Grandma's '71 Grande

DoubleC

DoubleC

Club Member
After 13 years of dormancy, I brought home my grandmother's '71 Mustang Grande. She's the original owner. Car has 50-something thousand miles. 351C 2V, AFX, funkadellic Grande luxury package, and yes it even has A/C.

After doing routine work when waking a dormant engine, the car started up and idled smooth. That's the easy part. Either the car will be sold as-is, I'll get it roadworthy and sell it, or I'll buy it.

Anyways, bask in the glory of its medium yellow gold paint and brown vinyl roof awesomeness.

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Thats badass..My first experience with muscle cars was one of these..Meangreen had a 73 grande with a 4v 351c..That was such a fun car..This one looks to be in pretty nice shape..
 
That is a sweet unmolested original I would fix what needs to be fixed and If it was Grandma's should keep it and enjoy it with the family.
JMO
 
Do your homework before pricing this if you sell it, originals like this get harder and harder to find :cool:
 
jtproudmarinedad said:
That is a sweet unmolested original I would fix what needs to be fixed and If it was Grandma's should keep it and enjoy it with the family.
JMO
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That would be my plan. I have the original wheelcaps and gas filler cap. I haven't found the original 14" steel wheels, yet. Grandpa was really good at keeping that stuff. If I become owner of it, I'd have to move the driver's seat back a few inches. As it stands, this car would be very uncomfortable for me to drive.



Joe said:
Do your homework before pricing this if you sell it, originals like this get harder and harder to find :cool:
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That's for my uncle to decide. Grandma is still alive, but he stands to inherit the car. He lives out of state. I agreed to fix/sell it for him. A few of grandma's neighbors have been inquiring about the car and making ridiculous low-ball offers. Now that the car is gone, they should leave her alone.


cjmatt said:
wow, that thing is rediculous. i dig it in a wierd way
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Yea, it's "unique". It still smells new, too.
 
Today I cleaned out the fuel system and changed the oil. I removed the gas tank, fuel sending unit, and vent. Then I drained, washed, and rinsed the tank with fresh gas. The inside of the tank is like new. I removed the fuel filter and rinsed it with fresh gas, too. I added 5 gal of new gas and some lead additive. I changed the oil, filter was a BITCH to get off, and added a pint of mystery oil.

After a few pedal pumps, the carb had gas. Hooked up the battery and fired it up. A lifter was stuck for a couple seconds. The car maintained a low idle and had good throttle response. The idle needs adjusting but I'll save that for when I do a proper tune-up.

After the car came up to operating temp, I drove around the yard with my son. He was beyond excited. The car has no brakes what-so-ever, so that's a project for another weekend. My mom told me tonight that my grandma wants to drive this car again before she dies. She's 88 so I'll get working on those brakes soon. :redface:
 
DoubleC said:
Today I cleaned out the fuel system and changed the oil. I removed the gas tank, fuel sending unit, and vent. Then I drained, washed, and rinsed the tank with fresh gas. The inside of the tank is like new. I removed the fuel filter and rinsed it with fresh gas, too. I added 5 gal of new gas and some lead additive. I changed the oil, filter was a BITCH to get off, and added a pint of mystery oil.

After a few pedal pumps, the carb had gas. Hooked up the battery and fired it up. A lifter was stuck for a couple seconds. The car maintained a low idle and had good throttle response. The idle needs adjusting but I'll save that for when I do a proper tune-up.

After the car came up to operating temp, I drove around the yard with my son. He was beyond excited. The car has no brakes what-so-ever, so that's a project for another weekend. My mom told me tonight that my grandma wants to drive this car again before she dies. She's 88 so I'll get working on those brakes soon. :redface:
Click to expand...


That's pretty cool. I love stories like this. Get those brakes done!
 
Well, this project is almost done. This car was really friggin' easy to work on. In the past few weeks I've installed:
- steel fuel lines (2-pc main and vapor line)
- steel brake lines including rear axle
- soft brake lines
- brake master cylinder
- wheel cylinders
- brake drums
- brake rotors, calipers, and pads
- transmission modulator line
- trans fluid, filter, pan gasket
- passenger side motor mount

The car rides pretty good. Floats like a heavy-ass '70s car but that's half the fun.

Still have a few things to do:
- replace exhaust from Y-pipe back
- replace alternator and PS belts
- check timing, adjust carb
- take grandma for a ride

No new pics as nothing cosmetically has changed. Wheels and tires are a low priority unless I find a deal too good to pass- like a set of late-model 17" 'stang wheels.
 
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