Grandma wants me to restore her Mach 1

[Vicinity]

I've been debating this in my head for a while now.

My Grandma has a real 71 Mach 1, all original, all the parts, but that's pretty much all I know. She told me after see my car and how fast I did it all, she told me she wants to get her car out of storage and have me redo it so she can drive it.

But after thinking about it, should I restore it to it's original condition or Pro-Tour-ify it? She wants to drive it, but I don't really think it's too safe for her to drive as a stock car. But if I start modifying it, it might lose it's value as a "collector" car. It'd mainly just be updates to the drivetrain, 4 wheel discs, some other small things to make it better suited for her to drive around and enjoy, and not really have to concentrate on the driving portion.

I don't really know where to start.

If I starting upgrading it, I'd do it on my own dime, she doesn't have a lot, so it'd be a present to her. I have plenty of time to plan, I'll do it after the next college semester ends, so well after my Camaro is "done".

EDIT: And sorry for no pictures, I haven't even seen the car yet. It's in storage in another state. I actually didn't even know she had the car until she brought it up, it's pretty cool.

[DarkBuddha]

Well, it really depends... it's relative collector value is dependent on its options. Which motor and transmission does it have? What other options does it have? What's the original color combo? And then you have to consider that it's your grandma's car. What does she need and want. Does she want a daily driver, or just a fair weather/weekend cruiser? Does she wanna show it? Does she wanna auto-x it? Some folks truly love the experience of driving old cars with their mediocre brakes, power, handling, etc., but if she really wants it to be a driver, then I think your ideas of upgrading to a reliable drivetrain, 4 wheel discs, proper 3 point seat belts, maybe better seats, etc. are good choices.

If it was my mom (who is grandma), I'd try to make it a nice cruiser with a softer but solid suspension, good ground clearance, good brakes, a 275hp EFI 5.0 and AOD trans (for sake of simplicity and reliability), a nice interior with 3 point belts, a decent stereo system, and only an okay paint job (especially if she's gonna drive it to the mall or grocery shopping). I know she'd enjoy it that way and not have any hesitation or worries driving it.

[Vicinity]

I don't think she knows what she wants she just told me she wanted me to "work on it". I remember someone saying something about a 351, but I don't know for sure if that's correct. I don't really know much else about it. I really just thought about updating some of the safety features for her sake. If I did, I'm not even sure she'd notice (3 pt belt, smaller diameter "newer" disc, etc).

I'd love to put a crate 5.0 in it, I wish I had that kind of cash laying around. I know she'd love it. :)

EDIT: I'm pretty sure she'd just want the car to cruise around with her friends in, so it'd likely just be a weekend car. She's not into racing (heart problems, so no racing even if she wanted to), or anything like that. It definitely wouldn't be an extreme build. Very moderate.

[DarkBuddha]

KISS it then... I'm sure she'll love whatever you do.

[406 Q-ship]

Dan, I think you need to talk to her and listen close. Is Grandma looking to relive the days when she used to drive the car and wants it the way Ford built it. Would she accept a fun updated driver with a new driveline, wheels, tires, and suspension. Personally I would bet on the more stock car is what she might want. Remember that the 71 Mach1 was not necessarily a disaster in its brakes, driveline, and seats (that would be earlier Mustangs). I would see if the 351 (Cleveland I assume) is healthy, the condition of the trans (C6 I am guessing), rebuild the suspension and brakes (should have 11" discs more than good for grandma cruiser), put good tires on the car and mechanically your done. Then work on the cosmetics like interior and paint. Even a good set of shocks and swaybars with a set of 17" wheels/tires will make that Mustang a great driver, no need to go over board.

[Vicinity]

Dan, I think you need to talk to her and listen close. Is Grandma looking to relive the days when she used to drive the car and wants it the way Ford built it. Would she accept a fun updated driver with a new driveline, wheels, tires, and suspension. Personally I would bet on the more stock car is what she might want. Remember that the 71 Mach1 was not necessarily a disaster in its brakes, driveline, and seats (that would be earlier Mustangs). I would see if the 351 (Cleveland I assume) is healthy, the condition of the trans (C6 I am guessing), rebuild the suspension and brakes (should have 11" discs more than good for grandma cruiser), put good tires on the car and mechanically your done. Then work on the cosmetics like interior and paint. Even a good set of shocks and swaybars with a set of 17" wheels/tires will make that Mustang a great driver, no need to go over board.

See, that's the thing. I don't really know anything about the car, and I'm not even sure she remembers the options. I don't really know that much about earlier Mustangs (like the fact that they have discs, I was worried it had drums).

I guess I can better plan this when I get a chance to look over the car.

[Jim Nilsen]

Whatever you do I keep thinking Grandma wants her car as nice and done as fast as yours. So you had better do it like you would have just done yours and maybe even a bit nicer. You stand the best chance of getting the car when she is gone so you better make the memories now and make them so you will be happy to just keep them like Grandma remembers.

[Vicinity]

Whatever you do I keep thinking Grandma wants her car as nice and done as fast as yours. So you had better do it like you would have just done yours and maybe even a bit nicer. You stand the best chance of getting the car when she is gone so you better make the memories now and make them so you will be happy to just keep them like Grandma remembers.

Assuming I don't get hired in the next year or so, I have no doubts I can do it as quickly. My car is really nothing special, but she seems to think I've done some kind of magic in restoring it. Considering it's been in a garage for the past 10-20 years, the body is probably in very good condition. It may only need slight motor work (get it running/tune), some interior love, and a good detail. I'm going to inquire further once she's recovered from surgery.

[MonzaRacer]

Ok here is my take on it if I still had a grandparent who made such a request:

Good mechanical evaluation, ie relube, tune and fire engine and service all fluids and inspect, get it legal and drive it a few miles to evaluate.
Honestly knowing it has a rattle over in the left rear, or a pull upon hard braking would give you a much needed amount of forethought to make it so much better.

Suspension, basics rebuild bushings, ball joints, tie rods, etc.
Send steering box too Lee Performance for proper performance rebuild.

For ride and handling I'd go look at Ridetech's CoolRide with simple tank/pump and auto controler with key fobs, heck if you have time you could build your remote control set up. But honestly Air Ride would give you awesome handling with great ride.

Upgrade the wheels with wither older nostalgia style wheels or later model repops like the ones shown here: http://www.finishlinewheels.com/specials/7,FORD+MUSTANG/

For brakes I would simply look into a simple upgrade in front of Hawk or other performance disc pads(assuming its a disc car) possibly swapping in a newer style 8.8 Mustang rear with disc may fix back drum brake issue, or one of the Exploder based disc brake conversions.

Since she probably wont be drag racing, heck if needed, a hypertech piston rebuild on stock engine would be quick and painless for the most part, for me go look at Megasquirt fuel injection and swap it over to a FI 4 throttle body with EDIS ignition. You can build the unit your self, tie it in to the engine real easy.

I would keep stock, original engine over later engine, BUT I would possibly step up to adapting an OD trans possibly.

Interior is easy, freshen it up as needed and simply add in either aftermarket or repop power windows and locks and a decent remote control set up.

Exterior should be no brainer, if its a decent color like red, yellow, blue, etc. simply repaint it. If its an off color unpopular shade simply move to a brand loyal (reason being if she had to sell it or it was appraised it seems to help in saying "We stayed with stock blue color but used a newer 8-something blue,,,yada yada" . Kind of like I found a really nice shade of blue GM has that I kind like and may after rethinking, shoot my 77 Monza in that blue as blue is its stock color. I was thinking either yellow like my old Monza or the newer GM burnt orange from the Cobalts.

Also really make sure the front and rear windows are perfect, old glass tends to get hazy from micro pitting. New glass is cheap insurance to a fun experience.

Remember KISS. The stock engine would keep value up, and be cool with the 4BBL EFI, especially if you use newer hyd roller valve train. One thing is make sure she is ok with more throaty exhaust as older folks may no like the drone so make sure she is ok with performance exhaust and try to avoid something with a cabin drone.

Possibly take a look at Second Skin sound deadner and if it has AC make sure its converted. Its not hard especially if it has an old compressor with a crankcase that holds oil like an older A6 or old York/Tecumseh compressor, simply drain and refill with Ester conversion oil, flush system, replace desiccant with R134A compatible product. If it has thermal controlled expansion valve no change is required. Get replacement hoses made with Galaxy barrier hose and recharge with R134A.
And upgrading the condenser shouldn't be hard, wither adapt on from later model set up or aftermarket OR if old one is good add in a couple of good electric fans with relay control.

Honestly this project sounds like a real fun project. You could even have a brass plate made commemorating your building it for Grandma.

If you have any questions on my ideas, give me a shout. Dreaming up projects is a past time for me and letting my mechanical skills(I am a Master Tech) keep my ideas fresh and on the Dare to be Different theme I adopted from Car Craft a long time ago.
Lee Abel
AFTERMARKET PERFORMANCE

[nekkidhillbilly]

id add od or something like that but i would leave it pretty much stock

[ih8z28s]

I wouldn't do anything that can't be reversed, and keep any parts you take off, if it is a collectable car at least then you would be able to put it back to stock. Otherwise I would upgrade the suspension, better brakes, make it reliable, something that doesn't need constant tinkering to keep it running.

[Chicken Coupe]

Sounds interesting.

FWIW, here's a few thoughts.

Get a Marti report on the car. It will give you the rundown on the car. [ http://www.martiauto.com/reports2.cfm ]

Make a list of the parts you'll likely need to make it streetworthy. You don't need to even see the car, it's just a list of common parts likely to be needed. You might not need all of them but presuming it's been in storage for quite some time and that anything that's 40 years old will have some heavy mileage, it'll likely need brakes, hydraulics, suspension re-fresh (shocks, bushings, ball joints, etc), very possibly some exhaust work, carb rebuild, tune up, battery...well I'm sure you get the idea. You can get most of the parts priced out on Rock Auto (probably get most of the parts there too). Depending on how much you might contribute to the project $, total it all up.

Then give Grandma her total $ to do all of that. One of two things will happen: she will keel over in shock or say "that's workable".

Depending on the answer, you will know what to do next.

If it's far more than she thought it would take after your contribution, find out what her budget is. If it's still not do-able, you might want to go see it, assess the condition, and make some suggestions which could include simply selling it. If the decision is to sell it, the Marti report will help set the value.

Best of luck with the project