What did you do to your Mach 1 today

[Roady68]

So this was fun... took 2 hours vacation time off work this afternoon for an appointment with a Ford dealer to do an alignment now that the new springs are in.

Sat down in the waiting room and 5 minutes later the service advisor comes in and says sorry, we can't do it, it's too low and will scrape driving up the ramp onto the rack. Seriously?! You sell the car but can't do a simple freaking alignment? And couldn't tell me over the phone when I made the appointment?? Wasted 2 hours of time off!!!

Figured well I'm out now, might as well try somewhere else. Went to National Tire and Battery... nope.

Firestone... also no.

Local mechanic... said he'd do it but it would take about 3 hours to build up boards to get it off the ground enough for him to get under it. Yikes. No thank you.

Local Chevy dealer... another no. Said Corvettes aren't that low.

Finally found a local general mechanic who has a drive-on rack, taking it in a couple weeks.

Just a little warning for any of you with the handling package if you ever need an alignment.

I hate when you get somewhere and they say you can't do the work. However, I think the only thing using up your clearance is the lower splitter. Why not take it off. Sounds like they come off pretty easy. After all aren't they installed at the dealer at delivery? I don't have HP version but was thinking of the new springs to get a slight drop in stance.

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[JFALK68]

I hate when you get somewhere and they say you can't do the work. However, I think the only thing using up your clearance is the lower splitter. Why not take it off. Sounds like they come off pretty easy. After all aren't they installed at the dealer at delivery? I don't have HP version but was thinking of the new springs to get a slight drop in stance.

Yes, that seems strange to me, I took my Mach 1 with the handling pack and splitter to my local ford dealer. They had no problem doing the alignment and oil changes.

 

[Mikepol2]

I hate when you get somewhere and they say you can't do the work. However, I think the only thing using up your clearance is the lower splitter. Why not take it off. Sounds like they come off pretty easy. After all aren't they installed at the dealer at delivery? I don't have HP version but was thinking of the new springs to get a slight drop in stance.

Yes, that seems strange to me, I took my Mach 1 with the handling pack and splitter to my local ford dealer. They had no problem doing the alignment and oil changes.

Apparently a lot of shops have racks that you have to drive up ramps to get the car on, and many places put boards or other spacers in front of the ramps to get low cars up, but don't tell you that's how they do it. All the places I went to today that looked at the car said they didn't want to take a chance on damaging the splitter by doing it that way.

The splitter is attached with plastic rivets by the dealer at delivery. I drilled out my rivets and replaced them with rivnuts so the splitter can be removed, I would have done that if I hadn't found a place that would align it as-is.

 

[Gen 6 Mach1]

I took it one step farther, as I analyze everything , retired Technical Engineer(drive my wife nuts with the 6Ps , proper, planning , Prevents, Piss Poor, Performance)
I did a few things to prevent us from being stranded driving the Mach . First I purchased a spare tire from EZ spare and stock Mustang jack both from eBay And 2nd I made 40" ramps from 2x8 s (these fit in the trunk , also I test fit the rear tire and rim fits in the trunk ). And 3rd I purchased a tow strap with j hooks , all information from the Mach1 supplement , pages 31 and 32 .

I hope this helps guys with or without the front splitter, and all Mach owners without a spare. This spare was not cheap, but if you don't want to be stranded along side the road for hours or worse at night , it's well worth the money spent . At the very least make the ramps so the recovery driver can load you car on the flatbed, without ripping the splitter off the car , or pray you're tire is fixable by the supplied compressor and plug kit .

 

[I Bleed Ford Blue]

I got the AA spare for mine. It was around 430 for the spare and a new factory jack and handle. They sell two different spares for the mach 1, with or without HP, make sure you get the right one.

 

[Lucky13Cat]

https://www.americanmuscle.com/ford-performance-lowering-wsprings-1517-gt350.html
For anyone looking for lowering springs I can’t recommend these enough
About a .8”-.9” drop for a regular Mach 1 and about .3”-.5” for the HP. I know they’re not steeda so flame on
Car feels so much better

 

[Gen 6 Mach1]

What did I do today to my Mach1.
Well I received my spare tire from EZ spare . I was planning on the spare not fitting in the well , but to my surprise it fits . The stock jack under the center of the wheel and the hold down screws down to secure the tire .
I test fit the spare up front , being a 20 in wheel plenty of room around everything.
The rear and front tire / rim fit in the trunk ( not at the same time of course) .
Just thought I'd post ,,if any of you decide to purchase the spare Don't get the bag it's a one size fits all its huge . I did get it figuring it wasn't going to fit in the well and would of been in the trunk area . Price w/o bag $395 + $60 shipping+ your zip code tax rate .
I will be purchasing a 2ft breaker bar extension and 13/16 and ( 7/8 for wheel lock) sockets .

 

[BlkMach10510]

https://www.americanmuscle.com/ford-performance-lowering-wsprings-1517-gt350.html
For anyone looking for lowering springs I can’t recommend these enough
About a .8”-.9” drop for a regular Mach 1 and about .3”-.5” for the HP. I know they’re not steeda so flame on
Car feels so much better

The Trooper

 

[Whitedevil95]

What did I do today to my Mach1.
Well I received my spare tire from EZ spare . I was planning on the spare not fitting in the well , but to my surprise it fits . The stock jack under the center of the wheel and the hold down screws down to secure the tire .
I test fit the spare up front , being a 20 in wheel plenty of room around everything.
The rear and front tire / rim fit in the trunk ( not at the same time of course) .
Just thought I'd post ,,if any of you decide to purchase the spare Don't get the bag it's a one size fits all its huge . I did get it figuring it wasn't going to fit in the well and would of been in the trunk area . Price w/o bag $395 + $60 shipping+ your zip code tax rate .
I will be purchasing a 2ft breaker bar extension and 13/16 and ( 7/8 for wheel lock) sockets .

Thats awesome! Thank you for posting that. I will be purchasing one of these set ups for sure.

 

[MACHtobers Very Own]

I discovered a squeak in the 1-2 shift. )= It kinda sounds like styrofoam rubbing. Theres a few threads about 350 owners having it but has any mach owners experienced it?

It comes and goes. )=

 

[S550_GTCS]

Mine does that too, especially when its cold out. I think its the plastic reverse collar making noise. Hopefully someone else will know exactly what it is.

 

[MACHtobers Very Own]

Mine does that too, especially when its cold out. I think its the plastic reverse collar making noise. Hopefully someone else will know exactly what it is.

my collar is a upgraded metal one. )= its not the worst sound in the world but it was enough for me to go

"thats new...."

 

[S550_GTCS]

Well crap! LOL. I was hoping it was something simple. It's almost windows down season here in NJ, so I'll just ignore it all summer.

 

[RobZ71LM7]

Apparently a lot of shops have racks that you have to drive up ramps to get the car on, and many places put boards or other spacers in front of the ramps to get low cars up, but don't tell you that's how they do it. All the places I went to today that looked at the car said they didn't want to take a chance on damaging the splitter by doing it that way.

The splitter is attached with plastic rivets by the dealer at delivery. I drilled out my rivets and replaced them with rivnuts so the splitter can be removed, I would have done that if I hadn't found a place that would align it as-is.

You need to find out who local autocrossers and open track/track day/HPDE owners take their cars for alignments. Race shops will be able to do this and will do a much better job than dealers or tire shops. Dealers and tire shops typically have techs that can only adjust toe and only care about getting each measurement somewhere within the "green".

 

[Mikepol2]

It's now been a few days driving it on the GT500 front springs, and I have to say, THIS is how the HP cars should have come from the factory. A little stiffer than stock but that's to be expected, and I don't find it to be unpleasant at all. Handling in turns is so much sharper and flatter. The height seems to have settled down to be 1 inch higher than stock at the center of the front splitter, and around 1/2" or so at the top of the fender lip. The fender gap to me looks perfect because now it's more symmetrical around the tire. Also, there are 2 intersections at the bottom of hills where I scrape every time - not any more! The little extra front height plus less spring bounce = smooth sailing. Definitely would not want to go with the CFTP springs, they'd be way too stiff. Definitely recommend this mod. The install wasn't bad at all either.

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