HELOPILOT71

This is a story of persistence and patience that thankfully paid off. It starts in 1988 when I, as a junior in high school bought a clunky old 69 Mach 1 with a 351 2bbl,3 speed. It was old and rusty but I loved it and I was very proud of it. In reality it really was a piece of **** that had seen too many miles and not enough love. It tested my limited wallet and left me stranded more times than I can count but I still loved it. In 1990, I had started dismantling the car to do a "restoration". Truth be told I could barely afford to put fuel in it but to be young and stubborn...you know the story. In any case I was leaving for the Air Force in the summer of 1990 and my parents were not about to let me leave the shell of the Mach 1 parked on the lawn so I sold it. I still remember the day I watched it drive away on the back of a flat bed never to be seen again or so I thought. The years ticked by and every so often I would come across my old registration paperwork which had the VIN on it. This would stir up old memories so I would start my feeble attempt at a search. Five years turned into ten and I would "replace" my Mach 1 with a beautiful 68 GT convertible, which is a great car and served my family well. You would figure that I would just move on; let it go; let bygones be bygones. Not this guy. In 2010, I would start the search for my old Mach 1 once again. This time armed with the internet and incidentally this site. Search after search yielded nothing. I would solicit friends in law enforcement to search the database for anything that would show where the car was or had been. Nothing.... Really I just wanted to know that the car was still around and hadn't been sent to the crusher because of me and my "restoration" attempt. Year after year, nothing, nothing, nothing. Until summer 2012 when a police officer friend of mine used a super duper VIN search database known as GOOGLE. Yes, GOOGLE. Up popped an ebay ad that showed a 69 Mach 1 being sold on ebay six years prior. Close scrutiny showed that it indeed was my car. In fact it still was a shell and still had the same wheels and steering wheel on it that I had installed 22 years earlier. Amazingly I was able to contact the seller who still had the info on the buyer. A few emails and a phone call later I was chatting with the person that had my car. After about an hour of discussion, I learned that my car had never been registered and had passed from person to person over the last 22 years. A lot of work had been done. New floor pans, frame rails, shock towers and torque boxes but the car was far from finished. Naturally I went to see it and was so happy to know that it had escaped the junkyard. Unfortunately for me the timing wasn't right and I was not able to buy the car back. End of story. Not so fast. Persistence and patience. I was somewhat sanctified that the car was not rotting away somewhere but I just couldn't let it go. Almost two years passed and just this past Nov I sent a quick text to the owner asking if he still had it and would he be willing to renegotiate. He said yes and I went down to take another look and get an inventory of all the parts that were still available. My eyes almost left their sockets when he opened the garage and showed my old friend reassembled! Engine, transmission, interior, you name it. Even a (albeit quickly done) coat of original gulfstream aqua paint. I couldn't walk away this time. So today after almost 25 years my old car made the trip home with me for good. It still needs a lot of work. In fact some might say its still a piece of **** but to me its like being back in high school (yep mid life crisis!). No one has driven this car on the road since I did in 1990. Old friends have been reunited and this time the outcome will be different. Thanks for reading!

Yes mach 1 interior. Rim blow steering wheel. Maybe the original knob got switched at some point. The car had a twenty year life before I got it

Mine was the plain jane black three speed knob. Reverse upper left, 1st lower left, etc etc. I hated the three speed knob and getting my chops busted by my buddies for having a three speed so I switched it out for a hurst T handle. Incidently, the current owner believes that T handle is still on the shifter...amazing after 22years.

The good thing is we are both still in New England. Not too far.

I can always remember wishing mine was a 4 speed. It just didnt have the launch off the line but second gear was long and you could really wind it out. I sometimes found I could beat the other guy because I didnt have to shift that extra time. Really worked from light to light. Not so much for the 1/4 mile. Unfortunately all that beating is what stressed the unibody which caused my parents to make me sell it which caused my 22 years of searching for it which caused my hoping to buy the car back which caused my....AAAHHHHH!!!

I had a 69 Mach with the 351 2v and a three speed. Incidently it is the car being talked about in the thread above yours. After 22 years i finally found it and hope to get it back.

Thank you for the advice, in the past I have had a bad habit of finishing a project and then saying "Boy I should have taken more pictures". I know as far as Mach 1s go it is a low ball, low perf model but I can remember being on top of the world as a 16 year old driving that car around. I can hardly wait to hear it run again. Spoke with the owner again this morning; a very understanding fellow who knows his way around a mustang. From the looks of it he has brought a few back to life. I dug up some old polaroids that I had from 1989 and plan to bring them to the "reunion" just to compare then and now. Needless to say, this work week wont go by fast enough!

Well, the gentleman that owns the car called me this morning. Still cant believe it but he is willing to part with the car. As a matter of fact he is looking for his 70 sportsroof that he sold about 22 years ago so he knows how I feel. Looks like I am going down to see it next weekend. Amazingly as he describes the condition of the car it doesnt look like it has been on the road since I sold it. Reunited, still cant believe it. Gonna call mustangs monthly, we've got another story for them. Thanks for all your support and advice. Jkskinsfan; awesome job, if my buddy hadnt done teh google search you would have been the key to the whole deal. Still worthy of a grand thank you!

Yep, you got it. That is the car. Funny...my buddy just called me about 2 hours ago with the same information. Research has been done and the emails have been sent to the seller and buyer. I've got my fingers crossed. Just hope he wants to sell. It is definetly my car. It still has the same rims and steering wheel on it when I sold it 23 years ago. It was in pieces then and looks like it has only gotten slightly better. It is possible that I was the last person to drive this car in the last 23 years. I am so happy she still around and didnt end up in the crusher or around a tree. Wish me luck!

Thanks for the responses so far. I know this story has been repeated throughout the ages. Guy has car, guy loses car, guy regrets losing car, guy embarks on lifelong search to find car. Regardless of the end outcome, there is a somewhat happy ending, I have a great wife that let me buy a 68 ragtop a few years back and the car has been great...but it sure would be nice...

Evening fellow Stangers. Im new to the site and looking for some assistance (if possible) in locating my long lost 69 Mach 1. The VIN is 9T02H154591, the original color I believe was gulfstream aqua although the car had been repainted a dull teal blue when I had it. It had a 351W 2bbl with a three speed. I sold it in 1989 to a guy named Stuart (cant remember last name) who lived in Springfield Massachusetts. I know its a long shot but I just have to keep looking. I am interested in finding the car and possibly repurchasing regardless of condition. Thanks for any insight.