The vehicle pictured above is more than a car. It’s my family’s history, it’s my history. It’s the first date with my wife, my first oil change, and my first wrench turned. To really accurately capture the essence of what this car means to me would take more words than I care to share; therefore, on this 50th anniversary of the Mustang, and my birthday, I’ll share a few highlights.
Being born on April 17th, and coming from a Ford family, I was destined to be a Mustang owner. My maternal grandfather, Victor, bought the Mustang for my mother on October 1, 1968, making him the fourth owner in that short time period. My Mustang was scheduled for birth on April 2, 1965, and the local Ford dealer sold it on April 8th, according to the original owner’s manual. That dealer still exists–I bought my 2012 Focus there.
Mom drove the car for about seven years before the rust became bad enough for her and my dad to park it out at my paternal grandparents’ house, ungaraged, for another 10 years. Mom and Dad bought a brown ’74 Pinto to replace it, which had to feel like a real step down.
Dad occasionally started and drove the Mustang, and at four years old, I was actually afraid of the noise and refused to ride in it…not a good start to a long-term relationship! Mom and Dad had the car towed back home in about 1985, where it sat in a neighbor’s garage until they allowed me to start tinkering with it in 1988, when I was 11. The next year, when this picture was taken, Mom told me that if I wanted to fix the car up, I could have it.
It’s still the best present I’ve ever gotten from anyone. I already loved cars more than anything else, but it gave me an education. I learned cars by breaking just about everything one could imagine. And it all started that summer in 1988, when I sat behind the wheel, dreaming, and finally starting a long dormant 289 with a rotted exhaust system.
In 1991, my bowl haircut, my dad, and I finally started tearing the extremely rusty car apart to redo it. Dad was a shop teacher, so he did all the welding, and there was miles of it. We both learned, and we both made mistakes. By the time I started driving it in 1994, it didn’t have the straightest bodywork, but it served me well for 12 years and tens of thousands of miles before I decided to redo it again.
Here I am at 20, going out and looking stupid with my friends. We’d go to the casino, smoke cigars, and generally look like idiots. I drove the Mustang everywhere, and was largely unafraid to park it, drive it in the rain, and sometimes even leave it out in the snow. On October 2, 2000, thirty-two years and one day after Vic bought the car for my mom, I took my would-be wife out to lunch in it, 30 minutes after I met her.
In 2006, my wife and I took the Mustang on a 400-mile road trip, and I came home and tore it apart again. It needed new sheetmetal all over (even though this picture of it looks good), a process which took me four years, working around my other cars.
I installed new quarter panels, doors, fenders, cowl sheetmetal, and a thousand patches I made by hand. The new sheetmetal did not fit very well at all, which added to the time I took finishing the car.
I still managed to have some fun with my pride and joy while it was under construction, but the day after this picture was taken, I pulled out the driveline for the duration.
Things progressed bit by bit, and when I got tired of metalwork and bodywork, I moved on to one of the other cars, which always need work themselves. While all this was going on, I bought the Corvair and had the engine in my ’53 Buick rebuilt. I farmed out the Buick’s engine because my garage was no place to be building an engine at this time.
Eventually, I put the original engine and transmission in, because they ran well when I pulled them and they had years of reliable service behind them.
In 2009, my dad and I chemically stripped the Mustang, I gave it an epoxy coating, and I put it away for the winter. You can see the added metal at the bottom of the door and the slice I had to take out of the left quarter to make everything fit.
After getting most of the bodywork ready to go, I decided to have my bodyshop friends paint the car for me. They do good work at reasonable prices, and they’re just cool guys, so it was off to paint, finally, in 2010.
She came home looking better than ever, ready for me to put everything back together.
I had reupholstered the seats over the winter, so my wife got the bodyshop mess all cleaned out and I set out to install the headliner, carpet, and everything else.
It came out looking pretty good, good enough, at least, for my quality of driveable car.
I managed to take an “odd couple” photo or two of my unlikely garage mates.
I christened my long dormant friend with another 400-mile road trip, to the same area I had driven it just before I ripped it apart back in 2006.
Soon after I started driving the Mustang back in 1994, pitted valves killed cylinder #8, but I managed to find a set of salvage yard 289 heads for $100. My engine had a hard 61,000 miles on it at that point. Those heads lasted until 2012, and 134,000 miles, when the #8 exhaust valve recessed to a point where that cylinder again ceased to fire. The engine was tired enough that something needed to be done, so I tried a used engine that lasted 300 miles before scuffed pistons mysteriously brought a halt to that experiment. I like to think that the car rejected its heart transplant.
It had already been a bad year for the car, as its transmission finally failed just months before. I had a local shop rebuild the original C4 for me over the winter, and I reinstalled it months before my engine problems. In 2013, after removing the used engine, I sent that engine’s 351 heads out to be checked over at the machine shop, and sent my 289 block in for machining. It came home in time for me to assemble it and still enjoy the car for a few months last year.
A coat of paint makes everything look new.
Car and engine, ready to meet again.
Thus, I’ll end where I began. I have driven this lovely automobile more miles than anyone else in the world has, and am the sixth official owner; in fact, it’s only had three owners in the last forty-six years, fewer than it had in its first three. The owners included my grandpa, my dad, and me. Mom still loves to ride in her old car, and I still love, love, love to drive it whenever I can, even if it now has to share a garage with a bunch of other cars.
Forrest Gump said, “I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is.” I do too. This little commonplace old car is my past, present, and future. I am more proud of it than I am of anything in the world. This may be a cliche week to be celebrating it, and a cliche day, but this car symbolizes me and all that I am and all that I am capable of. It, quite simply, is the most important inanimate object I’ll ever know.
Great story Aaron. Thanks for sharing.
Great story man!
So honestly, how hard was it to do quarter panels? I only ask because I am in need of doing them and have been going back and forth on it for years on if I should try to tackle it myself or not.
It was only hard because of how poorly they fit. All the reproduction sheetmetal is Taiwanese, and some is better than others. If I had to do it all over again, I would only skin them, because the whole quarter was a real struggle. The right one was too short, so I had to reflange it, and the left one was too long, so I had to section it. The new wheelwells were kind of fat, which is why you can often tell when a Mustang’s had new quarters–it looks hippy, which is why you can see hammer marks in them.
I can only wish there was repop sheetmetal available for my cars.
Ain’t THAT the truth!
I’ll second that opinion for everything but the Mustang and, to some extent, the Corvair. Darts and Buicks…ugh, not so much!
An excellent story! Your 26 years of patience and hard work sure paid off. Nice car too, those are my favorite Mustang hubcaps.
You really bucked the odds, how many “Teenager gets old car” stories end with expensive heartbreak? (Mine did, I’ll write the COAL someday)
Thanks for sharing that, I hope your family has many more happy Mustang years.
Very nice. I’m impressed with your capabilities.
+1
I can do some mechanical work, especially on 50 year old, relatively simple cars. I lack the skills, and the patience, to do body work. It is reallly cool that you still have a car that your grandfather purchased for your mother, kudos to you sir.
+1
Excellent story!
Great story. In conjunction with the 50th anniversary Ford should do a commercial series on the generation to generation Mustangs. I know there’s a lot of stories like this out there. PrincipalDan has a similar story
Your story really put a smile on my face. Nice car and a great story.
Too good. The photo of that strippo moseying down the street wins the prize.
It’s not “moseying” (?!), it’s smokin’. Agree, awesome snap.
I love the previous shot, with the rear qtr panel gone. Makes it look simple to do some repairs.
Nice job and thanks for your story Aaron.
Indeed a great car and story! Congratulations!
(Anybody else getting side bar ads today offering used Mustangs at your local Ford Dealer? Crazy how that all works. I don’t think it is just the CC effect.)
Great story! You’ve done an excellent job with it. I like the looks of that Corvair too.
A wonderful story. You have really done yourself proud with this car. Like some others, I am really impressed with your abilities and with your resolve to stick with it over the long haul.
That color combo is a favorite of mine. The Vintage Burgundy (I think) always looked sharp with that parchment interior. Is the newer paint a lighter color of burgundy? It looks different from the color on the car in the older photos, but it might also be the pictures.
You are sure making me wish I had kept my 68 hardtop. Oh, and happy birthday.
Thanks!
It is a little lighter than the original color. I didn’t do that on purpose…I think the guy who painted it mixed it a touch off. No big deal, I like it better now.
Aaron,
Happy birthday and best of luck with the Mustang. I like it!
Here is a picture of the ’68 hardtop my father once owned. By early 1977, which was when the photo was taken, years of driving in salty Vermont winters finally did it in. However, the 200 straight-six and 3-speed manual faithfully soldiered on – Dad has always referred to the combo as a “tractor drivetrain.”
Every car has a story, but some are a lot more compelling than others. Thanks for sharing yours.
Wonderful story and Happy Birthday to you! You guys that manage to hold on to cars forever are inspiring to me, hopefully one day I will do the same.
An excellent story, thanks for sharing and happy birthday Aaron! Sounds like there are a lot of parallels in our automotive experiences. I’m hoping to have my Windsor “done” by the time it turns 50, two years from now. We’re almost the same age too.
thanks for a great read and pictures Aaron.
Happy birthday, it must be something special to have one car in your family all those years, and you’ve done a good job of keeping it in shape. It’s nice to see one of these cars completely unmolested.
Thanks for sharing your story — it’s easy to see why that car means so much to you. It’s a beauty too. Vintage Burgundy is a beautiful color and the parchment interior is white enough for me to call it perfect.
Reading stuff like this is not only enriching, but motivating.
Great story, Aaron. Reminds me of my own journey with the ’64 Impala. I have not done any of the body work on Betty, and when it came to rebuilding the engine in 2000, I mostly handed a friend wrenches, held things in place and cleaned parts while he did all the work involved in pulling the engine and putting it back in. But there was still satisfaction in helping revive Betty’s 327, which still runs perfectly nearly 14 years and 75,000 miles later.
Like you, I will always have and love my classic car. Betty is part of who I am.
I’m a die-hard Chevy guy, but I make an exception for Mustangs. Enjoy yours.
Happy birthday! Fantastic story.
Nice car, great story, well done. Love that you’ve managed to keep the 289 and C4 for so long, I’ve seen early Mustangs with everything from hopped up I-6 to 4.6 ltr V8s pulled from wrecked early 2000s GTs.
And Vintage Burgundy is THE color for any Mustang prior to the “grande” models.
Enjoyed the story and the pics, thank you. Would love to hear more about the Corvair.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/auto-biography/coal-1965-chevrolet-corvair-monza-convertiblemoney-pit/
There you go!
Don’t know how I missed that the first time it came out. It’s a beautiful car. My Dad had a ’63 Monza white with red interior. Loved the engine sound on that car.
Awesome story, Aaron. As another who has had one car in his life for a looong time, I am glad to hear you have put so many enjoyable miles on yours.
I also admire your ability to take a very rusty car and revive it as you have. Terrific job!
Thank you all very much…I WAS, however, a little smarter on my other three. The Dart, the Skylark, and the Special have minimal rust compared to this.
Dude. Awesome story and a great read! This is what makes cars not just some ‘transportation device’ as opposed to a part of our lives. I hope that ‘Stang stays in your family forever.
So have you ever considered putting the hubcaps in mothballs? I wouldn’t get rid of them, since theyre all original…but if that car were mine, it would be rocking Magnum 500s, a set of grey torq thrusts or slot mags. If that car were a more ‘feminine’ version like a powder blue ragtop then those wheelcovers with whitewalls would be right at home. As a V-8 hardtop in a dark color theyre a bit out of place. The RWL tires definitely would pop on a set of mags.
I’ve tossed the idea of Torq Thrusts around, but my wife likes the spinners on it…they’re also cheaper, and with four other beaters hanging around the garage, that’s no small consideration!
A great story about a great car. Some cars are simply appliances that get you from point A to point B, and other take on a life and a personality of their own. Your Mustang is a classic example of that, and I salute you for all your efforts in keeping it running and looking great.
Wow, now that’s a COAL! Thanks for sharing this. Great story.
Great story. Since they were contemporary competitors, I would be very interested in your viewpoints on the Mustang versus Corvair. Which one do you enjoy driving most? How do they compare in terms of fuel economy, handling, comfort, etc.?
http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/an-owner%E2%80%99s-perspective-1965-mustang-vs-corvair?et_mid=562054&rid=1996984
I did it already!
I must say, however, that with my recently rebuilt 289, I’m only pulling down 12-15 MPG in mixed driving. I’m not happy with the low speed circuit on my Edelbrock 600, and I’m about to put a Quick Fuel Slayer on it. It’s only got 1000 miles on it, too, so hopefully it loosens up a bit.
Great write up and also a great log of the restoration of your Mustang! Like you, I had a 65 Mustang as a project car before I could drive legally. It also was was a car that I restored sort of when I was 16 through 18, and now am in the process of doing again at 40, now that I have the skills and patience to do it right. Thanks for sharing and great work on both the Mustang and the Corvair!
Thanks for the great story Aaron. My first car was a beater 65 Mustang hardtop. I love old Mustangs and I am impressed with your patience and skills.
I hope you keep that car in the family forever. What a great story. Reading what it takes to keep an old car together in the “rust belt” makes me really appreciate the effort it takes compared to west coast where rust isn’t an issue. The car looks great. And the ‘time capsule” pictures are priceless. The Corvair is a beauty too, it would be hard to choose one over the other if I had to pick one as a keeper. Of course, for you the only choice would be the Mustang.