posted at the cohort by pikesta
Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder, at Mach 1
– Posted on March 22, 2020
posted at the cohort by pikesta
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Not everybody’s favorite Mustang year but this is the best color/stripe combination on them. I like the silver stripes so much more than the black stripes!
I had a 1/43 scale model exactly this car, and as a 10-12 year old who loved muscle cars I had actually considered the 71 Mach 1 the best looking of the classic Mustangs, and have long since deviated from since reaching adulthood. Seeing this makes me go back to my kid instinct when I stared at that model for hours on end.
I can’t complain about the car. A very good friend of mine had a 71 mustard colored one with the 351-4V Cleveland and a 4 speed. It was a very fast car as I had ridden in it and raced against it in my Cougar. The trip was watching a 6’5″ and 285 lbs.offensive lineman for SDSU get in and out. Oh, that front seat took a beating.
I think the feature car left the factory with a run-of-the-mill, standard 302-2V (or possibly a 351-2V) because of the lack of dual exhaust cut-outs in the lower rear valance panel.
Still a good-looking car (the argent paint and stripes are, indeed, nice), and with the lower performance engine, a much easier cruiser than one of the more maintenance-intensive, high-octane musclecars everyone seem to cherish. But it does need OEM wheels. Even standard steelies, dog-dishes, and trim rings would be an improvement.
And, considering the nearly horizontal rear window, that rear spoiler would come in handy, simply to judge where the rear is when backing up.
I liked these in an abstract way when they made their debut, however my opinion was likely influenced by the red Mach 1 featured in Diamonds Are Forever (one of the worst films in the James Bond series and certainly Connery’s worst). I also always thought the dog dish/trim ring was a really nice wheel.
Same with the late 1980s VW cap/ring combo.
My 1986 Jetta was identical to this car.
Clearly you haven’t watched “Never Say Never Again”.
Yes, please, thank you very much. My dream car. In this color, too. If I win the lottery, I will find one.
A 1973 Mustang was one of the first cars I ever drove, so I have a soft spot for these. I am a fan of these.
It just dawned on me what the Honda CRZ reminds me of.
Both imitate this…
I wish my father bought a 1973 Mustang instead of a Thunderbird, even if it was a Grande model. Our family would have kept it instead of selling it.
Also, I was just reminded of this, a customized Firebird w/most of the early 70s muscle car design features:
https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2020/01/08/hemmings-find-of-the-day-1984-pontiac-firebird-custom/
That looks awesome, with incredible craftsmanship inside and out. Reminds me a lot of the Mustang Milano concept car from 1970.
The front of the Milano looks like it could have been inspired by the front end of the 1969 Dodge Charger.
The roof certainly looks like what was used on the 1972 Gran Torino Sport fastback.
I’ve never particularly liked the Mach 1, but this is such a great picture of this car that I’m ready to change my mind.
Amazing styling. I would hate to drive one, but I love to look at it.
It took me a long, long, time to warm up to the styling of these Mustangs. The fastbacks look great in Mach livery and this color combo is fantastic. I even like the standard coupe with it’s roof buttresses. I still want to try my hand at customizing one of the coupes, sort of like what I did with my ’70. Luckily the coupes are still pretty affordable, but time is running out.
I also was never really a fan of these, but that is just cool. Does anyone know the type of wheel? I really like the look with the white letter tire.
I have driven this model in circles without trying every snowy day in Chicago and Colorado that I had it. Hard to see out of, and dangerous in bad weather.
I’ll take one to go.
Waking up this morning, still half asleep, I thought that looks a little like a photo I took..
Ive learnt a lot about the car in the comments section. In South Africa it so rare I might as well have been photographing a space ship.
I had a ’73 in the same or similar shade of blue that I bought in 1982, although it was not a Mach 1. I believe it had the lower HP 351 V8. It was not a bad car, but not at all exciting either. I don’t recall the view out the back as being as terrible as you’d think, but it was obviously no greenhouse! It did solid duty for me until late fall of ’85, when I bought a new ’86 Honda Civic Si hatchback (you can imagine how THAT felt after the ‘Stang)! I gave it to my brother and his wife got several more years out of it. About the best way to describe it was that it drove like a 70’s mid size car and felt mid-size; it had little to no sporting pretensions, which given that it was a Mustang, was kind of a shame.
Paint that Mach 1 Medium Yellow Gold (6C) and it would be a dead ringer for the Mach my friends Jay and then David owned in high school. Originally came with a 302, but it had a ’68 428 SCJ transplanted into it after that engine’s Mustang was wrecked by Jay’s older brother. It fit in there like a stock engine and was durable enough to be used as a commuter.
That’s the model with the manually adjustable rear spoiler, right? This car, like every other one I’ve ever seen, has it set to match the fastback’s contour. To my untrained eye, that looks like a wing, on the back of a car that’s already light in the trousers. Now I think I understand the meaning of your title. “Prepare for liftoff, rotate at 120 mph…”