The restoration of a classic muscle car often entails chasing classic parts. As such, you are faced with a few decisions. The first, and possibly the most critical, question…does the overall condition of the car warrant returning it to bone stock or should you create some level of restomod?
In this case, that decision was fairly easy for me to make. This car had been sitting in a nice warm California garage for 30 years. That meant there would be little rust and the wear and tear on the vehicle would have been lessened by it prolonged slumber. This Mach 1 deserved to be restored back to bone stock.
So then I had to decide for any part that was either missing from the car, or was too far gone to have restored, whether to use original Ford parts or aftermarket reproductions. Reproduction parts are generally less expensive and easier to find but may not fit or work exactly like the original.
Conversely original Ford parts can be hard to locate and may be more expensive but you know they are going to fit and work as originally intended.
I decided for this restoration that I would use original Ford parts wherever possible but I knew if I weren’t careful here I could easily spend more restoring the car than the car would be worth when completed.
Finally I had to decide the intended purpose for the car once it was complete. As an example, would this car be driven to and from car shows or trailered?
Well anyone who knows me will tell you, I don’t believe in trailering cars. It is, and has always been, my belief that cars like this are meant to be driven and enjoyed.
But here is where I am different than many Mustang enthusiasts. Despite the fact I will be driving this car to and from car shows and taking it on the occasional pleasure cruise, I intend to do a full nut and bolt restoration. This means every aspect of the car will be restored to factory new condition, including the undercarriage.
Why would I go through that level of effort for a car that I intend to drive? The answer is simple, reliability. By returning this car to the same condition it was in when purchased new, I know I can drive it anywhere and at any time. It will be just like owning any other new car…except this one is sexier.
Missing Power Steering Parts
I knew the first course of business would be to locate the power steering components that had been removed by a previous owner. This included the power steering pump, pulley and brackets, control valve, slave cylinder, center link and all the accompanying hoses. Yes, they had removed virtually everything related to the power steering (see Sins of Our Youth).
I was able to locate a correct power steering pump, as well as the correct pulley and brackets and had everything restored by All Classic Motors to like new factory condition.
I then located a date code correct Bendix power steering control valve, and again had it restored by All Classic Motors to like new factory condition.
Next came the slave cylinder. Here again, I was able to locate a date code correct Bendix unit and had it restored to like new factory condition.
Of course, I also had to find the proper power steering center link. Luckily I was able to find one fairly easily. This particular one had already been restored to like new condition including the proper yellow paint daub marking.
Finally, I had to locate someone who was reproducing accurate power steering hoses. Yes, I could have gone down to the neighborhood parts store and just purchased an over the counter replacement, but I wanted the hoses to look as good as they perform.
Blue Dot Specialties offers these hoses that not only feature the proper materials, textures and markings, but even have the appropriate parts numbers stamped into them. These reproductions are as close as you’ll ever find to factory original pieces.
Next Step: Original Paperwork