1971 Mustang Upgrades (All mechanical)

[@sombra6153]

Subframe connectors are a must for any Mustang up thru the Fox generation, even for daily drivers. Just tying the front and rear together makes a huge contribution to cornering abilities in an otherwise stock car.

[@olliehopnoodle4628]

Absolutely agree. It was one of the first things I did to my 73 convertible almost 30 years ago.

[@tonywestvirginia]

Man, Brings back memories of letting the car bumper compress the spring and securing coat hangers around them to put them back in !!! Thank God I am still alive!

[@AustinCoulson]

OMG. Coat hangers!

[@79antigua]

I had a 71 Mach when I was 17, I fixed everything on that car except the timing which I set by ear nice to hear you mention that.

[@georgeharleydavidsonrider156]

Beautiful Mustang

[@Phillv8]

In Australia our Ford Falcon front suspension was set up exactly the same until about 1989. The factory Ford tool worked exactly the same as what you have made except it was a slotted plate that slid in to the coil instead of hooks..... Lift spring, remove saddle, done... Nice set up there!

[@raymondhenkel927]

Austin 1) Love the videos. Such good stuff in every one. 2) That Mustang (Torino/Montego) spring compressor trick is absolute GOLD! I did the front end kit on my daughter's '69 Montego and installing springs with half a coil cut was still nerve wracking!! The way you did it is genius. I'm passing this on to my Ford buddies! 3) Nice to see another AZ car guy. Keep up the great work.

[@AustinCoulson]

Thanks for the kind words! How cool is it that your daughter drives a 69' Montego! What part of AZ are you in?

[@AlejandroP1980s]

Austin Coulson hey nice car I piece of advice the front mustang running horse is better if you switch it for a bigger running mustang like the ones in the new mustang looks way better fits with the car

[@olliehopnoodle4628]

The second time I swapped the coils in my 73 Mustang I figure out this trick. The first time was the first time I had ever used a spring compressor, I thought I was doing it wrong but as you said, it's just not designed to work well with a spring compressor.

[@Iann128]

Nice job! I have a customer that has 4 65-66 Mustangs, but they are all 200ci 6 cylinders. I have upgraded them to disc brakes. One is in the shop getting a rebuilt engine and trans right now. I wish I could video them to document them as well as you have.

[@AustinCoulson]

I have a weird love for those I6's always wanted to use some Australian crossflow heads on one. I wish I documented this build as much as I do my newer ones

[@josephjanecka5080]

Great vid, and ideas. I have '71 vert with 302. replaced much of the front and rear susp. Glad to see ideas for frame (subframe) stiffening!

[@raw123yt]

Nice job on the upgrade and nice video.

[@psychoholicslag4801]

The aftermarket balancers fit Windsors and Clevelands but they are marked to match the Windsor marker. They have the same imbalance and keyway but the timing markers are diffetent. The flexplates are the same too.

[@timsgta]

Awesome informative video tyvm

[@1972mercurycougar]

Great job! Love it!

[@jeeperskreepers6292]

Iv got a 71 aswell but still deciding if I should fix it up or trade instead don’t have much funds right now.

[@SD1fruitbat]

I'd like to see some beauty shots of the finished car, and maybe a comment from the owner about how much improved his car now is.

[@AustinCoulson]

I'll reach out to him to do a "part 2" video to that intro, that would be funny. We've been in one heck of a heatwave the last month so she sadly won't see much road time for the next month or so

[@mrgregory322]

Once we successfully solved the electrical EFI issues she has been running fine. Take her out a couple times a week. She is now as fun to drive as to look at. 👍🏼😊

[@jonanderson5790]

@@mrgregory322 You owe us a part deux. This is almost exactly how I'd do one, I want to do one for wife and me to cruise to my cancer treatment's in. And also, Thursday nights down main street :) Please, please, please. jon&marcia

[@VG-iq8xq]

Beautiful Mustang. I love the 71-73’s. Convertible is awesome. Great upgrades it’ll make it cross country driving a dream. Does the fuel injection help with exhaust smell? I would think so. It would be cool to see a comparison of mpg and tq/hp. In general I’m surprised Ford didn’t give the Mustang a triangular lower control arm by say 1970. The geometry just seems so much better with that design. But hey it’s still an awesome car!

[@AustinCoulson]

It helps, but its still a vented fuel system so it stinks up the garage

[@psychoholicslag4801]

Ford went to the lower arm like you're talking about in 74 with the Mistang II.

[@sandraherdman3783]

Did you take the stress off the doors before welding them ? That would suck

[@tnridgerunner]

At 15:45, what is that cab in the background off of? Also, welcome to Tennessee! Hope you enjoy it here.

[@AustinCoulson]

In the background is the Grumman I turned into a mobile bar, and in the back is the Crown Vic TT build. There are playlists for both if you want to see them get built

[@tnridgerunner]

@@AustinCoulson thanks, now I see it! The angle of the camera makes it look like the cab off of a military truck or some other kind of heavy vehicle.

[@GorillaCookies]

Balancers often shift due to the vulcanized rubber slipping and the shifting of the outer weighted ring, strut tower brace adds a ton of stiffening to the unibody of the early mustangs. Any strut tower unibody car benefits from them. The dreadfully annoying mustang squeak . I must have got a defective FITech system because I had nothing but trouble with it. Constantly losing tune and retuning . I went to Holley Sniper which many say is problematic but its been perfect . And Im no Holley Fan either.

[@AustinCoulson]

Good to know. This Fitech has been acting up

[@marianomruiz]

on the fitech what fuel pump did you use? Did you needed a fuel return hose? What brand are the subframe connectors and where did you get them?

[@relanejr]

Is the fuel injector computer used for initial set up or does it serve another purpose?

[@AustinCoulson]

The display is used to monitor the vitals and adjust parameters. It does not need to be plugged in while driving, once you get it set up and it is self learning the tune, you can unplug it. I like keeping it plugged in while driving so I can monitor as much as possible, but it does draw a little power even when the car is off so most guys unplug it once it's all set up.

[@josephjanecka5080]

Austin, looking for a replacement pancake motor for rear left window. I've tried rebuilding it, but fails. Armature burned out twice. Not using West Coast guys... they expect to give you a working motor. Anyway, this is a unicorn to me. I can't find one anywhere. I also found a supplier who has modern electric motor system for a manual conversion, but that requires manual window guides (which of course are not in this car). Any ideas where to look or what to do? Thanks so much!

[@AustinCoulson]

sorry, but I only know of the west coast guys.

[@forgetaboutit7440]

when can I bring you my 1971 mustang?

[@briankelly9872]

Just ran across this video, how much space should the bump stock have? My 73 mach 1 has same problem....

[@AustinCoulson]

seems like that generation Mustang has almost zero room before it hits the bump stops

[@StraightLineCycles]

Tell me your thoughts...my idea is body swapping a 72 grand torino body into a 2003 ish crown vic. Both have very similar wheel base. Always been a dream build of mine.

[@AustinCoulson]

I think the rear suspension will be the most difficult part. I imagine you'd have to really gut the interior sheet metal on the 72 to make the watts linkage fit. I'm sure youve seen guys do f100/crown vic swaps and the bed is always the hardest because you have to add a hump in the bed, or make a false bed over the suspension. I wonder if you could swap just the front suspension onto the GT?

[@StraightLineCycles]

@@AustinCoulson I wonder if leaving the floor in the Crown Vic and cutting the floor out of the Torino would allow the 2 to merge better. Hmm🤔

[@psychoholicslag4801]

The panther chassis is a unibody and the Torino is body on frame with quad arm rear suspension. They might fit better than you think.

[@1972mercurycougar]

Yes!!!

[@flashphones5970]

Quality content bro! is this your first time being a KZbin creator?

[@AustinCoulson]

Thanks, I have been making videos since Jan, but only weekly for the last few months

[@davidfowler1523]

Someone had put the wrong rag joint on if it did not have the interlocking pins. Also looks like you are not familiar with how to properly lift a mustang. If you check any Ford manual or a Chilton's manual, they all say to block the travel of the upper control arm. If you do not it crushes the upper shock rubber. Also, can split the radius rod rubber and can also destroy the ball joints. I have nine 72 & 73 mustangs six verts. They are cheap. The harmonic balancer was probably slipped the outter ring the rubber rots and they spin, common thing.

[@benjisterchi5195]

You’re 100% correct. At 18 bought my first Mustang, 73 Grande. Second one was a totaled 71 Mach 1, stripped out gauges, wiring harnesses, suspension, differential, interior and body panels. Fall of 1982 drove to the Worlds Fair in Knoxville Tennessee from Pembroke Pines Fla. Car drove like a dream after swapping out the 73 parts for the 71 Mach 1 parts. Just keep them alive regardless of the year Mustang you have.

[@1972mercurycougar]

So is that the quick variable ratio Saginaw box for ford?

[@AustinCoulson]

It is indeed

[@1972mercurycougar]

I have had (5) 71-73 Cougars. My Mom got me hooked. She had 1 71 new, and a new '73. I know these and the Mustangs don't get much love. But I really dig them. I think they drive great too. Q code Cougars, got the good Steering box. 351C , is such a sweet engine, when there right and tight. Loved your video, love to see more.

[@jll2k1us]

If that's truly a 351C-4V, some variants can put out around 375 BHP. I'm sure it's a bit less with stock ish exhaust and air cleaner but it's likely quite a bit more than Ford rated it.

[@AustinCoulson]

HP ratings on cars back then seemed like they were all over the place. I would like to see what this car puts down on a dyno to the wheels

[@sombra6153]

1971 HP ratings were ‘gross.’ 72 or 73 Ford switched to net ratings. The 71 R-Code Boss 351 with solid cam & 11-1 pistons was in reality good for 375+ if assembled to actual factory specs. The. There was an M-code which if memory serves was a 300 HP carry-over from 1970 that had a little less compression and a hydraulic cam. Next there was a 351C 4V and finally the common 351C 2V. For 72, the Boss got strangled down to 275 with 9.5-1 compression, and the 4V became the Q-code Cobra Jet for 266 net HP.

[@olliehopnoodle4628]

I am going to guess it probably isn't a 4v. That air cleaner setup is wrong for the Ram Air. So I would guess the hood was swapped on and the sticker added. I have a 73 convertible and I swapped the hood to the snorkel style but didn't add ram air since it won't work with my setup.

[@benjisterchi5195]

@@sombra6153Close to correct on your comment

[@benjisterchi5195]

Plus, where’s the tachometer the Mach 1 and Convertible’s came with? The 3 center gauges are there…

[@rigobertomorales163]

I like the color 👍 can you give me the color name and code

[@AustinCoulson]

I actually do not know what color this is. It was originally white with a blue interior so it's unclear exactly what paint was used

[@AlejandroP1980s]

You from spain you look spanish if you don't mind me asking

[@AustinCoulson]

I'm from Arizona. Acording to 23andme I'm mostly Irish

[@lilibethdoherty295]

The Morale of this story is do not buy anything from Barrett- Jackson unless you want a cobbled together worn out static display car !

[@AustinCoulson]

Just like any other auction, it is hit and miss. Some of the vehicles are really well built, and some are rough. Always be there for the cold start the day of the auction!

[@damianbrennan2258]

I would have fitted rack and pinion much better 😃

[@billhinkle1653]

Another Mach none video. There never was a Mach1 convertible, and just for starters, all that chrome chit on the front end is all wrong.

[@AustinCoulson]

Who said this was a mach 1?

[@olliehopnoodle4628]

@@AustinCoulson You certainly didn't call it a Mach 1 in the video. The front grill was used on the Mach 1 but I believe it was also available with the decor group. The hockey strips are usually considered part of the Mach 1 but were available on all models. The rear wing, well, that was only available on the Mach1 and perhaps as an option on the fastback. Some people love them on the convertibles, others don't. For me it depends on the car color and if the wing is black or color coded. My 73 convertible is Ford Light Blue, a spoiler would look weird. On this car, with that color and the spoiler matching, it looks good. I am not sure about the availability of the front spoilers on Non-Mach1 bodies. I went looking for my 'Mustang Red Book' but can't find it. The ram air setup is not as it would have come from the factory. The scooped hood and ram air were options for a convertible. So, yeah, someone probably took a convertible and added some of the available options, swapped the hood, and added the wing, but they didn't put the stickers that read 'Mach 1', so I think it was tastefully done.

[@fairlane19641]

Tah

[@nickbonvino]

So much for Barrett-Jackson selling decent cars.....

[@v1-vr-rotatev2-vy_vx31]

This guy's got a lot more to learn about engine timing..

[@tinytrax1978]

A 71 mustang is not a muscle car

[@AlejandroP1980s]

Timothy Mccartney why not

[@AlejandroP1980s]

Timothy Mccartney and Shelby and mustang not the same but similar

[@ghostup101]

That’s blasphemy!!

[@1972mercurycougar]

71 Boss 351, and '71 429 cj Mustangs, are definitely muscle!

[@timsgta]

Awesome informative video tyvm