1972 Mach 1 Cobra Jet HATCHBACK
#1
We have to make some serious changes to our '72 Mach 1 to turn it into a well balanced Tarmac Rally car. One of the changes is to replace the rear glass with polycarbonate and the boot (trunk) with carbon fiber. And because we need to carry a full size spare around the 6 day Rally, we need access better than provided by the factory. Hence, a hatchback!
We are building an intergated glass (poly) and trunk (carbon) frame that will lift on gas struts. This gives us access to tools, tyre, helmet bags, etc.

Other changes we are making are ...
-Converted to RHD
-Rose joints everywhere
-4 link rear suspension with coilovers
---Custom adjustable control arms
---Custom Watts Link
-Inboard fuel tank moved to where rear seats would be
-New front suspension
---Coilovers
---New aftermarket upper control arm
---New aftermarket lower control arm
---Changed camber and castor
-Custom front crossmember with adjustable castor mounts
---To control dive under braking
-New brakes
---Front - BMW vented alloy hat rotors, Willwood 4 pot calipers
---Rear - Holden vented rotors, Willwood 4 pot calipers
-Motor
---351 Cleveland stroked to 395ci
---Other mods to create ~600hp at crank
---Moved back 2" in engine bay
-Carbon Fiber
---Bonnet (hood)
---Boot (trunk)
---Spoiler, door skins, dash, etc

And more ...

Anyway, heres a photos of the 'hatch' cutout. I will update as the new hatch is built.
** I think I have added the new updated pic of the hatch! ??


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#2
Thanks for the update Peter.

The hatchback conversion will be an interesting modification. I am looking forward to following the outcome.

If you are able to update us with pictures of all the various modifications I am sure that more than just myself will follow with keen interest.

From the other pictures of the car that I saw I thought the 72 was really clean but evidently from the weird rust that is on that back quarter - it had it's own set of problems.

When do you plan to complete the build? I may be able to visit Tasmania in March. Too bad I'll be about a month too early.
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#3
Looks like you're well on your way with the new chassis, sounds like it will be every bit as great as the first one. Good luck and by all means keep the pics comming, I sometimes wondered why Ford didn't make a hatchback in the 71 to 73 years. Looks like a good idea. JTS 71 Mach1
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#4
(11-18-2012, 01:22 PM)Steven Harris Wrote: Thanks for the update Peter.

The hatchback conversion will be an interesting modification. I am looking forward to following the outcome.

If you are able to update us with pictures of all the various modifications I am sure that more than just myself will follow with keen interest.

From the other pictures of the car that I saw I thought the 72 was really clean but evidently from the weird rust that is on that back quarter - it had it's own set of problems.

When do you plan to complete the build? I may be able to visit Tasmania in March. Too bad I'll be about a month too early.

Thanks for that. I will certainly update the modifications with pictures and hopefully measurements and suppliers as well.

The rust is strange ... it is all on the upper surface of the boot (trunk) sheet metal. Then we figured out what the problem was! The car was sitting outside in a very wet and hot area of Australia. So the boot would leak like a seive (as they do) and the water sat on the boot mat. It would then evaoporate and condense onto the upper surfaces and rust away. Chronically! But luckily we have sections out of J1 (Junior the '73 Mach 1) to cut out and fix J2 (Junior II the '72 Mach 1). The main thing is that the floor and panels are all pretty good except for a couple of small sections in the doors.

The build is going to take a while. We get more 'visitation rights' than you seem to - once a week for me at the moment. But its is a lot to do. We hope to have it driveable by April 2013, and race-ready by about June 2013. Then we will be testing until the first race which will be either November 2013 in Victoria or January 2014 which will be here in Tassie.

Which parts of Tasmania may you be visiting and for how long? Dad is North in Launceston, and I am South in Hobart. It would be great to be able to catch up, somewhere around the State, and we could try and get the car wherever you will be.
(11-18-2012, 03:30 PM)JTS71 Mach1 Wrote: Looks like you're well on your way with the new chassis, sounds like it will be every bit as great as the first one. Good luck and by all means keep the pics comming, I sometimes wondered why Ford didn't make a hatchback in the 71 to 73 years. Looks like a good idea. JTS 71 Mach1

When we sat back and looked at it, the hatchback idea seemed so obvious. The Sportsroof design seems to lend itself to a hatchback - but only if it could be made light enough. It's a very long section and includes glass, so I think that would be why there was no hatchback option in the 70's.

When we cut out the rear seat support and the boot (trunk) hinge section, there was an amazing amount of room. Ours will be filled with roll cage, coilover turrets, control arm mounts, spare wheel and battery but there will still be space for gear bags and some tools.

Thanks for watching, and we will keep info coming.
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#5
I have always been a huge fan of hatchback vehicles...and to make one of these old beautiful cars into a hatchback is going to look great in my mind. I cant wait to see the progress photos! A little late...but...sorry for J1's accident. Hopefully everyone was safe in accident. Hard lessons learned, but cars can be fixed.
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#6
(11-19-2012, 01:40 AM)armyfox Wrote: I have always been a huge fan of hatchback vehicles...and to make one of these old beautiful cars into a hatchback is going to look great in my mind. I cant wait to see the progress photos! A little late...but...sorry for J1's accident. Hopefully everyone was safe in accident. Hard lessons learned, but cars can be fixed.

Altough the hatchback idea is for practicality, we very much hope that it will look great too.
Thank for the best wishes for the bingle. A double rollover is quite an experience at the best of times, but in a car that has 3 years of restoration invested in it ... oh well. Luckily we enjoy the restoration part!
And yes, everyone was well. The 6 point harnesses and cage did the job, and a rollover is quite a 'soft' crash. All the energy is lost bit by bit, not like hitting a tree! So we were ... lucky?!
Just a word of warning for anyone reading this - DO NOT use Bridgestone RE11S R spec tyres. They are terrible and contributed heavily to the crash. The RE55S tyres that they replaced were excellent, but the RE11S's are NOT suited to cold or wet.

Pete
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#7
These 2 pics are the start of the removal of the back seat supports. We mainly did this for the roll cage, inboard fuel tank, etc, but this is really where we started the thought of a hatchback.
The cage is an interesting process. It is fitted into the car and then tack welded. Then holes are cut into the floor and it is braced dropped to weld the top seams. Then it gets pushed back up into the roof to weld underneath. This cage will tie together the rear rails/suspension all the way through to the front shocker towers. The cage will stiffen the chassis unbelievably.
One great tip with body work is to level the chassis before welding the cage in. You do this by sitting the car on adjustable jack stands and levelling it as best possible. Then use 2 very long straight poles/beams/something accross the door sill and the front cross member so that the poles extend out beside the car. Then you make sure the poles are level with each other. If they are not, you then adjust the jack stands and weight the car to ensure it moves/levels. THEN weld in the cage.
Many people accidentally weld in a 10-20mm (1/2" to 1") twist in the chassis!


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#8
(11-18-2012, 04:02 PM)Peter Winn Wrote: Which parts of Tasmania may you be visiting and for how long? Dad is North in Launceston, and I am South in Hobart. It would be great to be able to catch up, somewhere around the State, and we could try and get the car wherever you will be.

Thanks Peter,

That's an amazing offer. My plans are not yet solidified but I'll be in Canberra in mid March. I hope to fly to Hobart from there and drive around Tasmania. It would be great to be able to catch up with you and see Jr. II
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