NO REAL SURPRISES
The 1970 Mach 1 Mustang was visually different from the ’69, but there were no real surprises. The list of changes to the second-generation Mach 1 was fairly extensive and included some reshuffling under the bonnet. This was to be a year of firsts for Mustang, with the fabulous new 351-cubic-inch (5.8-litre) Cleveland engine, which was a heavyweight small block designed to perform like a big block.
What made the 351C (Cleveland) different from the 351W (Windsor) was its performance-enhanced heads, which sported huge ports and a big-time block Chevystyle canted-valve arrangement. Massively enlarged ports made for superior breathing and truckloads of torque. The performance petrolheads loved the new engine because it was capable of pumping out huge amounts of power with just a few performance tweaks.
The 428 Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet continued unchanged for 1970, with the same driveline options and axle ratios. This time, the optional shaker ram air bonnet scoop was available with all of the optional small block engines as well as the fire-breathing big block Cobra Jets.
Henry Ford’s bean counters had obviously been busy poking their sharpened pencils over the 1970 Mach 1, deleting the standard-styled steel wheels in favour of sports wheel covers. Gone were the decorative quarter-panel side scoops. Other changes made to the external imagery included redesigned Mach 1 graphics, with the car now sporting large extruded-aluminium mouldings with dark accents and die-cast ‘Mach 1’ letters along each of its rocker panels, protecting the paint and dressing up the body. Cosmetic revisions were also made to the paint and stripe accents, and the blackened bonnet treatment was reduced to a single, low-gloss black or white stripe fractionally wider than the non-functional standard bonnet scoop.
Other items to appear on the ’70 Mach 1 included dual colour-keyed racing-style mirrors and a competitionstyle pop-open petrol cap. A revised grille was added, with unique adjustable driving lights and a black honeycomb rear panel with restyled tail lights. Gone were the original-style bonnet pins and lanyards used in ’69, being replaced with a simpler twist-type hood latch.
Inside, the ’70 Mach 1 was virtually the same as the ’69, one of its main attractions, with the exception of a locking steering column mandated by federal law.