02-15-2012, 02:14 PM
Hi All,
We race down here in Australia in tarmac rally's called Targa Wrest Point and Targa Tasmania in our restored '73 Mach 1 named Junior.
We just finished our latest round of repairs and improvements to Junior and raced in Targa Wrest Point, a 2 day tarmac rally. We had a mixed result with a mechanical failure causing us to miss 3 stages out of the 14, placing us 26 out of 35+ classic cars.
The 'mechanical' that put us out was actually secondary. On Day 1 we had the battery clamps bend under the extreme conditions and come loose. The battery fell against the alternator and rubbed through, emptying 1 cell of battery acid into the engine bay! We fixed this problem with little immediate damage. But we didn't think that the acid would have weakened the fan belts!
So on Day 2 halfway through Stage 2 we lost power steering, which was interesting at 160+ (kph) on very windy roads! It has happened before, but was a pump failure so I was looking out the back for fluid on the road rather than the gauges for water temp. So we struggled through the last few k's of the Stage, and then noticed the water temp. was sky high. We pulled over and hit the kill switch, waited for the crew and changed the belts. Luckily no damage done, and we are moving the battery to the boot!
I have a few photos here of the car with the carbon fiber bonnet. We didnt have time to paint it the Mach 1 pattern, and maybe we will leave it like it is now we are used to it. I would appreciate your thoughts ...
And if anyone would like to know some simple ways to improve the handling of thier own Mach 1, I will be happy to list the modifications that we have made. Again, let me know ...
We race down here in Australia in tarmac rally's called Targa Wrest Point and Targa Tasmania in our restored '73 Mach 1 named Junior.
We just finished our latest round of repairs and improvements to Junior and raced in Targa Wrest Point, a 2 day tarmac rally. We had a mixed result with a mechanical failure causing us to miss 3 stages out of the 14, placing us 26 out of 35+ classic cars.
The 'mechanical' that put us out was actually secondary. On Day 1 we had the battery clamps bend under the extreme conditions and come loose. The battery fell against the alternator and rubbed through, emptying 1 cell of battery acid into the engine bay! We fixed this problem with little immediate damage. But we didn't think that the acid would have weakened the fan belts!
So on Day 2 halfway through Stage 2 we lost power steering, which was interesting at 160+ (kph) on very windy roads! It has happened before, but was a pump failure so I was looking out the back for fluid on the road rather than the gauges for water temp. So we struggled through the last few k's of the Stage, and then noticed the water temp. was sky high. We pulled over and hit the kill switch, waited for the crew and changed the belts. Luckily no damage done, and we are moving the battery to the boot!
I have a few photos here of the car with the carbon fiber bonnet. We didnt have time to paint it the Mach 1 pattern, and maybe we will leave it like it is now we are used to it. I would appreciate your thoughts ...
And if anyone would like to know some simple ways to improve the handling of thier own Mach 1, I will be happy to list the modifications that we have made. Again, let me know ...
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