1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1

1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1

This lifelong California Mach-1 was sold new in Bakersfield, CA before its transformation into the fire breathing Pro-Touring car it is today. The restoration, which is now 6 years old, has a timeless appearance and serious performance capabilities! Starting with a strip down to bare metal, this restoration systematically addressed the car from top to bottom. The car features all new bodywork and a beautiful base/clear respray in all black paint. The Mustang has restored trim, all new rubber and good condition glass. The undercarriage was refinished in matt black and is easy to clean and maintain. The engine, built by R&R Automotive Engineering, a machine shop in Covina, CA, is a high end build comprised of an all star set of components. The motor is internally balanced and was dyno tuned and tested on an engine dyno upon completion. It made a stout 530 HP and 536 TQ on the engine dyno which translates to an absolute blast out on the road!

The pro-built Holley carb is extremely crisp and responsive to input and is limber throughout the RPM ranges. The exhaust flows out through a set of ceramic coated, stainless headers into a 2.5鈥?exhaust which exits a custom rear valance. Lightweight 8mm, 2.020 in. The transmission is a brand new Tremec Performance T-56 with McCleod Custom Street Twin clutch and an aluminum flywheel. The clutch is housed in a Lakewood Bellhousing and power is driven through a custom driveshaft to a Ford 9鈥?rear end with 3.73 posi gears and Currie axles. The handling characteristics of the car are excellent, thanks to a Negative Roll front suspension kit from Global West. The kit uses tubular control arms, adjustable strut rods, Billet shock tower mounts and QA1 shocks on all 4 corners. Out back, you鈥檒l find Global West reverse eye springs and Cal Trac bars. The car has quick turn in and hugs the turns like a champ. The car is properly aligned and ready for whatever you throw its way. The steering feel is nice and tight thanks to a Flaming River rack and pinion set up. The interior of this Mustang is all business with the Cerullo buckets, Simpson harnesses, Autometer Gauges, and of course the rear seat delete. Stiffening things up is an Autopower roll cage with accompanying harness bar. It鈥檚 not all race car inside though. A Classic Auto Air system keeps temps at bay and plenty of sound deadening keep the ride fairly quiet.

For example, Mustang II shared the Pinto's rack-and-pinion steering but mounted it differently, again to minimize shock, and offered optional power assist (which Pinto did not at the time). At the rear, Mustang leaf springs were two inches longer than Pinto's, and shock absorbers were staggered as in previous high-performance Mustangs. Spring rates were computer-calculated to match each particular car's equipment and weight. The Ghia notchback, for example, came with very soft settings, while the optional competition suspension had the stiffest springs, along with a thicker front antiroll bar, a rear bar, and Gabriel adjustable shock absorbers. The 1974 Mustang was available with V-6 or four-cylinder power. Ford President Lee Iacocca masterminded the Mustang II, creating a smaller, more fuel-efficient car to compete with sporty imports. Iacocca had eliminated the straight-line six-cylinder engine in favor of a more compact V-6, and per his edict, engineers gave no thought to providing a V-8 engine, a break with Mustang tradition -- and something Ford would soon regret. No V-8 was offered on the initial 1974 Ford Mustang. Initial engine choices comprised a new 2.3-liter (140-cubic-inch) single-overhead-cam inline four-cylinder and a 2.8-liter enlargement of the Capri's overhead-valve V-6.

The four, sometimes called the "Lima" engine after the Lima, Ohio, plant that supplied it, was the first American-built engine designed to metric dimensions. Supplied only with dual exhausts, the V-6 was optional for any Mustang II save the Mach 1 hatchback, where it was standard. Like early 2.0-liter Pinto fours, it was imported from Ford's West German subsidiary in Cologne. Mustang II offered four basic models, shown here as pictured on the back cover of the 1974 sales brochure. The Mustang II's standard four-speed gearbox was basically the four-speed unit from the British Ford Cortina as used in the Pinto but strengthened to handle the Mustang's more powerful engines. 212). Brakes were usefully upgraded to standard 9.3-inch front discs and 9 x 1.75-inch rear drums. Predictably, most Mustang IIs exhibited "American" ride and handling characteristics. 299 extra on other models), but no '74 Mustang II was Sixties speedy. As if to signal the reduced performance, the trademark running-horse emblem became a less muscular steed that seemed to be cantering. It was created by interior designer Charles Keresztes, inspired by the work of noted Western artist Frederic Remington.