My First Mustang

It was in September of 1966.  I was 18 and had my first real job and I got my Dad to take me car shopping.  Man was I car crazy!  I still remember the red 65 Mustang we found on one used car lot.  It had a 289 with a 4 barrel, an automatic tranny and red interior; and only 9K miles.  I didn't really want the automatic, I lusted for a 4 speed,  but boy was it a pretty car!  A real Ford muscle car.

I didn't get the Mustang.  My father convinced me a Chevrolet Impala was eminently more sensible so I decided to be an adult and go conservative.  I always regretted it.

Later in 1967, I looked at a 1966 Mustang with the Pony interior.  A beautiful medium blue with a 289 and a 4 speed.  It was exactly what I wanted but I knew I would soon be part of Uncle Sam's establishment and the timing just wasn't right - nuts!

I joined the USAF in 1968 and for 4 years I was "government issue".  I still dreamed of owning a Mustang someday but just never seemed to have enough money or the right timing (or both) to pull it off.  I was married and the wife didn't care for "hot rod" cars and besides it was too small.  Yeah, I know, I was a wuss!

Time passed, I left the military and got a civilian job and settled down.  The Mustang dream never left me although I did manage to push it into the far recesses of my brain.  Then 1974 came and I went down to the local Ford dealership to see the newer, smaller Mustang II.  It was like a really bad blind date surprise!  Ugly with a capital Ugh.  OK, sorry if the '74 to '78 was your thing but I could not contain my disappointment with Ford.  I felt like something beautiful had just died (and it had in my opinion) and my heart was heavy as I drove back home.

I was in El Paso, Texas when I saw my first 1979 Mustang.  At least it looked like a Mustang.  I drove one and was impressed although 255 cubic inches didn't sound like much of a V8.  For some reason, I just could not convince myself to buy it.  Some how I knew it would never satisfy that instant desire I had when I saw the first Mustang in mid-1964.  The first car just looked right and I could not shake my unrequited love affair with the original; no, I had to have the genuine article.

My wife, bless her heart, came to my rescue.  "If you could find a really good original would it be OK?", she asked.  OK?  Are you kidding?  Then she showed me the ad for the '65.  It professed an all original Mustang with a 289, Auto, PS, PB and new Guardsman blue paint!  You want to guess my favorite Mustang color?  Wow, it sounded so perfect it was scary.  The convertible you see to the left was not my car - mine was a coupe but this is the correct color.
So, do you think I bought this one?  Yep, even with 95K miles and a rusty trunk floor;  I could no longer deny the dream. 

I had so much fun with the Mustang!  I put an Edelbrock aluminum intake and a Holley four barrel on the 289, I replaced the exhaust with full headers and some nasty sounding Flowmasters, I rebuilt the brakes and a hundred other little things.  There is something so satisfying about modifying a vehicle to make it better than it was.

Don't get me wrong, this was not a show-quality Ford muscle car by any means but imperfect as it was, it was my dream.  And dreams never die.  When I think about all the cars I have owned, the thing about the ones I loved the most was the bonding you get with the machine when you put your hands and creativity to work and it becomes more than a car or just transportation - it becomes a part of you and it truly is yours.  When you put your blood, sweat and tears into something it stops being a machine and it lives.  Why do you think so many gearheads give their cars a name?  (mine was not really inspired, it was just Ole Blue).

If you have read this far, I guess the moral of this little story is go get yourself a car (or truck) you can work on.  Make it into something unique by putting your stamp of creativity on it.  Make it better than it was.  Make it yours.  I promise you the rewards far outweigh the effort and in the process you learn things about yourself that make you a better person.  So, go turn some wrenches!