My Mustang started its life in April of 1965 in San Jose, California. This Medium Ivy Gold Convertible was given to this couple that owned a bar in the area for a bar debt and the one day old $3550.00 new 1965 Ford Mustang Convertible was it. The bar owner drove it home and it was his for the next 37 years. He never raced his stang nor did he modify it. Some years later he had it painted. When he died in 1997 the stang sat in the garage, only to be taken out once a month to be started and then put right back in the garage. Its car cover was put on it and his widow knew it wasn’t fair to keep this pony in the corral. I t was time to let go of all the old memories. She had it listed for only two weeks in the Auto Trader in November before I came across it. She came around the corner and I knew I had to have the stang. Yea I stole it from her!

When I got the stang it was missing badly and she needed a tune up. The 2” whitewall tires were bad and she had some really scraped up wire hubcaps. The paint was technically called “Poppy Red” a bright orange color. It was the right stock color for 1965. So after I had washed it and put a few coats of polish on it, it was decent but not done. The next day I shopped around for some rims and tires. I had never seen daisies on a stang, but I new it would look cool. I purchased a set of 4 American Racing Chromed Daisies 15X7 with some new Signet tires 205.60.15. It put a wider stance on it and it looked nice. Next was the over-heating problem with the radiator. A new 4-row desert style radiator, an inline water hose filter and a 6-blade flex fan were installed. The tune up was also done and the stang was doing okay. The starter died the next day and a new one was installed. Next thing was sound. I replaced the stock 8-track radio and put a new 250Watt Blapunk head unit with two Pioneer 175 kick panel speakers. I replaced the center dash speaker with a Pioneer 125 Watt speaker.

The next day it was off to Las Vegas to show it off and I had a blast cruising Vegas in style. I dropped a starter when I was in Vegas, good thing I was winning! When I came back from Vegas the fun really started. The exhaust Glasspacks were shot  and were replaced with Flowmatstes Black Cat 2 stage mufflers. It really rummmmmbled!! The water pump went next. Max Flow Edlebrock replaced it. The distributor was replaced with the MSD 8352. Some Ford Mustang Motorsports valve covers were added as well as a K & N air cleaner with an Edlebrock air cleaner cover. Then I went big and took off the 2 BBL carburetor and replaced it with a 4 BBL Edlebrock 1408 carburetor and manifold. The Plastic back window was a brown fog and cut form the cold in Vegas. So I replaced it with a two-piece glass window. WOW I can see!!! The stock 4-leaf springs had to be replaced with heavy-duty 5-leaf springs. The next major thing was the front disk brakes. Driving on drums was the hardest thing I had done in this car. I got my hands on some SSBC duel stage and it was a snap to install. Just like that I was stopping on a dime.

About $3000.00 later and I am about 90% done. I’ve met some really cool people and I’ve been in a dozen or more parades as well as numerous car shows. I’ve brought home trophies and had so much fun. I’m traveling more than ever before. I’ve started the San Gabriel Valley Mustang Club and still having fun…