It's 2021 and an impressive number of classics are still coming out of storage. Some have been properly forgotten in barns, while others are just projects that their owners didn't get to work on. This 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 is part of the latter category and it's been sitting for almost 30 years.
Whenever I hear about a muscle car being kept off the road for decades I usually picture a rusty body and an engine that needs a complete overhaul. That's because old cars tend to decompose if stored improperly. Thankfully, this 'Stang was kept in a nice environment and under a cover, so it looks as good as it did when it was parked 25 to 30 years ago.
And by that I mean it's in excellent condition. The green paint looks impressively good, the chrome still shines, and there are no rust holes to talk about. Actually, there's no surface rust either. This Mustang is a proper survivor and a cool time capsule that's almost ready to return to the road.
Removed from storage for the first time in decades, the Mach 1 does not fire up, but the folks over at Hagerty took the car to their shop to try and make it run again. The V8 needs a long list of new parts, but once they're installed, it comes back to life right away. And it purrs like a kitten, running as smooth as it did when new. Great news given that the Mach 1 is one of the rarest classic Mustang models out there.
First introduced in 1969, the Mach 1 was initially a performance-oriented Mustang that slotted below the Shelby and Boss models. The nameplate was so successful in its first year on the market that Ford simply discontinued the Mustang GT for 1970.
Because it was more of a performance package than a stand-alone nameplate, the Mach 1 was offered with a variety of engines available across the Mustang lineup.
Customers had access to both the Windsor- and Cleveland-made 351-cubic-inch (5.8-liter) V8, as well as the 390-cubic-inch (6.4-liter) FE mill. While the former was good for up to 300 horsepower, the latter generated 320 horses. This one's a 351 Windsor.
But the Mach 1 could also be optioned up with the Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet 428-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) V8s. Both the Q- and R-Code mills produced an impressive 335 horsepower and 440 pound-feet (597 Nm) of twist. These cars are obviously, the most desirable.
The 428 was no longer offered after 1971, but the Mach 1 lived on until 1973 with the 351 and the smaller 302-cubic-inch (4.9-liter). The second-gen Mustang was also available with a Mach 1 package, but it was mostly about visuals.
Discontinued in 1978, the Mach 1 returned briefly in 2003 and 2004 and it was again revived in 2021.
But enough history for today, check out this incredible 1969 Mustang Mach 1 in the videos below.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News