Drivetrain | RWD |
Transmission | Top Loader |
Engine | 8cyl - 351L |
Fuel Type | Gas |
Interior | White |
Exterior | Blue |
Credited the last year of the "muscle car" era is this beautifully restored 1970 Mustang Mach 1. This was the first and best year to have a 351 Cleveland powerplant. This is a "M" coded motor meaning it was originally a 4 barrel carburetor with the higher 10.7:1 compression ratio. After 1970, stricter emissions requirements forced car manufactures to lower there compression ratios which meant significantly lower horsepower and torque outputs. You can read up more on the Cleveland motor in the paragraph below. This particular Mach 1 has been professionally restored to originality. The grabber blue exterior and white vinyl interior is a hot color combo. The undercarriage has been coated in a semi-gloss black paint and the suspension has been rebuilt to OE specs. The manual 4 speed shifts smooth as the torque monster 351c pulls the driver forward. The shaker hood and hood tach are an added WOW factor. The hood tach is very convenient for keeping your eye on the engine speed and the road. The 4 speed paired with the rear 3.25 gears make this an excellent highway cruiser. The bucket seats are very comfortable and the dash design on the Mach 1s are great. Overall, they made about 30,000 less Mach 1s in 1970 then the prior year and this is one of the nice restorations you will find!
351 Cleveland History;
Aside from shared bore and stroke dimensions as well as displacement, the 351 Cleveland was completely different from the 351 Windsor. Its block was lower and wider, and the engine was a bit heavier overall. The 351C replaced the 351W in the Mustang (and Mercury Cougar) for 1970, although some ’70 models received the Windsor two-barrel. The big story for the Cleveland was breathing. The cylinder heads were essentially plucked from the Boss 302, with minor changes. Ports and valves were larger than on the Windsor, and the valves were canted—that is, tilted in two planes, similar to the Chevy 396/427/454 big-block V-8. The 351C two-barrel used 2.04-inch intake and 1.65-inch exhaust valves; the four-barrel version had 2.19/1.71-inch valves (except the ’73, which used the smaller valves). For comparison, high-performance Chevy small block V-8s, including the 1970–72 Camaro Z/28’s LT-1, used 2.02/1.60-inch valves.
The 1970 Mustang offered two versions of the 351C, the H-code with two-barrel carburetor, and the M-code four-barrel, which also had higher compression cylinder heads (10.7:1 vs. 9.5:1), using closed—or quench-type—combustion chambers vs. open-type for the two-barrel. The two-barrel received the same 250-horsepower rating as the 1969 351W two-barrel, which also was tagged H-code.
Using a mild hydraulic cam and a relatively small 600-cubic-feet-per-minute (cfm) carburetor, the M-code was rated at 300 hp. It went into some 23,500 1970 Mustangs. In the Mach 1, it was a $48 upgrade over the H-code that came standard.