Introduction to the Project

The story of my Mach 1 starts way back in the mid 80s when I was a young teen living in CT.  I had gone with my mom on one of her trips to the fabric store.  While she shopped, I had gone to K-mart next door browsing magazines.  Prior to then I hadn't really been in to cars much but for some reason that day I decided on Car Craft magazine.  This particular issue was featuring cars from 68 - 70 from the big three manufacturers.  I read it from cover to cover while waiting for Mom to finish up her shopping.  While I admired the Chevelles, and Chrysler B-body cars, the Mustangs stood out to me the most.  Specifically the 70 Mach 1.  Something about that front end with the side scoops by the headlights.  And then of course all the Mach 1 trim, louvers and spoilers.  After getting home later that evening I excitedly told Dad all about it.  Being a car guy himself with his first car being a Plymouth GTX, it didn't take a whole lot of convincing him that we should embark on a father/son project.  Before long we had found a fairly nice 1970 Mach 1.  I'll never forget the sound and the feeling while sitting in the center of the back seat as I watched the hood-scoop raise up in the air as we took off on a test drive.

Over the next couple years, Dad and I would work extensively on that car and give it fairly nice restoration for the time.  We took it to many shows and cruise-nights frequently bringing home awards.  It even brought me to my senior prom.

The early 90s was a tough time financially for our family. I had gone to the Army after high school and my parents had decided to move south.  Due to some unfortunate circumstances, our financial situation took a hit and some of our "toys" had to go.  Regrettably, the Mach 1 was sold for a bargain to a new owner.  I vowed that I would either buy that one back or one just like it some day.  That was in 1993.

Fast forward 14 years to early 2007. I had not been in the classic car world much since the Mach 1 was sold.  Things were going well financially.  I had started thinking about the old Mach 1 and how it would be nice to get another one.  I had been surfing around on Ebay at the time and came across a 1970 Mach 1 that was almost identical to my original.  One think I hadn't mentioned earlier was the color.  My original Mach came painted with a very rare color called Light Ivy Yellow.  Not a particular flashy color but so unique that it always drew attention.  So finding a Mach 1 painted in that hue caught my attention.  Without much thought I decided to purchase this "twin" of my original.  While it was a nice car, it was terribly misrepresented by the owner.  ( I won't go into details as this story is not about the "twin" anyway!)  Regardless, it was a joy to have another Mach 1 and thought I had fulfilled my promise of "getting one back".  It wouldn't be long before that promise to myself would be doubly realized.

Almost exactly a year later, my wife and I had come home one night and after settling in, I decided to surf Ebay.  I hadn't been necessarily looking for another car but I did have a favorite search setup for 69 and 70 Mustangs.  I actually hadn't been keeping up with it but for some reason I decided to look at it that night.  Low and behold there was a 70 Mach 1 painted in Light Ivy Yellow.  Being a rare sight, I took a look at the description and pictures.  I stated to get a funny feeling after reading part of the description that stated the car was from CT and they had all the receipts dating back to the mid and late 80s.  I started to look closely at the pictures and was noticing specific items that I had put on the car at that time.  Then of course there was the VIN which looked eerily familiar.  Fortunately, I had kept the original factory invoice for it so I went and retrieved it from my safe and low an behold they matched.  This was my original car!  I was overwhelmed with excitement.  I think I actually called my dad that night and woke him up to tell him.  It was just unbelievable.  Two days later during a snow storm, both he and I left for Michigan with a trailer in tow.  I had told myself, that I wouldn't buy the car if it had drastically changed from when I sold it 15 years prior.  Once I stepped into the garage where it was kept, I knew right away that it was my Mach and surprisingly very little had changed.  Most importantly was the interior which had seats that I had reupholstered with help and guidance from my (now deceased) Memere.  Needless to say it was an exhilarating drive home.

So now there I was with two 1970 Light Ivy Yellow Mach 1s!  For about a year Dad and I would take both Machs to shows and had a great time displaying the "twins".  After the Original Mach developed a coolant leak I put in storage at my parents house.  I then gave the "twin" a full ground up restoration and then about two years ago sold it to a collector in Norway.  So hear we are today.  The Original has been in storage for about 5 years.  I had been getting the "itch" for some time now.  I didn't want to do another car restoration in our two car garage that I share with the wife's car.  But waiting for a workshop to magically appear in my yard hasn't panned out so I decided the car isn't doing any good in storage so 2015 will be the year I get started.

I decided to start a blog to document the process.  I have benefited from many other blogs and forums when working on projects so I wanted to share this experiences with others in hopes that someone will find it useful or encouraging.  Its going to be a long road but I am excited to have started on it.