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 Season 6 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

Find out why kids who aren’t even old enough to drive might just be the toughest judges at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.

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Enjoy Season 6 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

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 Season 6 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

The fun at Amelia Island Concours D’ Elegance continues with an episode full of some unexpected supercars.

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Enjoy Season 6 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

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 Season 6 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

Skip and Rickey spend more time at the Amelia Island Concours D’Elegance. This time they check out some of the rare oddities at the show and even meet up with Pixar’s Jay Ward as he presents his award for the car that most embodies a character.

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Enjoy Season 6 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

There are project cars that require major time, effort, and finances, and then there are project cars that can be up and running in just a matter of weeks. In this latest Redline Update, Davin is thrilled to be laying his hands on one of the latter.

Davin’s coworker Cam is the caretaker of a “ran when parked” 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 that has been sitting for 25–30 years … not in an open field and not under a tarp outside, but on a trailer in a warehouse. It had been Cam’s grandfather’s “we’ll get to it next” project car for years, but it never came to fruition. Cam’s grandpa passed away before the Mach 1 could get back on the road, but he’d love to get it running himself—and Davin just has to help.

“It’s gorgeous …” Davin says. “Since I’m not Tom Cotter [of Barn Find Hunter fame], I don’t like to just look at ’em. What would you think if we can this running?”

“That sounds awesome,” Cam says. “The thought of this being on the road is almost too much to comprehend.”

And we’re off.

After bringing the Mach 1 to the Redline Rebuild garage, Davin explains why working on the Mustang is so appealing to him and the video team.

“We want a real quick payback,” he says. “We’ve been working all summer long. We got the [Honda] Trail 70 running, and quite frankly, we’re hooked. We want to see something else done quickly. And the weather is beautiful this fall, so we’re going to take this and in two weeks turn it so it’s driving down the road.”

The plans include replacing all the ignition components first—fresh wires, cap, rotor, points, condenser, and coil. “That may be a little more than you want to do,” Davin says, “but it will completely eliminate all those ignition problems.”

Then, Davin will attempt to start it, check on a small oil leak, replace the hoses, and check the radiator. Once it runs, idles, and doesn’t overheat, then he’ll assess brakes and steering.

Before diving in with both feet, Davin can’t resist trying to start the car. No luck. “We’re not getting any spark,” he says. “Well, bummer.”

But not for you. Stay tuned for next week’s show, in which Davin promises, “You are going to hear this run.” To keep track of this and other projects in the Redline Garage, be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel.

— Jeff Peek

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 Season 6 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

Watch Skip and Rickey check out some amazing cars at the Amelia Island Concours D’Elegance. Between a ride along in a LaFerrari and the story behind one of the original DMC-12 DeLoreans from Back to the Future this is one not to miss.

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Enjoy Season 6 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

Skip gets a sneak peek of the Savoy Museum and some custom builds and their quirky owners shine at the big show.

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Enjoy Season 6 stories, opinion, and features from across the car world - Hagerty Media

It’s a British vehicle takeover plus Bryan visits a home with some very special automotive landscaping.

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