I did score the trim off of a half vinyl top 73 fastback. It’s perfect but im not going to put it on.
 
Haha, I love grandes as well. I have been keeping my eyes out for one to do a 5.0 swap on. I’ve noticed that they are harder to find then a fastback! Very underappreciated mustang I think. Yours is gorgeous
 
Thanks madwevl. I had a 71 coupe once my self. It was in bad shape and ended up stripping it for parts. I was young and stupid. I was going to a convertible that vintage as well but in the last few years the prices had gone up.
 
I like coupes as well. I had a 1971 but stripped it for parts. Money was tight and I was young and stupid. Yours is gorgeous! I want to a get a convertible from that era but the prices have gone up quite a bit in the last few years.
 
Thanks, Thats the Wife's ride (according to her they're all her's) I am detailing the Engine compartment right now. It's been a rolling restoration. It only has 73,000 miles on it. We got it from the original owner and put the wheels off of my '70 and added the Mach1 hood and rear valence. The interior is green also, so I had to Dye the Deluxe door panels. No one reproduces Grande seat upholstery, so we found original Lambeth cloth and vinyl online and had the seats recovered. I think it would have been cheeper to do them in leather. The only other mods besides the Hood is a 1 1/8" front swaybar and a 3/4 rear sway bar. KYB shocks, with a mild cam, 4 barrell and headers on the 302. I'm thinking about putting an AOD in it, but I really like how the C4 chirps second gear.
 
ptafiredawg

Aloha Guys

I'm new to the forum. I would like to say aloha to all and how nice it is to see the 71-73 models getting the attention they deserve. Nice rides. Mine is a 71 Mach 1 with a 351C stroked to 429, 5 speed tremec to name a few. Ive posted a couple pictures of mine. It's a work in progress nearing completion.

ptafiredawg
 

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Hi Nice to meet you, love the car! The taillight swap looks great. Looks like you have a bit of a system going on there as well. I agree these cars don’t get the respect they deserve.
 
71 Mach 1

I was trying for something a bit different but not stray to far from the original. The only part of this model I wanted to change were the tail lights. I hope it wan't to much. As for the stripes my thought was for something that could have been from that error. I just wanted mine to look a bit different from the herd.
 
Now you know what one looks like with the Vinyl top. Thats pretty cool. You might not be able to find original moldings, but if you go to an unholstry shop that does a lot of Vinyl tops and Convertables, they might have a suitable universal molding. I know a guy with a 67' GTO who had a top put on and they had to improvise the moldings. It looks factory enough to pass the inspection of someone who isn't a concours judge. Its like an extruded aluminum strip that rivets to the body then has a black rubber inlay that covers up the rivets.