'69 Mach 1 - "Barn" find

[Chaseman17 10]

Posting a photo of my '69 Mach 1 barn (garage) find.

I purchased it July 8, 2014 from the second owner. He purchased the car in July of 1976 & it was his pride & joy. The car has 44,000 original miles. 351W 2 bbl. 4 speed. No power steering & no power brakes. The car had been sitting in the garage & was last started & driven in 1999.

In 1978 he installed the Hurst shifter, (kept the original shifter & linkage) the traction bars, headers (kept the original manifolds) & an am/fm cassette player (kept the original AM radio).

I brought it to W. Michigan from Minneapolis 2 weeks ago & drove it today for the first time in 15 years! We had to do the following to get it back on the road:

- Drain 12 gallons of 15 year old gas

- Remove scale in gas tank

- New fuel pump

- Rebuild (original) carb

- New fuel filter

- All new brake parts, but we're able to turn the (original) drums

- New brake master cylinder

- New thermostat

- New flasher

 

It fired up on the second try and runs quite well. No smoke at all, but we certainly blew some mouse crap out of the pipes.

 

That's it for now. No real plans other than to drive it some "as is" & take it to some local shows as a barn find.

 

The car is very straight & solid. The only rust is above the rear wheel wells. The interior is in great shape as well. It was repainted in 1979 & he did not do the blacked out hood. Marti report says it should have that.

 

Thanks all.

[Grabber70Mach 107]

Welcome, wow what a great story to go with the car. Post some more pics when you get the chance.

[Guillaume69 150]

Beautiful car and wonderful story. Looks just like mine!!

[BlackMachOne 1]

Nice find!

[Chaseman17 10]

More photos

[Chaseman17 10]

More photos from the day of purchase.

[Chaseman17 10]

Have tried to upload other photos, but they are flipped upside down for some unknown reason when I post them. There are additional photos posted in my photo album. Thanks

[Rcodenewf 44]

Great find!! Both of my 69's are acapulco. Enjoy it.

 

John

[69RavenConv 286]

Nice! Love seeing well-preserved stangs like this one.

[RPM 1,190]

Very nice find. Welcome to the club with the coolest car. I do see one major flaw in one of your pics. Sorry to be the one to point it out but... is that a chebby tow vehicle???

 

Bob

[Chaseman17 10]

Yes, it is.... Sorry! I had an Expedition LTD prior to this & after rust at 3 yrs old & engine issues, I thought I would try the Avalanche.

[70fastbak 16]

Nice find, where in MN was it?

That's where I am at.

[Chaseman17 10]

Eden Prairie, MN

[70fastbak 16]

Eden Prairie, MN

 

Cool, about an hour away.

Nice find once again.

[Chaseman17 10]

Thanks. Fortunate to get it. It was not officially up for sale.

[70fastbak 16]

Thanks. Fortunate to get it. It was not officially up for sale.

 

How did the sale come about?

Keep us updated on any work.

[Chaseman17 10]

Over some adult beverages one night, a coworker mentioned his cousins husband had "an old Mustang" he was considering selling. I asked for details & he didn't know anything other than he had owned it since the mid-70's. After pestering him for weeks, some photos showed up on my email one weekend. He asked if I wanted to see it next time I was in MN for business & I told him yes.

A couple weeks later, I saw the car on a rainy evening in it's poorly lit "tomb" / garage. It did not show well. The door panels were off, front bumper & some trim pieces were off & it hadn't been started in 15 years... But, all the parts were there & he had all the original parts that he had upgraded in the late '70's... Exhaust manifolds, shifter & linkage, AM Radio, ect.

I really liked the owner & we hit it off. He told me where he valued the car & it was high. I did not make an offer that night, but asked if he would give me a week before he would advertise it for sale & he said he would wait for my reply.

I shot photos of the VIN & door plate & ordered up a Marti to see if everything matched up & it did. I liked the owner, I liked the car & I loved the story / history that came along with it. We struck a deal that we were both pleased with & I picked it up 3 weeks later...

I must admit that once we winched it on my trailer & I saw it out in the daylight, I knew it was nicer than I had thought. What a nice feeling that was.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Chaseman17

[InitialBoss 10]

Awesome story and awesome find! I hope I can get a nice barn find like this, one of these days!

[70fastbak 16]

That's cool.

Its nice that it was it better shape than you thought, ususally its the other way around, lol.

Like mine was but its ok now, its 70% new.

[Chaseman17 10]

Another update. I got a text today from the previous owner because he was so excited that I drove it & sent him a video. I texted back that I was in MN & we met for lunch today. He is thrilled beyond words... All he wanted to talk about was the car & what it took to get it back on the road. Cool guy for sure & wants to get together once a month for lunch when I am in town. Got a great car & a new friend.

[jnet4jt 10]

That's kinda awesome.

[Chaseman17 10]

I have put about 150 miles on the Mach 1 now & it is running very well & has not given me any issues. Here are a few pix from this weekend. A rainy fundraiser show on Friday night and a beautiful Sunday drive.

[69droptopgt 10]

Nice car! And the blue is one of the best colors of 1969. My vert even with the crummy remnants of the blue still looks good. Hopefully in the next month it will be ready for paint.....