I am planning to sell my 1970 Mach1 H-code 351 Cleveland, Dearborn car. I decided to first list it here for a short time before I list it on a certain auction site.
This Mach1 is truly one of those "barn finds", which I found approximately 6 years ago in Nebraska, in a barn (honestly). The car had been sitting in a barn, off the road since the late 1980s. I am the 3rd owner and have a clear title in my name.
History: the 2nd owner drove the Mach1 for several years and had plans to eventually "tub" and race the car. He therefore completely disassembled the car in the late 80's, removed what rust had began on the pans, paid for some mild engine service (new rings, new cam and a valve job as far as I know) and stored it away in the family's barn. Fortunately, he never got around to "tubing" or otherwise altering the car and it sat stored away in the barn until I bought it two decades later. The engine still retains it's original belts.
I purchased it when it was still disassembled. I brought it home and "kinda" reassembled it, meaning that I put a couple bolts back into each piece so that I could see what was missing. As you can see in the photos, nothing lines up well, not because it had suffered an accident, but rather because I merely threw fenders/doors/etc on quickly with a couple bolts to see what was missing. As far as I can tell, the car is miraculously missing only two items: (1) the right rear mach1 trim panel and (2) the correct mach1 grille (I have the lights).
The bumpers are NOS (I have the originals) and the front grille, while not correct for a Mach1 is NOS. The rims are original and their dates match the car. All the glass is original except for the windshield which broke during the move. I purchased an NOS windshield which goes with the car.
The numbers on the engine and the transmission match the VIN.
As stated, the car had some rust starting in the 80s when it was taken apart and the 2nd owner did a reasonable job of stopping and correcting it. The rails are solid and the entire engine bay is rust free. The floor pans have had a couple patches installed. The trunk floor has some small holes (pin hole to slightly larger in size) and would need replacement to be show car worthy. I believe there are small holes in the tail light panel as well, behind the honeycomb Mach1 trim.
The engine and transmission are on stands at this time. I never got around to installing them. I cannot speak to the condition of the engine and transmission other than what I mentioned above and to state the previous owner stated the car ran and drove well when disassembled in the 80s. Both the engine and transmission are very clean.
The axle and staggered shocks appear extremely clean and are believed to be original to this car.
I think this car will make an excellent candidate for concours restoration simply because it's never been butchered and retains 98% of its original parts. Is it perfect and totally rust free? No. But IMO it sure is in a lot better shape than most unrestored (but driven) Mach1 I have seen and considered purchasing.
I truly do not know what these cars are worth. I don't want to sell it and thus am not going to give it away, but I also know it isn't a $15k car in its present condition. Please let me know if you have interest in purchasing it, OR if you have more experience with 1970 mustangs and could give me some guidance on fair pricing. Those who know me from this forum know that my area of expertise is the 67-68 cars.
I'm more concerned about selling this car to someone that will do it justice than I am concerned about squeezing out top dollar for it. I also need to out of my shop soon.
Send me a PM if you have interest in this car. Thanks.
