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1969 Mustang Mach1 Restoration
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July 2000 - Restoration work begins. Prior to disassembly, photos were taken from
every angle. They were then printed out on a color printer and the
measurements of the stripes relative to the rocker panels were made and
noted on the printouts. Then, disassembly of the nose leading to removal
of the engine.
Because I was 2 months late getting the car to DC's Auto Restorations, I agreed to have Dave Croteau (DC himself) do it as a background job so as not to interfere with his other scheduled jobs. |
| The beast is removed from its lair! This 428 Cobrajet had been run hard and put away wet. There were broken rocker arms inside, the cylinders were out of round and had to be bored 30 over. The freeze plugs were rotted out and there was a tremendous amount of gunk all over the engine. Basically, this motor needed all new parts. Fortunately, the block was good and a complete rebuild would bring it back to ferocious life! |  |
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Although most of the body panels needed some work, the only really bad spot on the car was the drivers rear quarter. The car had been hit here and the PO (or the body shop he hired) did a really bad job of replacing the quarter. When the body filler was ground off the car, the replacement quarter started to peel away along the seam! |
| Note that the passenger side is in good shape. This car had no rust anywhere. The floor panels were clean and the underside still had some of the original undercoating on it. Although it had been hit, it apparently suffered no major structural damage other than sheet metal. |  |
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Here the quarter panel is replaced. The picture doesn't do his work justice, but Dave welded the new panel in so cleanly that even before it was primered, there was no ridge or other visible evidence to show where the panel was welded to the old. |
| January 2001 - Now with a coat of primer, the Mach 1 sees its first sunlight since
disappearing into Dave's garage nearly 7 months ago.
Below are pictures of the shock tower (note the reinforcement for the 428) and the trunk floor. Again, there was no rust in these areas and no need to perform any body repairs. |
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The newly rebuilt Cobrajet is nestled snugly back into its engine bay. The test run is complete and the 428 purrs like a contented lion. |
| February 2001 - At last, almost 1 year after buying the car, the Mach 1 has its new basecoat-clearcoat Raven Black paint job. Next up is the striping, application of flat black on the hood, and new wheels and tires. |  |
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The picture to the left and those below show the finished paint work. DC's Auto Restoration has completed Phase 1 of the restoration. The Mach 1 now heads for Columbus, OH where Signature Auto Collection will install the new interior, exterior trim, and finish off the engine compartment details such as correct hoses, fuel lines, battery, etc. |
| The engine compartment finish work to ensure that everything is CobraJet-correct will be done by Rick Parker, who specializes in 428 CobraJet engines. |  |
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On Thursday, 2/15, Intercity
Lines loaded the Mach 1 onto one of their impressive auto
transporters for the trip to Columbus. Unfortunately, it was dark
and we didn't get good pictures, but we plan to correct that when the
car returns from Columbus.
(Note the 1970 Mach 1 in the background. It still belongs to the original owner, a woman who drives it daily year-round unless it is snowing. It has been restored once to fix rust, but is otherwise completely original.) |
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When completed, this car will be a completely original (except for the color, which is 1969-correct Raven Black), numbers-matching, 428 Q-Code Mach 1. The replacement rear quarter did not require breaking the factory welds in the door jamb so the factory number stampings are still there. Other than that, everything has either been refurbished or replaced with correct NOS or MCA-approved repro parts. I look forward to getting it on the road and out to the shows. Thanks for viewing this page! |
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