[CantedValve]

My son and I are embarking on our first full build. I have a 1970 Sportsroof but didn’t build it. He is more into cars than I was at his age. He has his favorites, but also has my sensibility. His first choice was to build a 1965 Shelby GT350 clone. 1965 fastbacks in decent condition are hard to come by. After that he wanted to jump into a 1969 Boss 429 clone. The hardest part of that project was, again, finding the lucky pile of rust that would serve as the platform... and the $30k needed for a motor. So he has gone to his 3rd option.

In 1969 the Boss 302 was introduced. The same year the 351W was introduced with the Mach 1 as a stop-gap measure until the 351C was introduced in 1970. Had Ford been on its game, the Boss 351 would have began with the 1970 model as it should have given the absolute brute mentality of the engine.
So that is what he wants to do. He wants to build a "what if Ford had gotten it right" 1970 Boss 351 Mustang. We have it all planned out (changes in red):

• 1970 Fastback
• Trunk mounted battery
• Radio and antenna delete
• Stock front disk brakes (manual, not power) - This has changed. We got a car with power brakes, so we are going to keep them.
• Borgenson power steering using manual linkage
• Grabber Blue with Boss 302 style graphics (that obviously say Boss 351) - This has changed. We are going Boss 429 style graphics
• Blacked out taillight panel, decklid, and taillight bezels - Maybe not the decklid
• Tinted windows all around (except for windshield) - not original green tint
• Chin spoiler, decklid spoiler, and rear window louvers
• Hood shaker but NO twist locks (he hates them) with Mach 1 style stripes
• A stout 351C motor (should be around 10:1 static compression)
  • Stock block, crank, rods
  • Modifications to help more oil get to the right places - restrictors and lifter bushings
  • TFS Aluminum heads - 72cc chambers, 313cfm at .600 lift (painted blue of course)
  • TFS Roller Rockers
  • Howards hydraulic roller cam and lifters
  • Aluminum intake manifold (gotta figure which one works with the shaker) - Likely the older version of the Performer 2V with porting work done
  • Holley 650 with mechanical secondaries
  • Original style Boss 351 valve covers
  • Original distributor with Pertronix 2 module
  • FPA coated headers
• David Kee Toploader - not sure about close or wide ratio yet - Wide Ratio, 1-3/8" input, 31 spline output
• Detroit Locker TrueTrac, 31 spline, nodular case, 1350 u-joints, and unknown gear ratio - Likely going with 3.91 or 3.89 gearset with Gear Vendors OD
• Hurst Shifter - hopefully an original 1970 OEM, but new aftermarket is available
• Black interior, black carpet - Deluxe with black wood grain inserts and black rimblow steering wheel
• We really want a gauge cluster with tachometer - might have to go aftermarket though

We are going to make it as much "stock" appearing as we can without obsessing over paint daubs and chalk marks. Stock external voltage regulator (or at least the appearance of one) and alternator. We want to use a stock steering pump, but I am not sure if it will work with a Borgenson box.

Last April 1st the boy and I picked up our candidate. Actually did a twofer. We picked up a pair of 1970 Mach 1 cars. Both incomplete, both completely shot. Both with clean titles

It was late at night when we got the last car loaded. It did involve a large bucket loader and chains.

Heres are photos of victory!

 

[CantedValve]

So the car we are building started life as an H-code Mach 1 built in San Jose in May of 1970. Options on the list are:

• Power Steering
• Power Brakes
• 4 speed transmission
• 3.25 conventional rear end
• Sport Deck rear seat (fold down)
• Grabber Orange
• Tinted glass

We will retain most of this in some fashion, but the color will be Grabber Blue unless I can convince the boy to do the orange. It has collision damage to the passenger side which bent the rear axle housing and axles. The first step is tear down. We have most if not all of the trim for the car. We have a full interior (not the fold down though) except for the dash pad. We need a windshield, but the rest of the glass is in great shape. All in all, its going to be a heck of a project, and a heck of a lot of fun.

 

[CantedValve]

The first part that I scored, because the cars didn’t come with one. Passenger side fender. No rust, but a bit of damage that we will work out. Its in an accessible area, so hammer and dolly it is. I drove to central Michigan to get this panel. The guy had a plethora of old cars. 1968 Cougar with a 428. 1988 Mustang with a 500+ stroker big block. 1967 Falcon with a 572 stroker big block. 1969 Mach 1 Q-code 428 car with 4 speed, 1968 SBF drag car. And to top all of that off... a 1967 Fairlane with a 427 SOHC engine. Was a really cool visit!

 

[CantedValve]

I am collecting parts where I can. Mainly when I see a good deal on original parts. I found a rear valence that needs some work but is in good shape. I found a grille support bracket as well. Finally, my Dynacorn floor came in! Got a killer deal on eBay, and it shipped direct from Dynacorn.

 

[CantedValve]

Okay, so at this point we were knees deep in disassembly/teardown. The floor is gone. The quarters are gone. The trunk is gone. Rear seat support is gone. Driver wheel well is gone. Passenger front torque box is gone. Passenger lower firewall (toe pan) is gone. Passenger wheel well is crushed and will be gone. Everything forward of the firewall is gone. I’m going to have more new sheet metal than old on this thing, but I don’t care. It’s fun as hell.

It was clearly wrecked in the passenger side. What we didn’t know when we got it was that, previous to that, it was also wrecked on the driver side. The whole rear driver body was held together with brazing. That made a lot of parts that I was planning to save junk. Actually, right now it’s just the driver wheel well that I’ve lost to brazing, but I have some brackets on there I want to try to save. They cut out the old wheel well, leaving the flange, and slipped a new one in and brazed it.
I’ve started the frame jig. I have those measurements. If anyone has any other measurements for other body parts that they’d like to share, I am happy to have all the help I can get!

 

[CantedValve]

New parts that have been ordered: cowl, torque boxes, apron assemblies and radiator support, toe pans, new wheel wells. At this point, we thought the driver outer rocker is in good shape, just needed some repair at the very back of it. Passenger outer rocker has some damage too, and we thought we could save it. B pillars are both rusted and damaged from collisio. Inner cowl/kick panel area needs some help. Outer cowl pods need patched up or replaced. Firewall is in good shape. Roof will need replaced. Roof crossmembers appear solid. A pillars appear solid.

Man I love this stuff!

 

[BlackSabbath70]

Nice pick up and I like the idea of the build. Good luck with it. If you need some info I've gone through two 1970 sportsroof cars. There is a lot of that is one year only on them that can get hard to find.

 

[CantedValve]

Next we cleaned and piled up our scrap. Going forward I hoped to clean after each work session so we can maintain some level of clean. Fat chance of that!

Also, parts continued to roll in.

 

[CantedValve]

We bumbled around for 3 months Or so thinking we could repair the inner structure. Not happening Between the accident damage and the salty Jersey air, ain’t much left worth saving. Anyway, here are some more images from that failed process.

 

[CantedValve]

So here is where we are. Both the driver side and passenger side have been wrecked. Passenger side is worse, and I was just not able to figure out how it was tweaked. We finally decided to cut the skeleton apart and rebuild it on the floor, at which point my son said "Hey, if we are going to cut it apart anyway, why not get a new side for the passenger side." Fair and valid point, as from the B-pillar rearward, it all needs fixed. So, our came the check book, and a scant few days later we had new body sides. We really wanted to keep as much original metal as we could, and we will, just not as much as we hoped.

So for anyone keeping score, here is a list of the original (though not necessarily to THIS car) body parts that will remain...

• Roof crossmembers
• Firewall (with new toe pans)
• Rear seat support
• Rear valence
• Fenders
• Fender extensions
• Quarter extensions
• Stone guard
• All the stainless steel trim
• Door shells (will get new skins)
• Outer cowl pods
• Cowl grille panel

Things that might remain original if I can find good ones...

• Hood (need one with shaker cutout, without hood locks)
• Trunk (be nice to find one that was originally on a car with a spoiler)
• Front valence

We did position the front shock towers and radiator support on the front of the frame jig last night just for giggles. Yes, he’s in the dog house.

 

[CantedValve]

Work continues. We moved the scrap skeleton off the lift and put the frame fixture with the floor assembly on the lift. Body sides came in, and we started fitting them. Found issues with both the crossmember stubs on the passenger side, They both point forward too much. that stuff happens, and we will deal with it. Probably involve cutting and welding.

 

[CantedValve]

Tried straightening out the front crossmember stub by breaking the spot welds loose and realigning the metal. It got me something, but not enough. I’ll end up trimming the fron and adding to the back so I have something to plug weld against. I cut the rear stub off and reangled it.

 

[CantedValve]

We also mocked up the quarter panels. The passenger side fit great out of the box. The driver side needed more help. We also put the doghouse back up on the fixture

 

[CantedValve]

We are caught up to today. Today we test fit the corners and taillight panel. They will need some massaging to fit perfectly, but they are generally correct. You can see from the pictures there is some trimming that will need to happen.

 

[cheapbastard]

Super cool build and idea!
My only suggestion would be build a stroker while your at it and to find someone who is an expert in Clevelands to get the cam from. A stroker crank and rods/pistons might not cost much more than having the old rods resized with good rod bolts added and the crank polished/ground. As for the cam, Brent Lykins builds a lot of Clevelands and is on yellow bullet and other forums. He has a website which I think is lykins motorsports. I think there is a place in colorado that also specializes in clevelands as well.

My thought on the stroker is that you are going to keep the toploader and so probably a streetable rear gear. With a stroker that makes peak horsepower at 6000 rpms that would pair well with a 3.25 or 3.50 gear. With that low rpm limit it would last forever and work well Noone would be able to tell and the toploader would handle it fine!
Also I wish I had your fabrication skills! Good luck on a cool project!

 

[hotrodfords]

The first part that I scored, because the cars didn’t come with one. Passenger side fender. No rust, but a bit of damage that we will work out. Its in an accessible area, so hammer and dolly it is. I drove to central Michigan to get this panel. The guy had a plethora of old cars. 1968 Cougar with a 428. 1988 Mustang with a 500+ stroker big block. 1967 Falcon with a 572 stroker big block. 1969 Mach 1 Q-code 428 car with 4 speed, 1968 SBF drag car. And to top all of that off... a 1967 Fairlane with a 427 SOHC engine. Was a really cool visit!
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Out of curiosity, what color was the 67 Fairlane?

 

[CantedValve]

We allso spent time fitting the roof to the car. First go around it didn’t want to fit. We figured out that the passenger body side needed to come backwards and the driver side might need to come forward. We moved the passenger side back 1/2” and we were able to muscle the roof into place. There is an issue on the driver side rear crossmember stub. It is wider than the passenger side by 1/2”. The distance between the crossmembers is equal, meaning the 1/2” is sticking out the back. Assuming measurements check out, it will need modified.

 

[CantedValve]

Out of curiosity, what color was the 67 Fairlane?

I think it was similar to Whimbeldon White. The engine wasn’t original to the car.

 

[CantedValve]

Out of curiosity, what color was the 67 Fairlane?

I think it was Whimbeldon White. The motor was not original to the car though.

 

[Hunter100]

WOW this is a great build! Its motivating me to get back on my stalled project. What frame measurements/drawings did you use to build your jig?