Of all the days to leave a camera at home while running errands, I had to pick one where this '71-'72 Mustang convertible was parked out in front of the local car stereo installer.
Fortunately the longer lens on the iPhone 13 Pro Max is a ~77mm focal length equivalent and will take a pretty undistorted pic if you have room to back up, unlike the regular ~28mm camera, which always gives funhouse proportions.
'71-'72 was the beginning of the end for the original Muscle Car-era Mustangs. Mustangs are, properly, pony cars, not muscle cars, but that's another post.
The body was widened to accommodate the Lima-series 429 big block V-8s, after squeezing the Lima-derived Boss 429 hemi motor into the eponymous '69-'70 Boss 429 cars required engine bay surgery at Kar Kraft of Dearborn to shoehorn the motors in.
For '71 you could get your Mustang with anything from a 145bhp (SAE gross) Thriftpower 250 cid I-6 to a snarling 375hp 429 Super Cobra Jet big block.
In just three years, the Mustang would be a Pinto
Bought a '71 Mach 1, 2+2, mostly original condition, from a friend in NJ, in '77. A prior owner had sprayed it flat black, and had painted the interior black (vinyl paint for the seats, etc.) The original color was an ugly green. No idea if that was a factory order by the original buyer. I did a hand rubbed black lacquer paint on the exterior, and took it to CA. Car had the 429SCJ (Super Cobra Jet). NHRA rated those engines at 475 HP. (Ford was sandbagging it big time, but my insurance added a 20% surcharge for "excessive HP") u-tube has dyno runs of that factory engine package that hit 515 HP. Custom headers and a bigger Holley will boost it much higher.
ReplyDeleteThe original owner had lost an arm in a bean thresher incident, so it had a C6 AUTO transmission. That came from Ford with a Fairbanks modification package. The 9" diff was a 4.11 with a Detroit Locker. Huge drum brakes on the rear (disc front), and you best remember to disengage the parking brake, as the only warning you get is it slows down quicker than normal when you back off the throttle. It would melt the brake shoes. I pulled an axle shaft to look for a replacement pumpkin for higher gearing for the cross country drive, and the shafts looked like Summers Bros parts. Beefy!
Didn't find a compatible rear, but with the radical camshaft, I was able to cruise most of the ride with low octane gas, only switching to premium for the mountains. Running tall L60-15 tires it got ~12 mpg. I think I was the 8th owner in seven years.
Will
The 429SCJ was ridiculously underrated.
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