Car owner: Mike Nittolo Words & photos: Clive Branson
There are cars that promise to deliver and cars that truly deliver. This is one of the latter. It is beastly fast, but handles exceptionally well for a big sports car.
If you want power, don’t let just anyone choose the size of the muscle – entrust the job to people who are football hooligans. In a way, that’s what Henry Ford III did when he selected Chevrolet’s General Manager, Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen, in 1968 as president of the Ford Motor Company, snubbing the man who everyone assumed was expected to fulfill the helm, Lee Iaccoca. Knudsen stole from GM his protégé, designer extraordinaire Larry Shinoda, famous for his signature designs: the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray and the 1967 Camaro Z28. Together at Ford, they produced muscle on steroids: the Boss 302, 429 and the Mach 1.
These were cars that snorted to life as loud as teenagers play their music. They were the antithesis of Iacocca’s vision of the original Mustang, a fun, light sports car that everyone from the office secretary to the CEO could feel comfortable owning. Knudsen made his reputation by producing performance-enhanced vehicles and there was to be no exception at Ford.
The 1969 Boss 302 was considered the epitome of muscle supremacy, road stability and popularity, but a year later, the peak of V8 strength was weakening due to a change in public opinion forged by a crippling oil crisis, hefty price tags and staggering insurance premiums. What emerged from this dire period was a car that rocked everyone’s expectations about Ford. Instead of something mild, meek and low-emissions, it was brawny, brash and about as subtle as a Wagnerian opera. It was the Mach 1 that sang to a 351 Cleveland V8’s tune, heavy on the bass.
The Mach 1 came adorned with black rear window slats and a black rear wing. The front grill received minor design cosmetic refinements – still blacked out, but with dual headlights mounted inside the grill and no emblem of Ford’s stallion. NASCAR pins were replaced with twist latches while thicker sway bars and heavier springs and shocks ensured better cornering. Standard on the Mach 1 was a fierce but cosmetic hood scoop that had integrated turn-signal lights mounted in the back. A more functional option was the signature “Shaker hood,” an air scoop mounted on top of the motor to direct and collect vital fresh air. Nevertheless, virtually nothing had changed from the 1969 version, except that the 351 Cleveland four-barrel replaced a rather long-in-the-tooth 390 FE series as an option.
Best of all, it preserved Ford’s racing bloodline with a 4-speed stick-shift attached to a Hurst T-handle and a 6,000 rpm rev limiter. Automatic wasn’t even a consideration. It was literally a racing car with a license plate.
“I’ve always been around machinery,” says Mike Nittolo, “and what red blooded man doesn’t dream of pure muscle cars?”
To put those words into perspective, Mike also owns some heavy-duty enticements: a 1965 AC Cobra that can rip the asphalt from the skin of the road and a 1951 Mercury M3 Custom pick-up truck that it so stunning it should be protected with a restraining order. “My future projects could be a 1967 Mustang Fastback GT500 Eleanor or a 1932-1934 Ford Coupe with fenders and running boards.”
When Mike purchased his Mach 1 V8 in Alberta, it had already accumulated mileage comparable to driving from Los Angeles to Boston and back. It was born in Michigan, raised in British Columbia and sold to its second owner in Alberta. As the car’s third owner, Mike found the car to be rough with quite a bit of rust.
“Initially, I was looking for a second project to build, but it became more than that,” he recounts. “Between myself and Norm, my father-in-law, who had recently retired from owning his mechanics/body shop of 50 years, we restored the car as a present for my wife.
“The Mustang was completely torn down to bare metal,” explains Mike. “All the rust was removed and replaced, including the floor pan, trunk pan, floor rail, front frame rail, torque boxes, door bottoms, new wiring, new interior and basically every nut and bolt. The 351c 4v, tranny fmx and diff 9 inch Trulok 3:25 was completely rebuilt. The motor was slightly improved, while the 4v heads were modified to a roller rocker set up like the 302 Boss – a bored 30 over with a 517 lift Howard cam.”
The hardest part was the paint job. “Yeah, we endured endless block sanding, trying to get it as perfect as possible. The car was maroon when I purchased it, but after I got the Marti report, I changed it to its original color – Grabber Blue. It took 5 months to complete and it was worth every minute of pain, sweat, cursing, blood, and in the end, relief and exhilaration.”
When Mike turns on the ignition, I feel the ground rumble. “It may drive like a ‘70’s car, but just listen to that music.” It’s demonstratively loud, and when Mike stabs the throttle, smoke erupts from the screeching tires. Mike yells over the noise, “That’s the way it should be – pure pleasure. I hope the future of classic muscle cars prospers. These are great investments and even better to drive and enjoy. We need to hold on to the old ways. They were great!”
