Mustangs mean a lot to me. I think it started with my Mustang peddle car that I had as a young child in the late sixties. It was a the kind of nearly indestructible, sharp-edged, all metal peddle car toys that could no longer exist for kids today for many reasons. Liability, mainly. In my little kid speak I called it my “Bustang.” I loved that thing. It was red and styled after the first gen 64.5-66 convertible. After I’d outgrown it to the point of scraping my shins on the sharp bottom edge of the “dash” trying to peddle it, my mom finally forced me to put it out on the curb with the barrels one trash day. I was heartbroken. I knew the worn-out thing with broken linkage was way too small for me but it was my Bustang; my old friend. It was like having to put my dog to sleep.
Fast forward to high school. I warped the head on my Alfa Giulia Super one too many times. It was toast and a local Alfa guy was willing to give me $1500 for the car. I took it and combined it with my couple grand in life savings and went shopping in the local classifieds (GHW Bush was President, haha). I saw the ad for a 1966 Mustang Fastback and called the number. The guy was one town over and asking $3500. My dad and I showed up and I fell instantly in love. The guy accepted my $3200 offer and I drove it home. It was part way into a Shelby tribute transformation. It had the glass quarter inserts and a Shelby racing apron. It was a GT-A with the Pony Deluxe package. I restored the interior and got the car to “ABP” (all but paint) level. A Holly 650, mild cam, Edelbrock intake. It was a great driver. For some reason I decided I needed to sell the car and buy a bug before moving to San Diego for college. Probably my biggest vehicular regret.
Fast forward to today. I lost my mom early this summer and, in a life always seems to come full circle sort of way, I saw this car on eBay Wednesday morning. It’s a 1966 GT-A with the Pony Deluxe interior, red like my cherished old Bustang. Every photo in the description was more beautiful than the last, and now today, as of about an hour ago when eBay’s virtual hammer came down, it is mine. Say hello to my new Bustang, guys!
