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S 6 : Ep 133

Enjoy Mach 1 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

Nothing guarantees that something will break quite like declaring a project done. The 1969 Mustang Mach 1 that Davin has been working on is the most recent example. Following the celebration of reuniting the car with Grandma Sue, it promptly left a puddle of oil on the floor. Time to roll the sleeves back up.

With a little investigation, it comes to light that the power steering hoses are the culprit. A couple of clicks on RockAuto.com, and all the parts needed to refresh the system are on the workbench. This is a perfect example of “while I’m in there” syndrome, because while replacing only the lines might have solved the leak, replacing the whole system is a better use of Davin’s time. It eliminates the possibility that another tired piece in the system will fail tomorrow and bring the car right back to the shop. Just for good measure, a fresh set of shocks goes on as well.

Before Davin signs off, we get a couple of speed updates on the other projects. The Snowball race car’s headers are coming together, but more importantly the pistons are finally in for the Chrysler 440 that is destined to sit between the frame rails of the dirt track racer. That opens up a new path for progress, but you won’t see that for a few weeks. That time will be used to take be an in-depth look at what was required to update our Swap to Street 1946 For pickup with a T5 transmission. To see that process and so much more, be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel and never miss an update.

— Kyle Smith

Thanks to our sponsor RockAuto.com, an auto parts retailer founded in 1999 by automotive engineers with two goals: Liberate information hidden behind the auto parts store counter (by listing all available parts, not just what one store stocks or one counter-person knows), and make auto parts affordable so vehicles of all ages can be kept reliable and fun to drive. Visit RockAuto.com to order auto parts online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have them conveniently delivered to your door. Need help finding parts or placing an order? Visit the Help pages for further assistance.

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Enjoy Mach 1 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

The Redline Rebuild team is in the midst of some “show and tell” right now, in case you haven’t been watching for a few weeks. Davin learned about a 1969 Mustang Mach 1 that had been in storage for 30 years and determined that rest period was just too long. That’s when he decided to both show you the find and tell you exactly what it takes to bring a car like this back to life. So far, he’s dragged the car out of storage, inspected it, and convinced the engine to run. What more is there? Well, a good bit.

It’s one thing to get a car driving, and another to get it driving safely. Davin is pursuing the latter. That’s why the leak on the passenger rear wheel gets addressed as part of a thorough chassis inspection. When he first discovers it, Davin estimates the leak is due either to an axle seal or to a wheel cylinder. Luckily, the culprit is the axle seal—a far easier fix than the wheel cylinder, since opening up the hydraulic brake system often produces a can-of-worms situation.

Since the axle seal requires him to remove the brake drum, Davin takes the opportunity to replace the brake shoes, even though all signs point to those components being healthy. Why? It’s cheap peace of mind to replace those parts now and also saves time compared to disassembling things twice, if a stopping problem were to emerge once this pony was back on the road.

With fresh brakes installed, it’s time for a test drive, a challenge which the Mustang passes with flying colors. Then, a little surprise: Davin has been working on the car in secret, behind the back of the car’s current owner. Cam was the one who brought Davin to the car and gave us some of the story behind it, but Cam’s grandmother has the most history with the ’69 Mach 1. She was the one who drove it into storage so many years ago, and she gets one heck of a surprise when she sees Davin and Cam rumble into her driveway.

Even when life gets in the way and delays projects for a long time, it is always worth the effort to get back to work and revive those long-stored machines. It only took Davin a couple days of focused effort to bring this Mustang back to life, so make sure to take his advice and get out in the shop and work on your projects. Of course, if you want to see what Davin is working on next, be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel to never miss an oil-soaked minute.

— Kyle Smith

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Enjoy Mach 1 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

Finding a cool car that has been tucked away for decades is inspiring, but firing it up for the first time can be less so. Davin found that out last week with the 1969 Ford Mustang he attempted to bring back to life. Without spark, that V-8 was never going to roar to life—so, rather than abuse the tired parts, Davin put in a RockAuto order. Now, it’s time to get serious.

This Mustang is a prime example of an honest, “ran when parked” car. Everything under the hood is still there and connected, which makes the project seem hopeful. Simply being present is the minimum criterion for parts, however; they should also function. Something in the ignition system is not doing its job, and thus Davin is electing to replace the entire ignition system. This decision seems a bit extreme at first blush but, since the parts are available—and easy to remove and replace—he’s actually saving some troubleshooting time at just a few dollars’ cost.

Other to-dos include curing a few leaks and sussing out what the interior of this engine has to say about the car’s history. The valve-cover gaskets were leaking and Davin pulled and cleaned the covers and installed fresh gaskets. Before those last components went back on, Davin spun the engine over with the spark plugs removed. This allowed him to visually inspect the valvetrain and see whether the engine would build appropriate oil pressure quickly.

Put it all back together, cross fingers, and turn the key. Of course, the V-8 fires right up and idles along happily on the choke. There is still a bunch of work left before this Mustang hits the road again, and Davin’s only got one week to make that happen—so as happy as he might be about winning this particular battle, the war wages on. What issues may surface in the brakes and driveline to keep this car off the streets? We aren’t sure yet, but you’ll know next Monday. Be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel to never miss an update.

— Kyle Smith

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Enjoy Mach 1 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

Seven-year-old Sean McLaine could hardly wait to show this car to his soccer coach. Sean’s dad, Keith, had driven them to the local fields that day for Sean’s practice and now stood leaning against the 1969 Mustang Mach 1 at the pitch’s edge. Sean came running up to the Mustang, dragging his coach along with him.

“You’ve gotta see this,” Sean exclaimed, as he tugged open the passenger door. Once inside, Sean began cranking the windows up and down by hand, grinning to his coach at he reveled in the novelty.

By this time in 2008, Keith McLaine had owned the Mach 1 for about four years and the car was as much a part of his son’s childhood fabric as their home and Sean’s classmates. From the time Keith first brought the Mustang home, Sean was entranced.

“It was my dad’s car, and I’d see it in the garage and I was never allowed to touch it,” Sean recalls. “It was always a little bit mysterious to me.”

Sean is now 18, a high school senior and young adult. Gone are those days when he was not allowed to touch the car. Indeed, a weekend morning is now likely to find father and son on some lonely Arizona backroad, pulling over so that Sean can slide into the driver’s seat while Keith rides shotgun for a stretch.

1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 driver name — 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1

1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 3/4 front high — 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1

1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 3/4 rear — 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1

1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 drivers steering wheel interior — 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1

“He’s a great driver and I feel really comfortable sitting in the passenger seat with him,” Keith says. “He’s one of the only people I feel comfortable driving my car.”

Keith spent his own teenage years driving a Mustang—specifically, a red 1965 coupe that also makes its home in the McLaine garage. In the early 2000s, however, his thoughts began drifting toward fastbacks from the late 1960s. At the time, his wife’s co-worker owned this Mach 1, and when that owner started thinking about selling, Keith wasted little time in making the man an offer that made him the car’s third owner.

By the time Ford introduced the Mach 1 for the 1969 model year (part of an effort to compete with the Camaro and Firebirds coming off the GM line), the Mustang had evolved into a dizzying array of available models: a ’69 customer could also choose the Boss 302, the Boss 429, the Shelby GT350, and the Shelby GT500. As if those options weren’t enough choice, no fewer than seven variations of the Ford V-8 engine were available between 1969–73.

1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 hood scoop — 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1

1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 seats — 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1

1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 3/4 front flowers — 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1

Keith’s Mach 1 originally in Candy Apple Red paint with a flat black hood and a two-barrel 351 Windsor engine. The previous owner repainted the car in its current color scheme in the 1980s, and the engine has since been rebuilt and upgraded to a four-barrel Windsor.

Yet, while Keith has personalized the car to fit his taste and lifestyle, he nevertheless strives to keep it true to period. He lowered the car via a so-called “Shelby drop” (by lowering the front control arms by about an inch from Ford’s original placement) for better handling through the Arizona mountains, though the stock drum brakes continue to demand the driver’s alertness. By far the most beneficial improvement, however, came in the form of a five-speed Tremec transmission, which Keith installed last year in place of the original three-speed FMX transmission.

“It’s a completely different car and so much more fun to drive,” Keith says, “especially on those long stretches of highway, when you know the engine is not going to explode going at highway speeds with that three-speed automatic.”

1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 taillight detail — 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1

1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 hood and scoop on road — 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1

1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 front wheel detail — 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1

1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 hand on the wheel — 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1

Finally, in a nod to the record-setting Mickey Thompson land speed cars (based on 1969 Mach 1 platform), Keith added the gold steelie wheels. The Mach 1’s paint, now plenty pockmarked from its age and use, is far from perfect, but Keith notes that several friends have threatened grave harm should he ever repaint the car.

As much as this Mustang ties Keith to his own history, however, it is more valuable as a means for enjoying the present moment with his son.

“Sean’s been in this car since he was two or three years old and he just feels comfortable in it,” Keith says. “Sometimes I’ll look over as we’re going through some twisties and he’s just be fast asleep. This car is like a second home to him.”

The significance of the car is not lost on Sean either. “This car has come to symbolize the time my dad and I spend together,” he says. “When I was little, I didn’t really recognize that but now I see what a blessing it really is.”

With every mile of Arizona backroad, the McLaine men continue to rack up the memories.

Tag: Mach 1

Enjoy Mach 1 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

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