1970 Mustang Mach 1 Restomod/Pro-Touring Build

[Tincup]

Nice job....

[jaybee]

Absolutely beautiful, a car to be proud of.

[builttodrive]

Car is looking great! Now you just need to find the time to get out there an enjoy it! Go for a drive!

Thanks! A few more things on the list to finish up but hope to be driving it soon.

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Sweet!

Thanks!

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Nice job....

Thank you!

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Absolutely beautiful, a care to be proud of.

Thank you!

[builttodrive]

Now that I have the car home I have been slowly checking things off the list. First was getting the ride height and stance set and getting the alignment done. After that I decided to put some expel film from the lower body line down to help prevent rock chips. It doesn't look as good as it does with smooth wet sanded paint but it doesn't look bad at all and most people won't even notice unless you pointed it out. I think its going to be worth the protection and I can always peel it off.

Next on the list after giving it a couple small test drives around the neighborhood was a final Dyno tune. The terminator EFI I'm running is a self learning system and you can use the hand held controller to fine tune it yourself which I did to some degree but it's hard to beat getting info from the dyno. Just from tweaking things I believe we picked up around 20 hp at the wheels and also learned that the engine liked to keep pulling to around 6,500rpm on the chassis dyno where it stopped around 5,700 on the engine dyno.

[builttodrive]

A little more interior progress. The center console is now finished along with the back seat.

[builttodrive]

The wife and I were able to take the car out together for the first time in over 6 years to a local cruise in the other night. I'm really liking how everything came together and the new and improved version is definitely just that! The ridetech coil over suspension rides really well!

One area I am battling is my power steering and Hydratech Hydroboost combination. I was pleased with how the steering felt before but at low speeds while braking and steering I would get a little feedback through the wheel that felt like I would momentarily lose assist. I am using a Randall's rack system that utilizes a GM Jcar rack along with a GM type 2 pump. I spoke with Hydratech and I have tried a few things but it seems like I may have added an issue. In trying to slightly increase pressure from the pump that seemed to help a little with the braking and steering combo issue at low speeds I may have created a new issue. The steering feels a bit touchy at faster speeds. The larger tires in front prevented me from getting a lot of caster but its sitting with about 2.5 degrees positive with a little more on the passenger side. Camber and toe were set for good street manners and tire wear.

[ryeguy2006a]

Wow, just read through this whole build. Killer job man!!

[454bug]

Great job! Nice upgrades in the 2.0 version. Nice to see a project receiving priority through a number of life changes! My hat’s off to you for keeping the focus!

[Bossed]

I've been away for a while, and what a pleasant surprise to come back and catch up with your progress. Really appreciate you sharing pictures and details throughout the process. The car looks amazing 👍👍

[builttodrive]

Wow, just read through this whole build. Killer job man!!

Thank you sir!!

[builttodrive]

Great job! Nice upgrades in the 2.0 version. Nice to see a project receiving priority through a number of life changes! My hat’s off to you for keeping the focus!

Thank you! Yes it was definitely challenging and the wife was ready for it to be finished up when baby #2 came. It feels great being nearly done!

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I've been away for a while, and what a pleasant surprise to come back and catch up with your progress. Really appreciate you sharing pictures and details throughout the process. The car looks amazing 👍👍

Glad you enjoyed the build thread and thank you!

[wfo guy]

Looks very good.

[builttodrive]

Looks very good.

Thank you!

[builttodrive]

Had the car out a little more this last week and had some time to fine tune a few more things. This has always been my favorite car but I forgot how ridiculously fun it is to drive and the crazy amount of attention it gets.

I'm still sorting out my power rack and pinion steering relationship to my Hydratech hydroboost brakes but I did get a little bit of it sorted out. I have a little feedback with my steering that is more like a momentary loss of power steering when I apply the brakes that seems to be mostly at slower speeds. I am wondering if I need more volume from the GM type 2 pump or if the pressure valve is sticking. I increased both volume and pressure slightly and at first i thought it may have made the steering a little quick and poor at highway speeds but it was the fact that my alignment had gone out of spec with the suspension settling and getting too much toe. After another alignment it seems to drive well again.

Another area I decided to finally take care of was my high metallic brake pads that came with my Baer brake system. They stopped great but when you would apply light brake pressure sounded awful and I couldn't take it anymore. I was told to try some Hawk pads in there and I went with the HPS series. They seem to stop well and are quiet so I'm happy!

[chunger]

Car looks awesome! Great job!

What kind of numbers did you get on the Dyno?

[builttodrive]

Car looks awesome! Great job!

What kind of numbers did you get on the Dyno?

Thank you! I'm not sure what to take away from the dyno as he was making the pulls in 2nd gear. He said he assumed I had a highway gear in the car and didn't want to get it spinning so fast with a lot of wheel speed. The best pull showed 351 hp at the wheels. I asked him if that sounded about right for an engine that made nearly 500 at the crank on the engine dyno and he said with the automatic trans, a loose 3,500 stall convertor, 9" rear end, and big heavy wheels and tires it was probably pretty close. From the initial pulls it showed a gain of 25 HP as he was tuning it and it certainly runs better. I'm not sure how to judge the second gear pulls from 1:1 and it was also 91 degrees that day with plenty of humidity.

[mc84_zz4]

Outstanding build man!
And that paint, spot-on!

[builttodrive]

Outstanding build man!
And that paint, spot-on!

Thank you! I imagine I would like your Monte also! 1984 would be my year of choice.

[builttodrive]

I finally got the last few details done for the upholstery and I'm pretty pleased with the total package. I had the MOMO wheel re-done in fresh leather with orange stitch to match along with a set of personalized floor mats to help save the carpet but of course had to have a little detail. They were made from the same German Square Weave carpet and included the alcantara, carbon fiber, and orange stitching. They were laser etched with a nod to the original script that would have been on the stock valve covers.

[thumper877]

Those are to nice to step on. U need a set on top of those to protect them lol. Looks beautiful