1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 with a 351 Windsor V8, 4 barrel and 4 speed

1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 with a 351 Windsor V8, 4 barrel and 4 speed

Every now and then a car comes up for sale that just exemplifies everything I remember about the early American muscle car era and this 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 is about as good as it gets. This particular car is equipped with the 351 Windsor V8, 4 speed transmission, it’s red with a black interior and it’s beautifully restored.

The cars we drove not the cars we dreamed about
1970 Mustang Mach 1 magazine adThere were faster cars at the time and everyone talks about the Hemi Cuda, the 454 Chevelle, even other Mustangs like the 428 Cobra Jet, but this Mustang is a much better example of those years because they were everywhere, it was an affordable car. An L88 Corvette, a Yenko Camaro or a Boss 429 Mustang would show up now and then, but Mustangs like these were far more common. A young man then may have dreamed of those ultra rare big block monsters, but oddly enough, when those same guys look back from today, they remember the cars they actually owned and raced, the cars they had when they picked up their girl for a date.

Fast cars, simple engines and cheap gas
If you were around then, you listened to the Beach Boys or Creedence Clearwater Revival on the radio, or maybe a Motown hit while you cruised to the rumble of that small block V8. If you opened the hood, there was an engine you could work on. No fuel injection, no electronic ignition, no computer control, it was a four barrel carburetor, points in the distributor and a tankful of leaded gasoline. If you were headed for the strip you might spend a few dollars and top up with Sunoco 260, and that few dollars bought a lot of gas.

1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 with a 351 Windsor V8, 4 barrel and 4 speed

1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 with a 351 Windsor V8, 4 barrel and 4 speed

A big change was coming
Of course, though most of us didn’t fully realize it, this car, like all of the other 1970 models, was one of the last signposts marking the end of an era. The very next year, 1971, automakers were required to add smog control systems to their engines to reduce pollution and without today’s technology they struggled to figure it out. Most of their first attempts were crude and we faced a period many of us would prefer to forget. Low compression engines brought on by unleaded gasoline, EGR systems with all of those pumps and belts, robbing horsepower when there was none to spare, brought us cars that looked the same on the outside, but under the hood, it was a maze of hoses, mysterious boxes we had never seen before and all sorts of extra hardware that left most of us longing for the old days.

1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 engine compartment, nothing more than what was necessary

1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 engine compartment, nothing more than what was necessary, no smog controls, no computers, an engine you could work on.

Looking at this Mustang brings back simpler engines and simpler times, it’s funny how a car can do that. If you remember those days like I do and you’re looking for something to relive a few of those moments, even if it is only on the weekends, a Mach 1 like this one would be a great choice.

Link: 1970 Mustang Mach 1 on eBay

Many more Mach 1 Mustangs for sale here

6 readers have commented, what do YOU say?

Robot trucks in a Rio Tinto mine

Robot trucks in a Rio Tinto mine

Several huge mines in Australia, where ore is shoveled into giant dump trucks, are now running those same trucks without drivers. Both BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, are purchasing more of these self driving giants from manufacturers Komatsu and Caterpillar. The gigantic trucks, 2 stories high and 500 tons fully loaded, shuttle back and forth following the orders of automated equipment instead of a driver in the cab. These six million dollar driverless behemoths, are one more instance of humans being removed from what was once an essential position, but one that is now a target ripe for automation as technology increasingly replaces what are sometimes high paying, but are often low skill, repetitious jobs.

Google may get all of the publicity with self driving cars racking up thousands of miles on public highways, but these trucks show drivers are not quite as essential as many used to believe as more instances illustrate the ease with which drivers become sidelined. It is beginning to appear that driving may quickly become one more pleasant pastime or hobby while chores such as commuting to work, even if in a separate individually owned vehicle, are something an owner can hand off to a computer while spending those minutes and hours more productively engaged.

The engineering and innovation that enables these cars and trucks to navigate public highways and massive mines is fascinating to the technology buff, but they bring with them a forewarning of a future where the motorhead may see his love of cars become an eccentric passion and his desire to drive a quaint throwback to a time when people used to drive themselves everywhere. Imagine that!

Link: The Australian via FuturePundit

3 readers have commented, what do YOU say?

Ford flathead V8 with Ardun heads - rendering by Bo Zolland of Vizualtech

Ford flathead V8 with Ardun heads – rendering by Bo Zolland of Vizualtech

Several years ago, I came across some really fine renderings of a Ford F100 pickup by Bo Zolland of the Swedish design firm Vizualtech. It was a striking design that was destined to make the leap from the computer screen to the street because a client in San Diego decided it looked too good to remain nothing more then a computer visualization. I seem to remember a follow up article somewhere showing the truck in progress, but I don’t know if it was ever completed.

Gurney Eagle racer - rendering by Bo Zolland of Vizualtech

Gurney Eagle racer – rendering by Bo Zolland of Vizualtech

The thought occurred to me to see what Bo has been up to lately at Vizualtech and it looks like he’s been hard at work. I’m a big fan of renderings of older classic cars because you can show amazing detail, sometimes better than if you had an actual photo. It’s obvious Bo likes American classic muscle cars and racers, too, since he’s done so many and I had a lot to choose from when selecting a few to show you what he does.

Chevy Impala stock car racer in the garage by Vizualtech

Chevy Impala stock car racer in the garage by Vizualtech

Ford flathead engines, old Chevy stock cars, a Gurney Eagle racer, they all look good to me, but he does a lot of other work, too, he’s done quite a few boats, engines of all types, even tractors. It’s the kind of thing that makes you want to learn how to do this sort of thing yourself. If only I had the time …

Link: Vizualtech

Mercury Cougar racer

Mercury Cougar racer

1 reader has commented, add yours now.

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