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Howdy folks, I just bought a '72 Mach-1 (Clone) to finally replace my high school car that I regretably sold in 1990.
I remember telling myself at the time I can always build another one. Well, 22 years later I just now have a daily driver again.
This is a nice looking forum! I am looking forward to meeting fellow owners. I live in the Phoenix area. Hopefully I will meet some of you!
Well, I gotta go, I am installing a Classic Auto Air system! It is already getting hot. I can't believe I drove the old car without A/C for 8 years in this climate!
Hopefullly I posted the photos correctly. The gold car is the new one, the red car I sold in '90.
Take Care,
Bill in Phx
'72 Mach-1 Clone
'71 Mach-1 project
'71 Mach-1 parts car
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Welcome Bill,
Great to have you here. My favorite color!
Jump on in and enjoy.
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Welcome nice looking daily driver. I also sold my first one long ago with the same intent. Now i've got $2600.00 wrapped up in 3 to make 1. Oh well life goes on. Join in we'll help any way we can. JTS 71 Mach1
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Nice looking clone! Looking forward to seeng more pics. Let us know how the A/C install goes.
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Bill:
I know the people at Classic Air in Tampa. I trade with them and purchase all of my A/C parts from them. They actually manufacture everything on site. Good people and dependable parts. Hope everything turns out great for your system. Summer is here already in Florida. Tim
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Wow thank you so much for the warm welcome folks! Sorry I disappeared for a while. I've been thrashing on the car 'till 3 or 4 or 5am for over a week. Finally last night I conceded that I can't finish in time for our route 66 road trip tomorrow morning. Oh well, I didn't want to rush the work and risk a breakdown. We will take Dad's JK Jeep. I still get to hang out with my Dad so it will be a great trip guaranteed!
I am doing so many things all at once. Last week my buddies helped me install new upper/lower control arms, 1-1/8" front sway bar, grab-a-track leaf springs, bushings etc. When we had it on my buddy's lift we noticed the tie-rod ends and center links were bad and the cable post on the starter was loose. Back at home I took the starter apart and I could see it was worn-out. So I got those items and started my journey in the driveway. Since the master cylinder had a slight leak I installed a new/reman booster and master. Since I had the firewall stripped down I decided it would the best opportunity to install the pre-bent brake lines that I already had. This is where I got stalled. I discovered my brake distribution block needs to be rebuilt. Not a huge deal I figured. I really preferred to install a new adjustable proportioning valve and perhaps the fancy Wilwood master on my desk if possible. But unfortunately I don't have the skills or proper tools for bending and flaring brake lines and I couldn't get my buddy over in time, so I decided to go back to the stock part for now. Well, I got everything back together but of course I had a couple leaks. One was easy, I had just installed the wrong size bleeder in a caliper (each corner has a different size bleeder - project for another day). The other leak is in one of my new Russell stainless brake hoses. That is disappointing. I hear that is not too unusual, so I think I will go back to factory style brake lines. This was all manageable except that I flat ran out of time. It was 3AM and even if I worked thru the night I wouldn't get to the alignment shop in time. Oh well. I am enjoying every minute of this project and I don't want to spoil it by taking shortcuts...
All this time I still have the dash apart. I spent a ton of time stripping, priming and covering it with boom mat spray. Next will be sound mat and heat barrier. With the dash apart I had the opportunity seal the cowls and I replace the headlight, brake, ignition and wiper switches, and some other detailing. I had to cut a 4" hole and 2 smaller holes in the firewall for the Classic Auto Air kit. I had to call them for clarification about the template in the instructions. It was not clear to me. I think we agreed the instructions should be updated. I can't remember his name, but he sent me some photos of a car with the holes already cut. I really needed that reference to understand where to cut. So far Classic has been very helpful and the kit looks like it is of high quality. I am excited about finishing the installation and I almost can't wait for 115 degree weather!
In a nutshell, the A/C kit is pretty easy so far. However, with the car apart it is the perfect time to fix things. I am taking photos and will post them soon as I can. I'll have a few questions for you guys I am sure...
Now, I am off to enjoy the route 66 road trip with my Dad!
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Sounds like you are doing a thorough job and your right in not rushing it for the RT 66 trip. Enjoy the day with your dad.
By the way, I just notice you have the factory wheels that were only available on the 73's. Those are hard to find. Take good care of them.
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Sounds great Bill,
You're right - don't rush it. Do it all right.
Be sure to give us an update when you get back at it and include some pictures. No doubt but that you'll be enjoying it that much more in a few days.
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