My 1971 429 SCJ Mustang Mach 1

Hi, my name is John Blair, and this is my web page on my 1971 429 SCJ-R Mach 1 Mustang. I recently went through a powertrain restoration on my car and thought it might be of interest to put an overview of my project on my web page. By the way, my sincere thanks to my friend Rich Pajzer, who constructed this web page for me!

Background Back in 1977, at the age of 17, I purchased my Mustang from the original owner. In checking the VIN at that time, I realized that the "J" engine code and 3.91 axle meant that this was a 429 Super Cobra Jet Drag Pack car. Unfortunately, the original owner had removed this powertrain for use in a project he had planned, and installed a 351 C instead. Although not the original engine, the 351 C has served my needs well for the past 22 years. Over that time, upgrades included a cam, 4V intake and carb, and 4.11 gears in the nodular 9" case. However, I have always had a dream to put the car back as it had been originally with the 429 SCJ. In March of 1998, I offically decided to take the plunge when I located a freshly rebuilt 429 SCJ from another `71 Mach 1 in Florida (I'm in Michigan). My car buddy Roy (who has helped me throughout this project) and I met the fellow with the engine at the Tennessee/Georgia border one night in April 1998 to pick up the engine. After that, I went through about 1 1/2 years of searching for all the parts needed to complete the restoration. It's truly amazing how many unique parts this particular engine requires and what a hunt it's been to either find (the correct Holley Carb) or custom create them (for example, the special C6 transmission used with the 429 SCJ). In April of 1999, I had all the correct parts (carb/dist/fuel pump,etc) needed to actually run the engine. I decided to have the motor Dyno'ed to have it broken in and tuned, making the installation into my car more of a turn key operation. I was pleased to find the motor (a stock rebuild) pretty much matched the factory horsepower ratings and ran very well. In July of 1999, I finally had the 429 powertrain complete and ready for installation. My 351C was pulled and the engine compartment was restored and painted. The 429 SCJ with C6 was dropped-in in October, and finally started on November 16, 1999! The culmination of 19 months work and a dream of 22 years! There are certainly additional things I can do to continue to restore my car, but my plans for next Summer are to basically have fun driving it and taking it to local Cruise Nights and maybe even it's first show. I hope you enjoy my Web Page!

This is me on December 18th, 1977, the day I got my Mustang.

Here is my Mustang with the 351 Cleveland in the engine comparment before I began the swap back to the 429 Super Cobra Jet-Ram Air Engine.

Arriving home with 429 SCJ engine after 22 hour round trip from Michigan to Georgia. My friend Roy is operating the hoist.

This 429 SCJ C6 was created from the long tailshaft 429 C6, and the short tailshaft 351 C6 shown. An "R" servo, extra clutch packs, and a cast iron tailshaft housing were also added to make the correct version.