Exterior Color: Blue
Interior Color: Black
Transmission: C6 - Auto
Vehicle to be offered for Auction sale August 16th – 19th, 2014 at Russo and Steele's 14th Annual Monterey California Auction. Please contact us for more information.
1971 Mustang Sportsroof, VIN 1F02J107231
EXTREMELY RARE – ONE of ONE
This vehicle is factory equipped with the Ram Air 429 Cubic Inch V8 – 4V, Super Cobra Jet engine. The SCJ engine option is listed on the original build sheet for this car as the “R” engine. It is a factory C6 automatic with the original Drag-Pack option. Of the 13 Drag-Pack optioned Sportsroofs, this one is the only one built in the desirable Acapulco Blue color (Bright Blue Metallic).
Specifications:
•429 CID 4V, CJ-R, 8 Cylinder engine, Ford rated at 375 HP
•Select-Shift Cruise-O-Matic , C6 transmission
•F60X15 Wide Oval Belted, Goodyear brand tires
•Power Steering
•Power Disc Brakes, Front
•AM/FM Stereo Radio
•Tinted Glass-Complete
•Instrument Group (gauges: 8K tach, oil pressure, amp, temp)
Additional options included:
•Drag-Pack oil cooler assembly (extremely rare, P/N correct components)
•Fold Down rear Seat
•Center Consul with Clock (digital movement)
•15” Magnum 500 rims and P/N correct center caps
•Light Convenience Group (Under Hood Light, Glove Box Light, & Trunk Light)
The unique 429 V8 SCJ “R” engine and driveline includes the factory components:
•All engine & engine compartment decals and tags are factory correct
•Carburetor is the correct 780 CFM Holley – numbers and date code matching to the car
•Carter “X” High Volume Fuel pump
•Correct Aluminum Valve Covers
•Correct Exhaust Manifolds
•Correct Engine Lift Hook Brackets
•Correct NOS Exhaust “H” Pipe
•Correct Intake Manifold
•Correct “D0OE – R” Heads
•Correct 7 Quart Oil Pan
•Original buck tag still on the car
•The engine block is period correct, but internally does actually have the correct CJ/SCJ forged steel crankshaft and rods.
•The camshaft is an after market replacement, high performance hydraulic cam
•The correct fan, pulleys, and all smog equipment
•Numbers correct and fully restored 55 amp alternator with the CJ/SCJ hipo pulley
•The C6 automatic has the correct cast iron tail housing and the speedometer reduction module. The transmission was fully rebuilt to insure reliability
•Rear end is 100% correct with the ‘N’ case, 9” differential, 3.91:1 gears, 31 spline axles, and traction lock – all bearings and clutch packs are new. Correct staggered shocks & tow hook brackets
RESTORATION
A 2 ½ year restoration on this vehicle has just been completed this past April (2014). The resulting details are about perfect; including the panel fits and under car details. The car is an original Southern California, rust free car; was so straight to begin with, that only one pint of body filler was used. All the sheet metal is original to the car and correctly date coded. One exception is the driver’s foot box. This was professionally replaced due to the early build date of the car and the fact that Ford’s production line had not yet implemented sealing around the windshield wiper mounting at the cowl – this allowed water to run down the drivers side air vent and directly into the foot box: thus, rusting the floor. Even the front and rear bumpers, and hood surround chrome trim are the originals and date coded to the car’s build date. The paint used was PPG polyurethane, base coat, clear coat using the their solvent based products. The cars original color code (6, bright blue metallic; aka, Acapulco Blue) was matched up to PPG’s factory formula. The inside of the doors and quarter panels were thoroughly cleaned inside and sealed with Por-15 and additionally seam sealed. Most of the factory undercoating was removed from the under carriage. It was then epoxy primed and painted to the same perfection as the upper surfaces. The interior has received a full restoration from headliner to the carpeting. The door panels, arm rests and window cranks are still the originals. Even the seat belts and shoulder belts are the date code correct originals. All the brake components, wheel bearings and brake linings/pads are new from front to back. The undercarriage has been restored with all the correct factory component color codes.
Early History of VIN 1F02J107231
This Mustang was originally delivered to Anaheim, CA. And this is exactly the same city it was found in when the current owner purchased it in 1990. This particular 429 SCJ Drag-Pack car was heavily street raced in SO-CAL. Main goal with this car was to beat street MOPAR Hemis and any other unsuspecting muscle car of the period. The original owner must have been a piece of work himself, as the original engine block was blown up and no longer exists. I assume the original owner would either beat his competition in a drag race or blow up trying.
Historical Timeline - Traceable ownership is documented for the last 30 years:
07/13/1970 - Build order received at Ford.
07/14/1970 through 8/28/1970 - Built at Fords Dearborn manufacturing facility.
09/01/1970 - Build sign off inspection performed.
09/02/1970 - Released for shipment.
10/21/1970 - Purchased by original owner. (Original owner still unknown). Cal License Plate issued “436CCM”
1971 - While car was still under warranty it received a replacement, date code 01/71, carburetor sometime in early 1971.
1971 through 1984 - No recorded history found to date for this time period.
11/1984 - Purchased by Scott DeMarco, Anaheim, CA. Still had Cal license plate number “436CCM”. When Scott found the car it had been stored outside for 2 years and a previous owner had put '72 Mach1 stripes on the sides over the original factory blue paint. A Mach1 honeycomb panel had also been added to the rear tail light panel.
1984 through 1990 - Owned by Scott for this time period. Scott repainted the car red, he added the fold down rear seat, the consul, and added red velour inserts to the seats. When asked why he painted the car red, he answered "someone told me it would sell easier if RED". Cal License plate “2ZMC152” was temporarily issued to the car just prior to Scott being issued personalized plate “RARE 429” in 1989.
02/28/1990 to current: The car was found by the current owner, John Cleveland, while on a business trip to Anaheim, CA. (same general location it was originally delivered to in 1970). The car was advertised in the Orange County Register. It had original mileage of 105,871 upon purchase. The speedometer was replaced in 1996 with a reading of 107,138. Replacement was due to a broken button on the trip odometer. The replacement speedometer had a reading of 33,115 at installation.
Vehicle was in dry storage from 1990 until 2012.
Restoration commenced in November 2012 and was finished in May 2014.
General Background on Fords Final Muscle Mustangs – The 429 CJ & SCJ Mustangs
The 1971 Mustangs sporting the 429 cubic inch Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet engines were FORDs final answer to the escalating muscle car wars between the BIG three auto makers. These Mustangs were Fords answer to the domination of the MOPAR 426 HEMI street terrors. Directly off the showroom floor, the 429 Mustang was comparable to a 426 Hemi Cuda in quarter mile times of the day. On public streets the Drag-Pack optioned 429 SCJ Mustangs were definitely beasts. In typical Ford fashion during the muscle car era, Ford rated the 429 SCJ, with Ram-Air, at 375 Horsepower. Real horsepower estimates were between 400 and 450. The 429 powered Mustangs reigned for 30 years as the most powerful engine option available in a production Mustang. It wasn’t until 2003, when the 390 HP supercharged COBRA SVT Mustang was released that the 429 SCJ was out done in rated horsepower. There were only about 1800 of the 429 powered Mustangs built in 1971. Only 13 were Drag-Pack Sportsroof models; and only one was painted Acapulco Blue, that is our featured vehicle here, VIN 1F02J107231. The 429 Mustangs ceased production by mid-year 1971. Car insurance companies also played a major roll in bringing an end to the muscle car era. Ford capitulated under the pressure and, thus, dropped high horsepower vehicles from their line up in 1972. The 429 Mustangs are still competitive in certain drag racing venues. Most recently, the National Muscle Car Association’s FAST drag race category was dominated by a 1971, 429 Mustang that ran some incredible sub 10 second quarter mile times (FAST stands for Stock Appearing Stock Tire).