Just Got A 74 Mach1

Ed88

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Aug 21, 2017
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So I just got a 74mach1 (sorry for the incorrect for the incorrect title) a friend of mine whose had it maybe a month but never had time for it so his loss, my gain. Well the guy he got it from said it had the gas drained and then parked for around 20+years in his garage. My buddy threw a battery in it just to try and turn the motor over and see if it was locked up but it turns. Was just wondering if there's anything specific I should look into before trying to actually fire it up of an external tank.
I'm super excited about this car as it's my first true classic.

Thanks I advance for any and all advice or info.
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Congratulations! Change the oil and check coolant level before you try to start. I usually pull the spark plugs too and check their condition, replacing wires, cap & rotor, etc. if really bad. That part's not mandatory I guess.

What I've almost always found on my new-old-cars that have been sitting is that a fuel pump that's been left to dry out is usually shot, so not bad to plan on replacing. Just to get it to start, you can bypass the fuel pump and just fill the carb float bowl, even if the fuel pump is bad.

If you have the skills, I'd pull the top off of the carb and see if there's a lot of varnish or junk in there. The carb almost always needs a rebuild in my experience - definitely check that the accelerator pump diaphragm isn't completely broken and leaking. That'll leak gas onto the intake manifold. That's a good time to put some gas into the float bowl and check that (when you press the gas pedal / activate the linkage) fuel comes spurting out of the accelerator pump orifices into the venturi. If it isn't, you can drizzle a bit of fuel into the carb and see if you can at least get it to fire. Make sure the choke is working - it probably isn't so you can adjust it to where the blades are open maybe half-way, for testing purposes.

If all that works, give it a go. Rebuilding the carb isn't hard, and fuel pumps aren't very expensive. My advice above isn't complete, just enough to let you give it a go without potentially causing any extra damage. Then the real fun starts with determining what else is wrong. :) I mean that seriously, I love the hobby and resurrecting one of these old classics.
 
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Hey thanks for the reply. I'm a truck driver so not home right now but I'll look into going through all of that when I get home. I'm really looking forward to getting it going. Part of me want to just put a carburated V8 in it but I also want to keep the original motor in it. Friend I got the car from keeps trying to get me to buy the 351 he had gotten for it lol
 
Yeah I've heard it's a fun motor for the size and I now it having a sequential firing order still gives it a nice sound so i have no problem with keeping the motor. I'm hoping to go home in about two weeks so I'll really be able to dive into it.
Been looking at about of reproductions of the appearance package stuff from the cobra 2 and King cobra so over time I can't wait to see it transform. No one in my area sells 13inch tires so I'll have to order them which is easy enough but a pain lol
 
I don't think these were interference engines, but I could be wrong. The gear going bad was a super-common failure as it's basically made of plastic (for noise suppression). I've had to replace mine, and just about everyone else has (definitely get a steel one), and I've not heard of a case where it damaged something else. ymmv.
 
I believe it is an interference motor not 100% sure tho. I have a friend with a shop whose looking at it for me. He's already got the metal gear ordered and a water pump. I also went ahead and ordered a carburator, fuel pump, fuel filter, ignition coil, plug wires, car and rotor, and new belts. I figured that's be a good start to getting the motor going.

Eddie
 
That does sound like a good start. You'll probably also want to do the distributor points (a 74 should still have points) and when doing the water pump, there's a better-than-average chance the rear thermostat housing threads will be stripped out. You'll want one of these, and the correct bolts since the old ones will likely snap in half, on hand.

https://www.partsgeek.com/gbproduct...I7ICh3tkAbaEAQYAiABEgIcwPD_BwE&ad=47362750812

And since it's such a pain in the rear, just change the thermostat while it's apart. All that has to come out for the water pump to be replaced or the timing cover to be removed.
 
Thanks for the heads up I'll let him know about that. I'm really glad I can get info on here like this on it. I'm also on her for my 2001 mustang and not nearly as much interaction lol

Eddie