Hey folks. First post on this forum. I have lengthy story below that is my personal saga over the past 15 years. I posted this because, as I have 18 days to get this car in shape to present to my dad (the most deserving person you'd ever meet- see below). This is still a secret, the big reveal is late Feb! I am generally ok with cars (swapped out an engine before, do my own work). I need to get this into running shape. I have the car at a Mustang Shop in Chandler getting a laundry list of what needs to be done. This will be my thread for posting updates. The car is an original (matches numbers) 6 cyl mustang, 3 sp manual tranny. Its not the prettiest girl at the dance, but it was my dad’s (and soon will be his again).
Now, for The Story:
For his first car, my dad bought a seafoam green 1966 Ford Mustang- he was 17. In that car, he started dating his wife, proposed, and married her.
He brought all of us boys and my sister home from the hospital in it. Everyone who even casually knew my dad was familiar with his mustang. Lots of memories of this car, stuck in our family lore.
After moving to Phoenix in 1989, he sold the Mustang in 1994 to help pay the bills. Now, it’s the only subject that I don’t bring up with him. He thinks that it is gone forever. It is completely gone in his mind.
In 1999, I started to look for the mustang by getting the VIN number from his insurance company. Fortunately, I had a friend who had connections at the DMV to get me that information. With that lead, I found the buyers, but they had sold it fairly quickly after they received it, and the trail ran cold there. I called all the mustang shops and searched the internet for ideas. Everyone told me it was a lost cause. My best chance was to simply post requests on Mustang Forums (like this one) and hope someone responded. For the next 6 years, I would google the VIN every so often, hoping it would show up on Ebay- or anywhere else on the internet, for that matter. I’d come up blank every time.
It wasn’t until I contacted a private investigator in 2011 bolstered with a little more information, and he used his private investigator’s license to get me to WI, where the trail again ran cold. The car wasn’t registered past 2008. I started searching the last name of the owner, tracked it down to a family member in 2012 through a random obituary posted on the internet for 45 days. I approached the potential owners directly in late last year. I was delighted to find out that they were willing to sell the car to us, explaining that my dad would receive more joy out of it than them (they’re right).
Incredibly after 20 years, this exact car will be back with my dad. No hyperbole: this will be the shock of his life to get it back. In addition, he is completely unaware of every step of my 15 year research to find his first car.
Now back to today….This car has brake problems, the gas tank, carb are shot. There are electrical issues, and tranny issues. Hoping I can do it in 18 days. I have the car at The Mustang Shop in Chandler getting the gas tank and carb fixed. There are more things to be done, but we don’t have a bead on it yet. More posts coming soon. Here are a few pics of the car that I have so far. The first one is him driving away from his wedding in the car. The next one is my boys putting on the license plate. The last is after its had a little bath.

Oh, I am going to need some help figuring this out!

 

I just want to say this is like the coolest story I have come across. I'm glad the saga of locating the car was a succesful one and I wish you luck on your restoration project. No doubt the man deserves it if he raised a son that would go through all that trouble. Good luck!

 

I'm in AZ as well. Let me know if you need any info. I know a few good mechanics in the valley.

 

Cool!!

I wish I was near by to help out.

 

You sir, would be a god to your dad.

Granted, even if you didn't finish in the 18 days, he would still get the shock of his life. It's always these stories that just bring the tears. Good luck to you man. 1 person <--?, 1 car, 18 days. Just say Challenge Accepted and put your heart into it!

 

Wow, great story. Looks like your hard work and patience paid off. Being a father I find this to be a very heart warmimg story. Best of luck to you and if you need any help hit me up.

Good job man!

 

Thanks everyone's kind words. Update: $2,000 to fix the brakes system and fuel system. Should be ready in the next couple of days (Saturday or Monday). My issue now: I have run out of money (didn't budget for this $2,000 either- going on the credit card).

Check out the sending unit, and the gas that was pulled from the tank! Holy smokes, no wonder the fuel system was shot!!

There are three issues left on the car that I need to fix:

1. The horn, radio, blinkers are not working. I am hoping this is a simple fuse to fix

2. The clutch is sticking to the floor. The mechanic will diagnose the issue for another 1/2 hour of labor- its either a problem in the bell housing, or in the tranny. Either way, I am going to try to fix it myself. This is the one that has me most worried.

3. The heater core was bypassed. I have most of the parts already, so hoping that'll be a straightforward fix.

 

Great story, Hope you can get her running and drivable for the surprise! good luck!

 

eeh they aren't cheep you could buy a new fuel system and brakes for less than that

Thats gotta be the pick any two at work (fast good cheep) I need it to be done fast and a good job....wont be cheep!

 

Fast/Good/Cheap

the meanest cycle ever!!!!