HELOPILOT71 10 Report post Posted December 23, 2014 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! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ashleesmach1 28 Report post Posted December 23, 2014 pics pics we need pics Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Snookman35 10 Report post Posted December 23, 2014 Very Cool Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miketyler 15 Report post Posted December 23, 2014 Great story. Pics would help illustrate especially if you had some old ones from the past and some today. Gulfstream Aqua eh? You don't see that color too often... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grabber70Mach 107 Report post Posted December 28, 2014 Great story can't wait to see some pics of it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted December 28, 2014 Very cool story indeed! However, we might need Paul Harvey for the rest of the story. Where are you located, and what travels did the car make? And as previously stated, we need pics :) Good luck with your Mustang. Bob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rangerdoc 22 Report post Posted December 28, 2014 Great story! Now show us the pics...see the trend? :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TexasEd 191 Report post Posted January 6, 2015 pics or it didn't happen. :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,190 Report post Posted January 13, 2015 Hope we didn't scare you off. We really are a friendly bunch. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fantastic 57 Report post Posted January 16, 2015 How interesting. Mine is almost the exact same story. 1991 I left the car behind to join the Airforce, but through a series of events ended up in the Navy. My car was a 1970 Fastback that was Orange with a White interior. I sold the car, the complete pile of parts that it was, to a fellow in Saskatoon. I don't even have a photo of the car. I've never come across an old registration or any clues. I did see an online ad of someone looking for info on a car that looked identical to mine. But, I have no idea what happened to it. It is the one that got away. I replaced it with a '69 Mach I ... gulfstream aqua.. Good story. But the one that I am even more curious about was the mystery barnfind '68 Shelby GT350 that I was called about a few years ago. The car disassembled and rough, but complete...less the VIN tags. It looked like a chop shop car. I paid the $2500 and had it hauled away to a local shop, only to have it vanish from the shop. With no VIN and no way to trace it, I was out the $2500. At least for that one I took a few photos... http://s246.photobucket.com/user/fantasticpinball/Cars/68%20GT350/story Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pakrat 1,043 Report post Posted January 16, 2015 Very cool story indeed! However, we might need Paul Harvey for the rest of the story. Where are you located, and what travels did the car make? And as previously stated, we need pics :) Good luck with your Mustang. Bob X2 on all the above. @Fantastic, how is the shop not liable for a car that disappeared from their property? I would not be taking that one lying down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
