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This Page is to explain the whole Sadie thing. For those of you who haven't already figured it out. Sadie is what I've named my car. I've had it for awhile now and she's taken on her own personality. I didn't feel "Mach" or "Mustang" fit her that well anymore and one day the name Sadie came to me. It seemed to fit pretty good so it stuck. This page will be used to tell you the whole story about how I got her and what I've been thru with her and everything. So I'll quit jabbering up here and get to the story.
It all started a few years ago. I was in high school and was learning about all sorts of new things. Girls, cars, parties, and all sorts of other things were starting to take alot of my attention. Mostly cars though (girls usually ignored me anyways). I started learning all I could about all sorts of cars and trucks. Chevys, Mopars, AMCs, Fords, it didn't really matter to me then. Until I started learning about the mustang. The history and mystique of the original pony car is what finally took my attention away from every other car I'd learned about. I soaked in everything I could about them. I learned every body style and engine option for almost every classic mustang and whatever else I could dig up. I knew I had to have one, but how? I managed to get a job at the local Burger King (go ahead laugh) and was on my way. While I was saving for my beloved car I weighed my options. I really liked the 69 Mach 1s at this point but the 71-73s also really appealed to me as well as the 67-68s. I looked at a few around town and started thinkin people were nuts asking what they wanted for the rusted remains of anything I found locally. As time went by I realized that the popularity of the 69 Mach 1s would probably prevent me from getting one in decent condition for what I could afford. I started looking at 67-68 and the 71-73s next. I liked the classic pony look of the 67s but I felt I needed to be different. So when I had gotten enough money together I went scouring the countryside looking for the perfect one. Only to find more rust for too much green. "Damn," I was thinking by then. I decided what the hell I'll try online. I never had online, so I went to my friend's house and started searching classifieds. I searched the whole midwest thinking I wouldnt find that many and I was right. I looked thru them quickly, printing out ads and took them home to ponder my situation. I started calling numbers and what do ya know there was one in my state. And it was a Mach 1 :o) So I scheduled a time to go and conned Dad into driving my friend and I the 2 hours to go see it.
Well, we got there and talked to the owner about it, looked it over. Inside it was a mess, the seats weren't even bolted down and everything else was laying on the floor. The outside wasn't bad just had a few rust spots that needed attention. The test-drive was a trip with seats that fell over. I didn't pay any attention to the bad parts really, I was too busy seeing the potential. I loved the car, I just couldn't leave without knowing I'd be coming back to take it home with me. I negotiated him down to 2 grand, which sometimes I still think it was a little more than I should have paid. I didn't care, I was going to have it no matter what. We shook hands and agreed that I'd pick it up that weekend. I was pretty excited, I was finally gonna have the car I'd wanted. Anyways we got a trailor and my uncle towed it home for me with his truck. He only charged me gas money which was really cool of him. I got it home and dove right in. Forgetting to take pics right away so I can't show how it was when I got it. I contacted a parts guy thru a friend of my dads and got new seat tracks and had my seats bolted in right away. I tossed everything else in the garage, I just wanted to drive. I drove it through that fall before parking it for the winter and made plans to begin to help the car realize its potential.
I thought about it all for a long time before deciding what I was gonna do. At first I thought about rebuilding the 351 Cleveland that it came with from the factory. On the other hand, I wanted a ton of power, but didn't have the money to build a fire breathing small block. So I did a little research and came up with the perfect solution. I was going to build a budget big block. I would get my power and save some money, only sacraficing to have slightly more weight with the big block. Anyways, I looked for awhile trying to find the perfect motor to start with. I finally located a 1970 Lincoln Mark III. It had a pretty low mileage 460 rated at 365 hp stock and came with 10.5:1 compression. It also had the beloved D0VE-A block which with a little finessing can accept 4 bolt mains for future upgrades. Its basically the same casting as a SCJ 429 block without being machined for the 4 bolts. I bought the whole car for $600 and drove it home. It had alot of pep for such a boat. I pulled the motor and took it to a good machine shop, AAA Performance Engines, where alot of the work was done since I lacked the facility to put an engine together. It was bored .030 over, I bought a set of CJ rods and forged pistons, got a nice lumpy Comp 280H cam and the heads were completely rebuilt. The heads were ported and new everything was put in, including stainless valves and hardened seats, new Comp springs and retainers and locks. I put a weiand stealth intake on top with a holley to complete the build. While all the machine work was being done I was busy on my interior. I redid it entirely with new and used parts I'd acquired over the months prior. New carpet, door panels, and everything was redone in black replacing the hideous green that was original. About the time I finished up was when the motor was ready to be put in. It was set in with the rebuilt C6 but it wouldn't be spring till I could fire it up. Damn Michigan winters.
Spring finally came, but for a long time I was broke and couldn't touch it. But finally i got my chance and after a couple weeks of tinkering and wiring and everything I managed to finally hear the sweet sound of big block power. About a week after that I was driving her. Wow, what a difference too, lemme tell ya. I've been working out a few bugs here and there. Common stuff for new engines. Now she runs pretty good. I've blown a head gasket oce from overheating but thankfully it was only the gasket and shes back together running like a champ again. During the months I've gotten to drive her I've gotten to know her personality pretty well. Thats how she got her name and well... now you know the Sadie story. I'll update as soon as there's more. That's all for now.
