Return of the Mach 1

[Tungsten]

First of all, thanks to everyone for the words of congratulations. It does feel good to have it home again. Letting go of and eventually reclaiming this car has been an object lesson in life. Namely that giving up something that you enjoy or changing who you are will not ever fix a problem in a relationship. If you ever find yourself in a similar predicament, DON'T DO IT.

That being said...

I gave it a fairly thorough washing last night and spent some time going over it to see what had changed. I literally knew the car like the back of my hand, so any new ding or scratch would have stood out.

The good news is that the car doesn't show any signs of door dings or things like that. It needs a good session with the Porter Cable and some Meguiars #82 SFP ... but that won't take long.

The bad news is that the report of the Mach having been ruined may have been exaggerated but I think there may also be a little truth to it as well. I found evidence tonight while washing it that the car had sustained a hit on the front passenger corner.



Front passenger wheel is curbed bad about 60% around the circumference.



Front passenger headlight assembly is showing a bit of a gap at the rear trailing edge. Not sitting flush with the fender metal.



Front passenger fender showing an irregularity in the wheel arch at the top leading edge as it apexes near the break over to the hood. Paint on that fender is dull. Unmistakable blem in body filler shallow scratch, painted over) where the fender line trails off of the back of the headlight assembly.



Black overspray on the Bilstein strut boot



Front passenger wheel is toed out quite a bit. Might be resolved with an alignment job, or it may have already been aligned as far as possible given damaged sub-structure.



A few brackets that hold hard lines and wire looms under the front clip are hanging loose and/or bent.


From a casual inspection you wouldn't spot this stuff. I sure didn't. The Carfax report I just ran came back completely clean also, so that wouldn't have thrown any flags.

Now none of this is causing me great alarm. A new fender for these cars is relatively cheap (under $100) and a new wheel is about the same in price. Paint and body work won't be that outrageous and I would guesstimate them to cost about $300 based on a recent quote for similar repairs on my F250. So for under $600 the fender could be replaced and repainted such that it would look flawless again.

I have not yet had a chance to look at the steering or suspension gear to see if it was damaged or just knocked out of spec. Either way, again it wouldn't be cost prohibitive to make it right. I suspect it just needs a better alignment as none of the superstructure appears to have been damaged at all.

I'm going to take it to Auto Art here in Smyrna today or tomorrow and let them put it on a lift and inspect it. We'll see what they say needs to be straightened or replaced.

Best guess is that the asstard who owned it in the interim got stupid with the throttle and put it into a ditch or curb. Some people shouldn't be allowed to own nice cars.

BUT... It's still nice to have it back. I'll take my lumps, repair what needs to be repaired and be happy to have the car in the garage once again. :)

And least I be underestimated when I say it, 100% of the praise goes straight to my wife. It was her decision to buy this car back instead of shopping for a family car. She literally bought the car back for me all by herself.

She rocks. :cool:

[warsurfer]

Congrats! Toys are a necessity, anyone who says otherwise should be beaten to death.

[floyd4ford]

Congrats man!

[Coupe Devil]

I wish someones wife would buy me a Mach 1!

[suicideblonde]

Hells yeah! :D

[MikeW]

Glad you saved it David :cheers:

[wax]

Woot, congrats!

[warsurfer]

Back to the discussion from 3 (or so) years ago - forged internals and a ported blower? Deep lip Mach wheels for the rear? Has the itch started yet?

[Ghostrider]

You needed that car back!

Good deal... :up:

[QuickSilverZ]

Congrats! Toys are a necessity, anyone who says otherwise should be beaten to death.

I agree.

[BenS]

Congrats!!!

[Bob-E]

Sweet. I thought that right front looked curbed in the pic. Bummer on that, but I'm sure you'll have it back to shiny as new in no time. It's fun washin' little cars after toiling on big ass trucks isn't it? I washed my car the other day and it was a breeze.

[ReefBlueCoupe]

http://www.lxcoupe.com/images/rock.gif

[lightitup]

Congrats :up:

[HemiRam]

Sweet!

Hey, you didn't happen to see a 1998 Laser Red Cobra convertible on the lot did you? :(

[Tungsten]

Back to the discussion from 3 (or so) years ago - forged internals and a ported blower? Deep lip Mach wheels for the rear? Has the itch started yet?

At this moment, no. Really do not anticipate doing anything more than restoring it to where I had it previously.


Repair front fender and underpinnings if necessary
Replace front passenger wheel
Replace exhaust tips with MRT tips as before


Other than those things, just drive it and enjoy it. :)

[Tungsten]

Sweet!

Hey, you didn't happen to see a 1998 Laser Red Cobra convertible on the lot did you? :(
Sadly... no. Sorry. :meh:

[warsurfer]

At this moment, no. Really do not anticipate doing anything more than restoring it to where I had it previously.


Repair front fender and underpinnings if necessary
Replace front passenger wheel
Replace exhaust tips with MRT tips as before


Other than those things, just drive it and enjoy it. :)

I sold the blower that had your name on it :(

[MCarp22]

I'm going to take it to Auto Art here in Smyrna

Speaking of auto art, if you don't already have one, there's a really good 1:18 of your car out there:

http://www.diecastfast.net/images/73008.jpg

[Tungsten]

Yep! I've had to make do with my 1:18 scale DSG Mach for the past two years but I do indeed have one. :)

[MCarp22]

Sweet! That was always one of my favorites.

<--- used to work in a diecast store.

[JohnC]

Congrats again on getting your Mach1 back, David! :up: :bow: :party: :cheers: :hyper:

[03silvercobra]

:up:

[BIGOLECHET]

That's awesome!!! I wish I had a couple of my old cars back...

[Tungsten]

I had a chance to take care of several things relating to the Mach 1 today. Here's an update:



Passed emissions fine. I spoke with the dealer to whom I traded the car in 2006 and he told me that the moron who bought it afterward did grenade the engine. A new engine was installed. I have the name and number of the person who did the work and am going to call them this evening to learn more. It appears that they used another Mach 1 engine and the car runs very strong, so I don't anticipate this being a problem.



I also learned that the "wreck" that the Mach was involved in was nothing more than it being backed into at a business parking lot. Someone in a truck backed into the front passenger fender. The moron owner took $300 under the table and had a buddy of a buddy do the repairs rather than force the other moron to file it with his insurance.

Auto Art quoted a total of $900 to replace the fender and repaint. That's going to be a hard pill to swallow, so if anyone has a hook-up or connection ... let me know. :)


Had a front-end alignment done. The passenger wheel is no longer off camber and the steering is clean and precise with no wobble. Such a cheap fix; it nauseates me that the douchebag who owned it for a while didn't spend the $60 it takes to have a car aligned and make at least that part right.


Cliffs Notes: I want to find the guy who owned my car for the past year and 7 months, and stab him repeatedly in the face with a soldering iron.

[COSWORTH]

Mach on

[ReefBlueCoupe]

Cliffs Notes: I want to find the guy who owned my car for the past year and 7 months, and stab him repeatedly in the face with a soldering iron.

This is how I feel about every vehicle I buy. Except the Marauder. The previous owner thinks like me.

[whitestanggirl]

Congrats on your reunion!!

[Disney Lincoln]

This thread makes me tingle in my happy spot.

[LINELOCKSRUS]

You needed that car back!

Good deal... :up: x2

Congrats! Toys are a necessity, anyone who says otherwise should be beaten to death. werd !!!!!!! :up:

At this moment, no. Really do not anticipate doing anything more than restoring it to where I had it previously.


Repair front fender and underpinnings if necessary
Replace front passenger wheel
Replace exhaust tips with MRT tips as before

Other than those things, just drive it and enjoy it. :) :clap:

Congrats on your reunion!!
x2 :cheers: & thank you david for buying it back cause i was seriously fighting the urge to go buy it

[Snake_Chaser]

Try taking it up to Alexander Collision and talk to Chief and see what he says tell him Eric at EA Towing sent ya.

[Tungsten]

And keeping true to her plan, my wife sold her F150 today setting us up for a sizable first month's payment on the Mach 1. We're rapidly heading toward her goal of having it completely paid off by December 31st. :stare:

[GT_Rat]

Dang, she moves fast. :up:

[Sean]

And keeping true to her plan, my wife sold her F150 today setting us up for a sizable first month's payment on the Mach 1. We're rapidly heading toward her goal of having it completely paid off by December 31st. :stare:

Lucky. :(

[LINELOCKSRUS]

And keeping true to her plan, my wife sold her F150 today setting us up for a sizable first month's payment on the Mach 1. We're rapidly heading toward her goal of having it completely paid off by December 31st. :stare: :hyper: :clap: awesome !!!!!

[AG87BlkLX]

Take the grenaded motor and throw it on his face when you find him.

[warsurfer]

And keeping true to her plan, my wife sold her F150 today setting us up for a sizable first month's payment on the Mach 1. We're rapidly heading toward her goal of having it completely paid off by December 31st. :stare:

what is this 'paid off' thing you speak of :lol:

[Tungsten]

Take the grenaded motor and throw it on his face when you find him.

I spoke to the mechanic who did the work to the Mach and learned some new things...

The reason that the car had so few miles put on it by Dickface (my new name for the interim owner) is that he didn't waste time trashing it and the car ended up sitting for much of the past 1yr and 7mos. In fact, the reason that it came back up for sale is directly attributable to that too.

The mechanic told me that it is still a numbers matching car. The stock block was re-used after being sent out to be freshened up. It seems that Dickface had a extremely aggressive tune put on it by someone local :rolleyes: and took it out street racing. It seized a bearing on the crank and threw two pistons into the valves. Instant end of game.

After the block was given a clean bill of health, the mechanic ordered a new forged crank, two new connecting rods, two new pistons and eight new valves from Ford. The heads were cleaned and rebuilt to spec. The engine was reassembled, tested and installed back into the car. He told me it would need an oil change soon as it was almost to the 1,000 mile break in point and could probably use one more 500 mile dinosaur oil fill-up before going back to synthetic.

This guy didn't seem to be Billy Bob Shadetree and appeared to know his stuff so I was encouraged by talking to him.

Also, he actually seized possession of the Mach through a mechanic's lien when Dickface couldn't come up with the nearly $8,000 for parts and repair labor. The court granted him possession, then the bank paid off the tab and repossessed it to secure their collateral. Thus it went to auction and ended up back on a car lot in Murfreesboro.

So it's the same engine just rebuilt and thus far seems to be running very strong.

:)

[Coupe Devil]

While it sucks it went through some turmoil it is good the mechanic seemed reputable and was willing to talk to you about it.

[Tungsten]

While it sucks it went through some turmoil it is good the mechanic seemed reputable and was willing to talk to you about it.
Yeah, he was really enthusiastic about talking it over after he learned that I was the 2nd owner and had bought it back. He even went so far as to call me back a second time and tell me that I probably needed to burp the cooling system again and to let me know about the oil change interval while it was under his care.

Very nice guy.

PS: Alex, Angelo... he gave us serious props for installing those headers with the engine in the car. He said he had a hell of a time getting the collector back on the driver's side pipes. Just like we did. :lol:

[LINELOCKSRUS]

thats cool :up: & :lol:

[Bob-E]

Wow great Mach rescue story. Glad to see she is back in good hands after being abused like a Michael Vick dog.

[Hornet Handler]

PS: Alex, Angelo... he gave us serious props for installing those headers with the engine in the car. He said he had a hell of a time getting the collector back on the driver's side pipes. Just like we did. :lol:

We rule! :lol:

Give it up for the mad props Yo!:cool:

[GT_Rat]

:up:

[eric96ser]

PS: Alex, Angelo... he gave us serious props for installing those headers with the engine in the car. He said he had a hell of a time getting the collector back on the driver's side pipes. Just like we did. :lol:

<-- chopped liver

[GT_Rat]

<-- chopped liver
I was going to say, that was Eric and I that helped with the LT install on the Mach.

[Tungsten]

<-- chopped liver
:panic:

That's right, you were in on it too! I think the pain and suffering of that day have partially blocked out a lot of the memory. :lol:

Wait, wasn't Brodie the only one who didn't show up that day? :D

"I'll come over a little later and help [watch you guys clean up everything after you're done]." :lol:

[GT_Rat]

I don't think Brodie or Angelo made it out for that one.

[Tungsten]

I don't think Brodie or Angelo made it out for that one.
Was I hit on the head really hard during this procedure? Apparently I have a serious case of "CRS" on this. :(

[GarageLogic]

I made it over, but I didn't do any real work. I just remember seeing the engine support system in place and a couple of dirty people in the garage.:lol:

[Tungsten]

So the real jerkface here is Angelo for claiming credit on a header project that he wasn't involved with! :stare2:

[Hornet Handler]

So the real jerkface here is Angelo for claiming credit on a header project that he wasn't involved with! :stare2:

So were the hell was I! :confused:

[JohnC]

After the block was given a clean bill of health, the mechanic ordered a new forged crank, two new connecting rods, two new pistons and eight new valves from Ford. The heads were cleaned and rebuilt to spec. The engine was reassembled, tested and installed back into the car. He told me it would need an oil change soon as it was almost to the 1,000 mile break in point and could probably use one more 500 mile dinosaur oil fill-up before going back to synthetic.

Also, he actually seized possession of the Mach through a mechanic's lien when Dickface couldn't come up with the nearly $8,000 for parts and repair labor.
:)

Umm, $8,000.00 for a rebuild including 1 crank, 2 rods, 2 pistons, 2 sets of rings, a couple bearings, and 8 valves?

Ford list price on the forged aluminator longblock is $6,500.00 (http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/part_details.asp?PartKeyField=9871) and that has forged pistons, crank, and forged Manley H beam rods.

Not sure what he charged in labor, but it sounds like it must have been a lot. :shake:

But again, congrats on getting the ride back and with a fresh motor!

[GT_Rat]

So were the hell was I! :confused:
I think we were wondering the same thing. :lol:

Dave was mostly done with the driver side A-arm disassembly when I got there. I broke down the passenger side for the most part. Eric arrived in time to help actually drop the K, remove the stock headers, install the LT's, and reassemble.

[66sprint6]

Try taking it up to Alexander Collision and talk to Chief and see what he says tell him Eric at EA Towing sent ya.

I didnt know you worked for EA?!?!? But yeah, Chief is a pretty cool dude, its nice to be able to send customers back to someone who knows what he's doin. See what he'll do it for!
Matt

[Tungsten]

Umm, $8,000.00 for a rebuild including 1 crank, 2 rods, 2 pistons, 2 sets of rings, a couple bearings, and 8 valves?

Ford list price on the forged aluminator longblock is $6,700.00 (http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts/part_details.asp?PartKeyField=9871) and that has forged pistons, crank, and forged Manley H beam rods.

Not sure what he charged in labor, but it sounds like it must have been a lot. :shake:

But again, congrats on getting the ride back and with a fresh motor!


All I can tell you is what I was told. I would rather have the numbers-matching engine back in the car than have the Aluminator sitting between the strut towers. But it would have been extra nice if the mechanic had put forged internals in there while he had it apart.

[MikeW]

I should know this but dont... How is the block tied number wise to the car? In the old days some of the VIN (Last 4-5 digits) were on the blocks but I didnt think the newer cars had that information on the block.

[JohnC]

All I can tell you is what I was told. I would rather have the numbers-matching engine back in the car than have the Aluminator sitting between the strut towers. But it would have been extra nice if the mechanic had put forged internals in there while he had it apart.

Werd to that. :cool:

If moron street racer had a clue he'd known $8,000.00 could have got him a sweet forged rebuild and install. :lol:

In the end it worked out better though. He couldn't afford it, and you got the car back with a fresh rebuild. :D :up:

[eric96ser]

I should know this but dont... How is the block tied number wise to the car? In the old days some of the VIN (Last 4-5 digits) were on the blocks but I didnt think the newer cars had that information on the block.

Most new cars have a VIN plate on the block. I know Nissans do, but I haven't looked at others to see if they do too. It's like the VIN stickers on the fenders, doors, bumpers.

[MikeW]

Yeah, my '97 Cobra had a sticker on the bottom of the block that SVT needed in order to get me another signed engine builder tag. Other than a paper tag that could fade away I just wonder if the vin is stamped into the block. It won’t matter to me until I put an aluminum block in one of the 03's.

[eric96ser]

So were the hell was I! :confused:

Not helping us, that's for sure. :eek::lol:

[Hornet Handler]

Not helping us, that's for sure. :eek::lol:

Damn! :(

[Tungsten]

Damn! :(
Slacker. :)

[BenS]

Yeah, my '97 Cobra had a sticker on the bottom of the block that SVT needed in order to get me another signed engine builder tag. Other than a paper tag that could fade away I just wonder if the vin is stamped into the block. It won’t matter to me until I put an aluminum block in one of the 03's.

OT, but where did you call Ford to get another signed sticker? Mine is seriously faded.

[MikeW]

I called SVT when the doors were stll open. The '96- through mid '97 had "paper stickers" the rest had metal engraved stickers. mine too was faded. I spoke to a SVT tech and he said that if I could get the number off of the sticker then he would ahve the same names put on the metal tag that were on the paper sticker. I am not sure who to call now that SVT is no longer. There are places that you can order just the tag but of course they ahve no names on tehm.

[sqLightning]

you can call 1800fordsvt . that's where I called to get my build certificate on my lightning so I am sure they would know where to get the metal tag at.

[NashvilleGirl]

Sweet, David, glad to hear you got her back! :)

[BenS]

you can call 1800fordsvt . that's where I called to get my build certificate on my lightning so I am sure they would know where to get the metal tag at.

Offices are closed. :(

[Tungsten]

Ordered... a pair of the brushed stainless, rolled edge MRT exhaust tips for the car to replace the Magnaflow tips that were caved in by a towing company. I had the polished stainless MRT tips on it before but always thought they were a little too blingy. The brushed stainless will be a lot easier to keep clean, too.

http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-3989196333214_2013_13515593

Left: Brushed / Right: Polished

[floyd4ford]

Ordered... a pair of the brushed stainless, rolled edge MRT exhaust tips for the car to replace the Magnaflow tips that were caved in by a towing company. I had the polished stainless MRT tips on it before but always thought they were a little too blingy. The brushed stainless will be a lot easier to keep clean, too.

http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-3989196333214_2013_13515593

Left: Brushed / Right: Polished



I like the brushed too. Good choice.

[Tungsten]

Hopefully I won't forget anything as I write this out, but here goes. This is a list of the things that I have found wrong and in most cases fixed on the Mach since retaking ownership of it:



Front passenger fender had been backed into. The jackass owner accepted a "tree-fitty under the table and you don't turn this into your insurance" offer. The repair work was good enough that neither I, my wife or Brodie noticed it as the car sat on the dealership lot but upon closer inspection it became much more apparent. I am going to have the fender completely replaced and paint matched.



The jackass mechanic who worked on the car after the jackass owner threw a few pistons was apparently more of a shade-tree hack than I originally assumed. He neglected to tighten down the 21mm nuts that hold the engine to the engine mounts. One was loose and laying on top of the K-member. I found it while changing the oil. The other was just finger tight and not even completely snugged up. I applied red Loktite and torqued them down properly.



The jackass mechanic neglected to reattach several wire loom keepers beneath the engine. I guess he lost the nuts and bolts. :rolleyes: I bought suitable replacements at Lowes and reattached everything where it was supposed to be. No more loose stuff slapping around beneath the car now.



The jackass mechanic lost two of the transmission cross-member bolts that attach it to the underbody of the car so he decided to stagger the two remaining bolts opposing one another. Of course these too were only finger tight and the crossmember was hanging about 1-inch lower than it needed to be. I again found suitable replacement grade-8 bolts, lock washers and washers at Lowes and secured the crossmember properly.



The wrecker company that towed the Mach after the jackass owner nuked the engine pulled it onto a rollback truck and smashed the Magnaflow exhaust tips almost halfway closed. I removed them and threw them into the trash. I ordered and installed a pair of brushed stainless steel MRT exhaust tips with rolled edges. I had the chrome tips on it before I traded the car off two years ago and never really liked them. The brushed stainless looks really good.



Apparently neither the jackass owner or the jackass mechanic ever thought to check the brake pads. The car had 36,000 miles on it when I traded it. It now has 45,000 miles. The original brake pads were still on it... more or less. The rear pads were completely gone. The front pads were almost gone.

In the process of replacing the pads, I discovered that the rear calipers on both sides were sticking and the pistons were not retracting as they were supposed to. Turns out that there was rust in the pistons. So, off they came and I installed two OEM Ford refurbished calipers along with Hawk ceramic street performance front pads and Wearever ceramic rear pads.

With my wife's help and patience, I completely purged all of the dirty old brake fluid out of the system and replaced it with fresh new synthetic fluid.

The car now stops like you've dropped anchor.


Oil has been changed with another round of Castrol GTX dinosaur squeezings and a fresh Motorcraft filter. In another 200 miles or so, I will be changing it once more and switching to Mobil 1 synthetic. The rebuilt engine now has about 1,000 miles on it.



The jackass mechanic at least appears to have rebuilt the engine properly. I suspect he didn't do it but had a shop in Atlanta (per his conversation with me where he said he sent the block and heads to Atlanta to have it re-worked) do the work. That leads me to think and hope that it was Modular Powerhouse who did the rebuild. That would be a nice surprise and a much needed change of luck.

Of course there's also the chance that Delk did the rebuild. I had been told before that the car had been at Delk and gotten a rebuild. I'll talk to them about it the next time I'm there.

Regardless, either the jackass mechanic somehow really pulled an ace out of his sleeve with the rebuild or he just reinstalled everything while he was drunk as a skunk... because the engine seems really solid while everything else he did was done pretty half-assed.


Final Thoughts at the moment:

I'd like to beat the previous owner's ass with a baseball bat. He took a pristine car (when I had it) and really messed it up. I'm actually glad that he blew the engine when he did, because it kept him from putting any more abusive miles on it.

It's also a good thing that the jackass owner couldn't pay his bill to the garage, because the jackass mechanic actually put a Mechanic's Lien on the car and kept it. The bank then paid off the Lien, repossessed it and sent it to auction. Thus I found it. This explains the rough life it had between me owning it and me getting it back. It also explains the low miles, etc.

The jackass mechanic is sort of a mixed blessing. He's the reason the car came back up for grabs. He's also responsible for some really shoddy work. I'm going to find out the name of his shop so that I can adequately warn anyone and everyone else from using him for so much as an oil change. There's just no excuse for the slipshod work that he did. Loose bolts, missing bolts? What happened to attention to detail or pride in your work? :rolleyes:

I would say that the car was an 7/10 when we got it back. It is now an 8/10. Once the fender is replaced and some other touch-up painting is done, it will be pretty close to where it was when I owned it.

Things are coming together. It's definitely a labor of love because I've never been this pissed about the way someone treated a car before.

[Tungsten]

Oh... and I've decided to go through with something that I debated heavily in the past. I'm going to pull the Mach wheels off and store them. In their place I am finally going to swap in some anthracite FR500 wheels and new Nitto NT555 rubber.

The old horse could use a little sprucing up and I think that will do the trick nicely.

[ReefBlueCoupe]

I'm glad it's coming together for you.. now you don't have all that crap rattling around in your head every time you think about the car. I hate other people's work. Even if mine isn't as good as some, at least I am thorough and if I don't know how to do something, or can't do it myself because it simply requires two people, I will get help from someone who knows.

Post up some pictures when you get it all the way you want it.

Oh, if you want to make the brakes feel even better, throw a set of stainless lines up front. They firm up the pedal a bit and make the feel of the brakes 10x better.

[Tungsten]

Thanks. And yeah, that's pretty much how I feel about other people's work also. I may not be a professional mechanic but I generally know what I'm doing and don't cut corners. I'll redo something a dozen times if necessary until I get it exactly the way I want it or the way it should be.

I think we bled the brakes at least four times today before I finally got the pedal to feel like I wanted it to. We'll have to do it again later when I get braided stainless lines for the front calipers, but that's life.

I've got some pictures that I took this evening after I washed it. I'll try to get them off of my wife's camera and post them tomorrow.

[Tungsten]

Here are few shots that I took tonight after cleaning it up.

http://yancys.smugmug.com/photos/353898021_8Gz8P-O.jpg

http://yancys.smugmug.com/photos/353898040_Bbeeb-O.jpg

http://yancys.smugmug.com/photos/353898053_otwXN-O.jpg

[ReefBlueCoupe]

That's my favorite Mach color.

[Disney Lincoln]

All this talk about jackass owners.... Wasn't there one further down the line that sold an absolute pritine Mach 1 and allowed some asswad dickweed to wreck it and smoke the motor? Where's the love in that?

[Disney Lincoln]

Pictures are SEX!!! I wanna touch it!

[Tungsten]

All this talk about jackass owners.... Wasn't there one further down the line that sold an absolute pritine Mach 1 and allowed some asswad dickweed to wreck it and smoke the motor? Where's the love in that?
The guy who sold it was a complete douchebag. Trust me. He knows.

[Disney Lincoln]

Brodie was a complete douchebag. Trust me. He knows.


:stare2: :panic:

[BenS]

What happened to attention to detail or pride in your work? :rolleyes:



I know what you mean. I had the T45 rebuilt in my car (along with a new clutch) a couple months ago by a shop here in Knoxville owned by a guy that was, at first glance, an early pioneer in racing mod motor cars. So I thought he knew his stuff.

I was debating on doing as much work as I could by myself, but I was having difficulty finding someone to rebuild the T45. So I picked this guy to do the work. I told him up front it grinds when shifting fast into second gear, and when you're putting around in a parking lot and shift into second slowly, it will pop back out (into neutral) about 50% of the time.

I get the car back and the fast shifting is fine, but it still pops out. He drives it and it doesn't happen. I drive it and I get it to happen four or five times. He tells me its my shifter (its a Triax) and that it may not be adjusted correctly. He "adjusts" it and it still happens. He says I can bring it back by and he'll put a couple different shifters on it and see how they work. He's only open during the week so its hard for me to drop by there on a weekday and just hang out for 2-3 hours.

Oh, he also put in a billet clutch quadrant and adjuster. While he was in there, he did something that now causes my car to blow a fuse (brake lights / cruise / signal lights / flashers) at random times. :rolleyes:

I paid him good money too. What I paid him would cover 60-70% of a T56 swap. :reef:

[Tungsten]

That sucks, Ben. And it scares me considering that if my T3650 was damaged in any way by the abuse of the previous owner or lack of attention by the mechanic, I may have to rebuild it. If that happens, I guess I'll dig in and try to do it myself.

How much is a T56 swap going for these days?

[warsurfer]

It begs the question, are you ass-happy?

[Keiths2KGT]

How much is a T56 swap going for these days?

I was looking in my Summit book this weekend at T56s. They are $2500 just for the tranny. Then you have to buy all the other stuff for it to fit and work.

[MeanMike]

How much is a T56 swap going for these days?

I did it to my GT a few years ago for $1400 with a low mileage 03 cobra trans. You need the trans, shifter, driveshaft, crossmember and the pinion flange all from an 03-04 cobra. The only problem you will have is the reverse lockout wiring. The GT's don't have provisions in the ecu for it, but a mach 1 might. You can shift into reverse without it, it's just a little tough.

[MeanMrMustard]

Pretty glad I didn't buy the Mach, as I would have never found all those problems.

Car looks good. :)

[Tungsten]

Pretty glad I didn't buy the Mach, as I would have never found all those problems.

Car looks good. :)
Thanks. And yes, it would have been a disappointing buying experience for anyone who wasn't up on how the car should have been. It's been frustrating for me, but not completely disappointing. I'm just saddened by how poorly it was taken care of for the past year and a half.

It's getting closer to being "right" ... just a few more details to take care of.

[Sean]

Kar-ma
Hinduism & Buddhism The total effect of a person's actions and conduct during the successive phases of the person's existence, regarded as determining the person's destiny.

I think this best describes this thread. :D

[COSWORTH]

the fr500s looked killer on it before

[Tungsten]

Kar-ma
Hinduism & Buddhism The total effect of a person's actions and conduct during the successive phases of the person's existence, regarded as determining the person's destiny.

I think this best describes this thread. :D

It probably describes how your parents felt when you were born too. Jackass! :reef:

[COSWORTH]

It probably describes how your parents felt when you were born too. Jackass! :reef:



They liked him until he brought home his "friend"

[Hornet Handler]

Kar-ma
Hinduism & Buddhism The total effect of a person's actions and conduct during the successive phases of the person's existence, regarded as determining the person's destiny.

I think this best describes this thread. :D
I bet to this day your mother still thinks your the load she should have swallowed!

That's Karma!

[Tungsten]

I bet to this day your mother still thinks your the load she should have swallowed!

That's Karma!

See, I knew we should have put Karme in the spell check because I swear I think it just fixed your post. :(

[Tungsten]

And another thing...

I forgot to mention that the detailing crew or guy or whatever that was responsible for cleaning up the Mach for American Motors needs to be taken outside and shot in the knee. Why?

Rather than use cleaning and proper product to dress out the wheel well liners and make them black, they opted to use a 99-cent can of black spray paint and just hose down the wheel wells. Without masking anything off.

While they did at least pull the wheels before doing this, the $500 worth of Bilstein shocks and struts were coated with over spray and both tailpipes were partially painted black at the trailing edge of the rear wheel wells. It took me about an hour with some fine cut steel wool and paint thinner to remove all of this crap from the undercarriage. I followed it up with a thorough scrubbing with Simple Green, water and then dressed it all off with Meguiar's Hyper Dressing.

It looks great and isn't ghetto rigged. American Motors needs to fire their detailing crew and hire someone who is willing to do the job properly. Doing it right doesn't have to cost more money!!!

[Disney Lincoln]

I'm suddenly reminded of seeing a brand new S trim and Bracket for a Mach1 for $900.......

[Tungsten]

I'm suddenly reminded of seeing a brand new S trim and Bracket for a Mach1 for $900.......
Two years ago I'd have sold plasma for that. Now I'm going to have to decline for the time being. At least until we get rid of the F250 for something more fuel efficient, or buy a gasoline powered family hauler. The Mach has to be my reliable daily transportation for the next little while.

[ReefBlueCoupe]

What's unreliable about a supercharged Mustang :lol:

[Tungsten]

What's unreliable about a supercharged Mustang :lol:
My inability to keep my foot out of it, thereby exponentially increasing the odds of breaking parts, wearing out tires faster than normal, etc. :)

[Sean]

I bet to this day your mother still thinks your the load she should have swallowed!

That's Karma!

You heard that from your dad didnt you as a kid? Poor guy. :\

[COSWORTH]

strim for $900


hmmn


strim dohc in fox sounds like fun


INFO PLEASE!

[ReefBlueCoupe]

My inability to keep my foot out of it, thereby exponentially increasing the odds of breaking parts, wearing out tires faster than normal, etc. :)

:D Tickets, etc.

[GarageLogic]

What's unreliable about a supercharged Mustang :lol:

My inability to keep my foot out of it, thereby exponentially increasing the odds of breaking parts, wearing out tires faster than normal, etc. :)It can be done.;):D

[Tungsten]

Ordered a replacement Mach 1 wheel from Gene Evans Ford to replace the one that got curbed 90% of the way around the circumference. I should have it before the end of the week, which will make it easy for me to swap out before the MCMC All Fords Show next weekend.

[5liter]

Great story David. I am glad you got it back.:)