This was my first car in high school back in 2003. My dad (who passed away in 2024) bought it for me as a beater for $2000 from someone who pulled it all apart and couldn’t put it back together. We had to drive it across Phoenix in the summer heat, stopping every 5 blocks to clean silt out of the carburetor. It took forever, but it was a great first bonding experience, of many more to follow, with my dad. He picked up a $900 1967 200-powered Mustang for himself so we could cruise together. He painted them in a rental booth – mine yellow and his orange. He taught me bigger isn’t always better and set us up in our little sixes for a lightweight, zippy runabout. We put on things like headers and distributors, channeled air where we could, and upgraded the cooling. We installed dual master cylinder brakes and anything to squeeze out any performance.
After I went through school, college, and my jobs as an aerospace engineer, the Mustang sat on the sideline deteriorating until 2023. I finally had the time and place to restore it in preparation for my new baby girl who came in 2024.
The car is important in so many ways, is full of memories, and is now a generational item. I can’t wait to take my daughter for rides!
It’s a 6 cylinder and I plan to keep it that way! I have rebuilt the entire car from the ground up, doing 100% of the work myself using skills my dad taught me (he was an aircraft mechanic and ran a British motorcycle restoring shop). I upgraded all the suspension to modern parts where possible while keeping it cost effective. I’ve done things like the Shelby drop, bigger sway bar, rear sway bar, roller spring perches, and cut springs. I put in a Ford Racing T-5 and a custom diaphragm clutch and disc from McLeod. I added power disc brakes and more leaves to the rear springs. I installed a DUI distributor with coil pack and a custom curve. Currently it has a Holley 2300 2-barrel carb and a 3-row radiator, all pumping through 6-into-2 headers thru a 2-1/4” glass pack dual exhaust. It sounds meaty for sure!
The interior has a full roll cage from when I track raced in high school / college and still has racing seats.
I also sanded, prepped, and painted it last summer (2025) myself. I rented a paint booth over the mountains in Seattle and trailed the Mustang with my Toyota for a weekend spray event. It was quite the challenge juggling the cure times of each paint stage! But it came out great - red with white racing stripes.
I am waiting for an aluminum cylinder head to come in the mail for extra power.
Now I just need to find some nice comfy seats so I can take my daughter for a ride!
