REAL GARAGE STORIES
This beautiful ’69 Mustang fastback features an MDL 5-speed Conversion Package.
CONCEPT
Our first rebuild priority was to get it done before Aidan graduated high school, and then to keep it mostly original with some fine-tuning for looks and comfort.
Original Specs: | |
Exterior : | Candy Apple Red with Mach 1 trim |
Interior: | White |
Engine: | 351W V8 |
Trans: | FMX |
Rear Gear Ratio: | 3.00:1 Rear gear |
Current Specs: | |
Exterior : | Ablaze Red |
Interior: | White |
Engine | 393 stroker V8 |
Trans: | Tremec T5z 5-speed |
Additional Equipment: | Sniper EFI, TrickFlow Heads, TMI interior, Dakota Digital Gauges, New A/C. |
HORSEPOWER:
- 400 hp
SPECIAL FEATURES:
– Sniper EFI – Trick Flow heads – Painless wiring harness – TMI interior – HDX Dakota gauges – Air conditioning – Power disc brakes – Power steering
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The story behind the build.
At his request, my then 15-year-old son and I started looking for a project car mid-COVID early 2021. How could I say no?? 😊
Most everyone else seemed to have the same idea so it took six months to connect with widow Susan M. from Palestine, TX. She had several other offers to purchase her late husband Troy’s project car, but most were from shops asking her to simply ship the car out – not possible with it being mostly disassembled and stored throughout the barn. Her desire to “find a good home” for it helped select us as buyer and we flew out to TX and drove back to AZ with a moving van full of parts, hauling the body on a trailer.
We’ve enjoyed keeping in touch and she’s happy seeing the build come back to life.
Most everyone else seemed to have the same idea so it took six months to connect with widow Susan M. from Palestine, TX. She had several other offers to purchase her late husband Troy’s project car, but most were from shops asking her to simply ship the car out – not possible with it being mostly disassembled and stored throughout the barn. Her desire to “find a good home” for it helped select us as buyer and we flew out to TX and drove back to AZ with a moving van full of parts, hauling the body on a trailer.
We’ve enjoyed keeping in touch and she’s happy seeing the build come back to life.
I’m definitely the old-school kinda dad and both my boys have driven a 6-speed manual throughout their high school days.
Troy (previous owner) had a 393 stroker on a stand with Trick Flow heads just about ready to go. Easy to choose a manual transmission Tremec T5 from MDL to handle the extra horsepower.
The MDL folks were very helpful in specifying all the details for the car to get her back on the road. No tunnel work required was a big plus, it fit right up with the hydraulic clutch.
Troy (previous owner) had a 393 stroker on a stand with Trick Flow heads just about ready to go. Easy to choose a manual transmission Tremec T5 from MDL to handle the extra horsepower.
The MDL folks were very helpful in specifying all the details for the car to get her back on the road. No tunnel work required was a big plus, it fit right up with the hydraulic clutch.
The car was originally Candy Apple (T5) with a white Mach 1 trim from Dallas with a 3.00 and 351W with FMX tranny.
We’re in AZ so adding AC was a no-brainer, along with Sniper EFI, power disc brakes, and power steering for drivability.
We also converted to the HDX Dakota gauges (very good technical support BTW) re-wrapped in 3M carbon fiber film, a new Painless wiring harness, TMI interior, and filled in all the other missing gaps with a long line of shipping boxes from CJ Pony.
We’re in AZ so adding AC was a no-brainer, along with Sniper EFI, power disc brakes, and power steering for drivability.
We also converted to the HDX Dakota gauges (very good technical support BTW) re-wrapped in 3M carbon fiber film, a new Painless wiring harness, TMI interior, and filled in all the other missing gaps with a long line of shipping boxes from CJ Pony.
I had rebuilt my mom’s ’68 VW Bug in college but do not consider myself a car guy… so we got technical help where we needed to get this project done. A huge help came from Bob Ream at Imagine Injection in Glendale, AZ (https://imagineinjection.com/), along with his top-notch garage crew Drue and Guy (and Bob the Mailman when it got too quiet).
Not only did they help install and tune the Sniper EFI, but they were very patient with both of us and helped take the blasted and primed body from rolling chassis to running (and stopping).
We spent Aidan’s spring break (2023) building / fitting up the car with them. I think old car guys love to have anyone under 30 in the shop.
Not only did they help install and tune the Sniper EFI, but they were very patient with both of us and helped take the blasted and primed body from rolling chassis to running (and stopping).
We spent Aidan’s spring break (2023) building / fitting up the car with them. I think old car guys love to have anyone under 30 in the shop.
We are very lucky to have a neighbor, Kevin Power, who works for a local collision facility but paints cars as a side job. He took his time to do everything right and turned her into a beautiful ride, and along the way let Aidan do some of the priming and prep work. We spent a few hours looking at all the samples at Old School Paint in Phoenix and settled on a modern version of the original, Ablaze Red. Kevin convinced us to skip the flat black and also make the hood modern to match the rest of the car and we used a color similar to the new Corvette “carbon fiber” trim dark metallic color.
We’re still breaking her in and fixing some rebuild details, haven’t hit the 500-mile mark yet. Will have her done shortly, just in time for graduation.
It’ll be Aidan’s car one day when he has a garage to keep her in.
Rebuilding her has been a great ride.
It’ll be Aidan’s car one day when he has a garage to keep her in.
Rebuilding her has been a great ride.
Special Thanks to:
Bob Ream at Imagine Injection in Glendale, AZ along with his top-notch garage crew Drue and Guy and Bob the Mailman
Kevin Power
MDL