Looking at a 1969 Mach 1 with some questions

[Chevyman95]

Going to look at it tommorow or this weekend.
Owner says its a genuine mach 1 with original 351 and c6 tranny. How do I verify this?
Also where are the problem spots on these cars for rust and other issues.
It is supposed to be in decent shape and drivable with a new radiator and he only wants 7750.

Don't have any pics so I'm kind of leery.

 

[Chevyman95]

also I could have sworn the c6 didn't come in early stangs? Im not super familiar with them if you can't tell.

 

[iapexl8r]

as far as the tranny i dont know.
look in these areas for rust
1. front and rear floor pans. can be seen from under the car in the foot areas.
2. where the aft bolt for the leaf springs go as well as the front bolt.
3. lower rear quater panels
4. also rear tail light panel.

these are the spots that I have noticed to go first. if you see 3 of these pass



but 7750 is a steal if the car is solid.................. where are you located?? chris

 

[Sicarius428]

Mine has a C6 and mine is factory but it is typically reserved for the big blocks. I am not sure if a 351w was backed by one... I have my doubts about that but who knows back in those days. For a SBF they would use a C4 or FMX I would think. As for if it is original you will have to get the vin and run a report on it. Here is a vin decoder.
http://www.jerryodom.com/mustangcodes.html
If I remember correctly there might be a build sheet tucked under the dash wrapped around some wires. Somebody please correct me if I am wrong. A true Mach has power disk brakes and rear drums, a 9in rear end(limited slip is optional still and not that common), it should have a 351w and not a 351c. The 351c started in 70, and mach 1/deluxe interior with wood grain decal are the obvious things.
Places to look for problems are the floor boards under the dash passenger and driver, Torque boxes look in decent shape and not rotted or beat, cowl which you probably won't be able to see very well(bring a bright flashligh), trunk(lift up the mat) and underside/rear portion in the rear wheel well, shock towers to make sure they are intact and not cracked/tweaked or have a hole in them to access the zerg fitting. I am not sure what you are planning on doing with it but most likely it will take a little work here and there but 8k for any decent mach 1 is a great price if you ask me.
Kevin

 

[bnickel]

no small block 69/70 cars (or any 65-70 small block car) came with the c6, a very few big body (71-73) 351c 4v cars came with the c6 and i think only 72's, not 100% sure on that though. these were the only small block mustangs to come from the factory with a c6...period, all other 351 powered stangs got the FMX as the only available option for an automatic.

 

[NasaGT]

A true Mach has power disk brakes and rear drums, a 9in rear end(limited slip is optional still and not that common), it should have a 351w and not a 351c. The 351c started in 70, and mach 1/deluxe interior with wood grain decal are the obvious things. Kevin

My 69 Mach1 has drum brakes all around. Verified it was a Mach by Marti report.

 

[BarnStang]

THe owner may think it's a C-6, and not know it's an FMX trans.
Make sure yuo check the bottoms of the shock towers where they meet the frame. Check frame rails (floor supports) front and back.

 

[bnickel]

My 69 Mach1 has drum brakes all around. Verified it was a Mach by Marti report.

mach 1's and GT's cam standard with discs, you could special order them with drums but discs were standard, unless maybe it was an H-code 351 2v car which, i guess, could have had drums standard. maybe

 

[NasaGT]

Yeah its an H code. I can't imagine anyone special ordering drum brakes over disc, unless they were being really cheap. The Marti report doesn't list brakes. I can't remember if the buck tag has any brake info on it.

 

[bnickel]

Yeah its an H code. I can't imagine anyone special ordering drum brakes over disc, unless they were being really cheap. The Marti report doesn't list brakes. I can't remember if the buck tag has any brake info on it.

lot's of drag racers ordered their cars with drum because they have less rolling resistance than discs. again, the h-code cars may not have come standard with discs but the m-code and up cars did.

there are a lot of things about how cars were built in the 60's that i absolutely don't understand. for instance the 69 cougar i'm buying has the 2v 351w, automatic, power steering, ac, decor interior, 2 tone paint and manual drum brakes.

 

[69gmachine]

The base model H code came with very little in the way of upgrades. Mine was one of these: 3 speed manual, manual drum brakes, manual steering, no AC. Still any Mach 1 looks sweet. The door tag should say body style 63C if it's a real '69 Mach 1. I think Barnstang is probably right about the owner thinking the FMX is a C6, but it could also have been replaced by a C6 sometime in the past 38 years. I believe bnickel is correct with the 351W automatics only being the FMX, but I know people who have sworn their '70 351C came with a small block C6.

 

[bnickel]

The base model H code came with very little in the way of upgrades. Mine was one of these: 3 speed manual, manual drum brakes, manual steering, no AC. Still any Mach 1 looks sweet. The door tag should say body style 63C if it's a real '69 Mach 1. I think Barnstang is probably right about the owner thinking the FMX is a C6, but it could also have been replaced by a C6 sometime in the past 38 years. I believe bnickel is correct with the 351W automatics only being the FMX, but I know people who have sworn their '70 351C came with a small block C6.

nope the 70 351c also got only the FMX as well.

 

[Sicarius428]

Yup the 70's 351c came with the FMX also. Though back then almost every option was available at a price and dealerships also did their own thing for customers. The FMX is a large tranny so it could be mistaken for a C6 to the untrained eye just on size alone. The FMX isn't given enough credit. It is a pretty stout and more efficient than the c6 so don't let that sway you.
Kevin

 

[BarnStang]

69G, sorry, i missed your post about the door tag. I had repeated the info.

 

[yeloxr7]

lot's of drag racers ordered their cars with drum because they have less rolling resistance than discs. again, the h-code cars may not have come standard with discs but the m-code and up cars did.

there are a lot of things about how cars were built in the 60's that i absolutely don't understand. for instance the 69 cougar i'm buying has the 2v 351w, automatic, power steering, ac, decor interior, 2 tone paint and manual drum brakes.

My 69 Cougar XR 7 originally had manual drum brakes. Also it did not have air conditioning. It came with tinted glass though.

 

[69gmachine]

These cars were coming down the assembly line so fast, if the correct part was missing, they often used a substitute. I read about a guy who had a big block shock tower on one side and a regular shock tower on the other, both stamped with the same VIN. It was an F code (302) car, so the wrap around brace was considered an acceptable substitute since it was equal to or better than the design spec.

I also dated a woman recently who has a '69 convertible (2nd owner). It was special ordered late in the '69 production run and had a mix of deluxe interior parts and standard interior parts. The 70's were already being stocked for assembly and apparently they were out of '69 deluxe dash panels. They couldn't use the deluxe dash parts from the 70's because the steering wheels are different, so it had deluxe door panels and console but standard dash panels with a square clock on the passenger side. The seats were the short '69 style with head rests, but covered with a pattern that isn't in any of the books or catalogues I've ever seen for '69 Mustangs. When she had them re-done in the early 80s she went to a custom shop to have them duplicated exactly since she couldn't get reproduction covers anywhere that matched. I bet no judge would ever give her credit for the mix of factory parts.

All this is to say that there are no set in stone rules for Ford assembly lines in the 60s and early 70s (probably well into the 80s). If it was available, it's possible it could find it's way in a non-intended application. If it came late in the production run it might even use something from the next model year.

 

[bnickel]

actually you could get the decor interior that included the deluxe door panels, deluxe comfort weave upholstery and the standard dash panels. i'm betting her car has the decor interior.

 

[69gmachine]

actually you could get the decor interior that included the deluxe door panels, deluxe comfort weave upholstery and the standard dash panels. i'm betting her car has the decor interior.

I clearly must do more research on the '69 options... I never heard of a "decor" interior before. It does sound like that's what her car has. Were the seat covers unique to the "decor" option as well?

 

[bnickel]

AFAIK, the seat covers were the normal deluxe comfort weave low backs that any deluxe interior 69 would get, they are quite a bit different than a mach 1 seat but pretty similar to a Grande seat except with the comfort weave vinyl instead of the hopsack cloth.

the standard 69 decor interior Cougars got a comfort weave seat as well that looked kind of similar to low back mach 1 seat with a stripe running across the top however it matched the seat color rather than having a contrasting color like the mach 1 did. this is the pattern the standard cougars with the decor interior used but they did not come in any color combination like this, i think they were only available in solid single colors. this guy had these covered in correct style pattern just custom colors.

 

[jlangholzj]

like dreamin said, where the towers meet the frame, and also, the batery box area was pretty famous for rotting out. if you lift the trunk mat, you should be able to reach way down into the rear quarter to check.

also, I've heard that if you take a blacklight to the car, it shows waves and such alot more, does this hold truth or not??