1969 Mustang Mach 1 Drag Pack 428 SCJ

1969 Mustang Mach-1 428SCJ Drag Pack
This Mach-1 was purchased by one of my best friends when we were growing up. He had a 69 drag pack Mach-1 while we were in HS. He sold the car a couple of years later, but always wanted another one. He bought this car out of Alabama in 1992 and began the process of restoring it to factory specification. He took the next few years collecting all of the OEM parts needed to put this car back to its original condition. This car was originally sold in Nashville, TN. The car’s body and paint work was completed in 1998. Being a southern car, the rust was only in the battery box and hood hinge areas. These areas along with both door skins were replaced with new stampings. The car still has its original floor pans, torque boxes, shock towers and frame rails. This car was still very solid when it was bought by my friend in 1992. The engine and transmission were rebuilt and installed around 2000. Parts for the interior, gages and dash were still being collected to finish the car over the next several years however, only small details were ever completed on the car. During the last few years while talking to my friend about the car, it became clear he lost interest in finishing the car himself. Once he decided for sure he was going to sell it and the parts to finish the car, I decided to purchase the car and finish it myself. I had just finished restoring my own 69 Shelby GT500. I purchased the Mach-1 in April 2018 and brought it back from Wilmington, DE to Dayton, Ohio.
The car has 73,000 miles on it and the odometer has not been reset during the 27 years of the restoration process, even thought it is virtually a new car today. The transmission shifts very tight. The engine is date code correct to the car’s build date, however I can’t say one way or another that this is the matching engine to the car. While debugging the car this past spring, I detected a rod knock in the engine that required me to pull the engine and have it rebuilt. The engine work was done locally at Ault & James. The rebuild included new valve job, new seals gasket, and bearings. The crank was ground along with the rods being reconditioned. I decided to go with a flat tappet comp cam with a little more duration to help the engine with midrange torque. The engine has the stock 735 Holley carb and exhaust manifolds. It has a factory Ford aluminum PI intake manifold on it that was ported to the original heads. The engine runs very nice since being installed in Sept 2019. The only thing this car does not have that was factory is the smog pump and other pollution pieces.
Though this car itself is very impressive from top to bottom, the documentation that comes with this car puts it over the top. My friend is very detail oriented, and documented everything about the car as it was being worked on. It has the deluxe Marti Report, build sheets, and info about all previous owners except the original owner. The interior is outstanding, with almost all original OEM parts. The one thing that was added to the car’s interior was a fold down rear seat that really adds to the sports car look of this car, when the seat is folded down.
Other add-ons over the factory are Koni shocks, Optima battery, 1970 rear sway bar, and modern 17x8 inch Magnum wheels and tires. I also have a complete set of original wheels and tires that go with the car. Although the car did not come with all the spoilers and louvers, they are all original Ford dealer parts of very high quality.
Although the paint “Indian Fire Red” (base coat/clear coat) is 20 years old, it looks very good. All of the chrome and stainless trim is perfect and original Ford parts.
When you drive this car it is a show stopper. It has that “nasty” in your face look that a 69 Mach-1 had, only more aggressive now. I did incorporate the SHELBY Drop into the upper A-arms to help give the car the stance it has. I also went with staggered tires front to back to match its Drag Pack heritage. This car has just started its new life at 50 years old. It is now ready for another 50 years of making the next couple of generations real popular at the gas stations and car shows. (Warning) Count on an additional 15 minutes to get out of the gas station from all the conversations and pictures.