It was in 1986 and my father saw this car at Whitt's Auto Sales in Madison TN. He told me to go by and look at it.
I remember it being in the front of the lot with an 45 degree 'Automatic' sign in the driver side window. I loved the car at first sight. I was 18, who would not love a red Mustang, well at any age
The car cost $3200, Dad gave me a $1000 to put down on it, and I payed the rest, $40.00 per week. I still have every receipt. I remember this being a hard time in my life, not knowing what to do with my life. Growing up, being a man, not being a kid anymore. A lot of hard decisions. The Mustang brought happiness to me. I think God places things in our lives when we really need it and I am sure this is one of them.
I felt so proud to drive this car, people would stop me and say what a nice car it was.
I remember driving home one night and there was snow on the road. I slid off right into a ditch. It did not damage the car but I thought to my self I am going to wreck this car.
I bought a 87 Dodge Colt, I had just paid off the Mustang, and paid $100 a month for it. I drove that car for 8 or 9 years. I remember reading in Car Craft, that said "Every ding you get in your daily driver is one less on your nice car" that always stuck with me.
Well I needed a place to store my Mustang. I could not afford a storage place. God came through again. My Uncle had a detached wood garage that he said I could use. He said he never uses it. Well thanks to Uncle Cordell I was able to keep the Mustang in his garage for almost 12 years! That time got me through college, apartment living, and until I could finally have a house with a garage. I would not have been able to keep the Mustang without his generosity. He has since sadly passed but I always like give him credit and always will!
I had shown it at a few shows but nothing like a MCA event. I became an MCA Gold 79-93 judge so I could learn how to restore this car more properly.
I knew I had always wanted to restore it to a concours level but could not afford it at the time, still saving
So, what I have been doing since 1987 is buying a NOS part a month. There were some times when I could not buy parts, but I have a lot of parts. I joined Ebay in 1998 for the sole purpose of finding parts. It use to be a lot easier. I could get NOS parts for a song. Now they are getting harder to find. I know I could have bought a finished car for the amount of parts and restoration costs. I just want to make this one a show winner. It has been a part of my life for 28 years! We are like a team.
My goal is to show it at MCA events once a year in the future and bring my family. One day I hope to give this car to my child. Keep your dream alive. Mine has been going on for 28 years now. God bless
