Sometimes it’s not just the car that holds appeal, but the story about who owned it before you that makes the effort seem worthwhile.
In the case of this Mach 1, the first owner was Judy Green, who purchased it in California. She worked for race-car and speed-record legend Mickey Thompson, who objected to her driving a Pinto and leaving it in the work car park, so he asked her to get a muscle car.
He took a liking to it and did some minor engine modifications for her. The Edelbrock rocker covers are still there today.
When I restored the car I found a lot of loose hairclips and even a dried-out bottle of eyelash glue and dry-cleaner receipts with her name on them. They helped to solidify the backstory.
Also under the carpet was the original build sheet.
She let her son have it for a while, but she didn’t approve of what he did with it and took it back. It was eventually sold on and ended up in Australia.
It was complete and had been given a quick Mexican restoration – so it wasn’t in fantastic shape. However, it was rust-free and had all the original running gear in it.
It had some dents in the roof, thanks to the son, plus a variety of car-park dents. It also had a significant hit in the right rear quarter.
I tackled the restoration, with exception for the engine rebuild which was done by Graham at Extreme Engines – he did a fantastic job on that. It started off as a 351 4V and is now a 393 stroker with a cam and a Holley 750 Quick Fuel. In the end it was delivering 510hp at the flywheel.
I also got an outside firm to rebuild the C6 transmission. It’s driving through a 9-inch differential, which I fitted with Truetrac limited slip components. Plus, I got a tailshaft made to handle the extra power.
When it comes to brakes, because it’s a Q code it’s running ventilated discs on the front, with drum rears. It runs vacuum boost and pulls up really well.
Up front it runs a variable-ratio steering pack, plus a thicker swaybar – that was standard for the Q codes. The rear end runs staggered shocks to reduce tramp.
I rebuilt the whole interior, including headlining, carpet, seats, and various other bits and pieces. The door cards and dash were in good shape.
To start, I purchased a rotisserie so it could be done properly. Much of the time went into straightening out the body. For example, a couple of months working on the damaged rear quarter. I hand-beat it, made my own tools. It was a thorough job – no bolt was left unturned.
It took all of two years to do the work. I know that’s relatively quick, but it was through Covid and I had quite a bit of time on my hands. It would have been at least 1000 hours. The paint colour is Light Pewter which is the original and is something I did myself.
I put three coats of clear on it so it could be cut back to achieve a clean finish. I’ve painted a few cars in my time. It didn’t have the hockey stripes down the sides or the bonnet black, but I thought they were a great addition.
What was the hardest part of the restoration? The bodywork, which took a long time. I spent a fair bit of time on the panel gaps, getting them right. There were lots of different techniques used, including welding on some of the edges then grinding them back to get it right, plus a lot of adjustment. It was very much a labour of love and not a labour of profit.
Sourcing parts was pretty good as there is a plentiful supply in the USA. Some of the plastic parts can be tricky to find. Some of the components are remanufactured as you can no longer get the originals. The killer was the transport cost – every dollar you spent on parts you spent another on freight. For example, I bought a set of headers from the States and it cost almost $500 to get them here.
Prior to this car I had a 1955 Ford Victoria, which taught me a lot about restoration. It was a different style of car, more like a 1950s rock ‘n’ roll look to it. With the Mustang I was looking for something with a little more power.
One thing I learned from that car was to record everything you strip off it. There were so many bits and pieces in the Victoria, which was a four-year project; you can’t remember where or how they all fit. So with the Mustang I knew to photograph every component before it came out, then bag and tag it.
People tended to ignore this shape Mustang for a while, in part because the lines aren’t elegant as something like an early fastback. But now things are changing and this shape is coming into its own. It might not have the delicate lines of the early cars, but it looks like a proper muscle car. I love the look and think it has a tough stance about it. While I love the look of the earlier Mustangs, this is my favourite.
My advice for anyone looking for a restoration project like this is to avoid rust, if possible. And make sure you’ve got fairly deep pockets. I found the local Mustang club were really helpful.
It drives really well. It can be a bit of a handful because of the extra power, but I have a lot of fun driving it. I love the look of it and it sounds pretty cool.
The next project? Possibly a Chrysler by Chrysler two-door …