Every once in a while, I come across a vehicle that makes me want to rethink my priorities in life. Maybe I don't need a vacation home. Maybe my girlfriend doesn't need a new car. Maybe all we're missing is some serious sense of speed. But with no aircraft pilot license in my pocket, I guess there's only one way I can get close to Mach 1.
This 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 comes in Black Jade and is an award-winning show car. The seller notes that he's got a room that's packed with trophies, which he's won in the past 15 years with this vehicle. Some of those trophies include a 1st-place at the 2010 MCA Grand National Show in Seattle, a Gold Award at the 2013 MCA National Car Show in Reno, and a Best in Class at the 2017 Portland Roadster show.
The seller also adds that "this car turns heads wherever you go", and I can attest to being stopped dead in my tracks while browsing through hundreds of Mustang ads when I saw this. You get to an age in life when you're not interested in extravagant body kits or flashy paint jobs anymore. And while this Mustang doesn't look like an average road-going vehicle, it is somewhat discreet, or at least I thought it did until I got a glimpse of the engine.
The current owner describes that he bought the car back in 2004. At that moment, it had spent its past 17 years in the same garage, packing a big block, 390 cubic-inch (6.4-liter) V8. But you can never have enough horsepower, so the 390 engine was replaced with a 427 cubic-inch (7.0-liter) FE series. The list of modifications is seriously impressive, and there's more than one sheet describing all of them.
Photo: Northwest Classic Auto Mall
Under the hood, you'll find an Edelbrock Cross Ram Induction Manifold with twin Holley carburetors, which the seller mentions as being very rare. The engine has been balanced and blueprinted, and it has TRW forged pistons inside. There are several Milodon performance upgrades including an oil pan and a steel gear valve train drive. The battery and the fuel pump were relocated to the trunk, along with the Nitrous bottle.
Yes, this car also comes with a Nitrous kit, and that should provide an extra 280 horsepower when being required. The seller estimates that the 427 is capable of churning out about 650 horsepower, and if you consider the extra nitrous shot, this might just embarrass a brand new Shelby GT500 down the quarter-mile (402 meters). As you would expect with this kind of vehicle, it's sitting on a set of 17" Torq Thrust II wheels, that are wrapped in Firestone Firehawk Tires front and back.
One thing I'm not quite sure of is the brake system, which seems a bit underwhelming given the performance of this vehicle, but then again, if you plan on retaining its show car status, I guess this isn't going an issue. This car used to have a 4-speed gearbox back in the day, but right now you'll be working with a Series 600, Tremec 5-speed instead.
A custom 3" stainless steel exhaust is also in place to provide the soundtrack because the radio has been removed to make way for an old-school Air/fuel ratio monitor. At the end of the day, you're looking at a $110,000 purchase, which is more than you would pay for a 2021 Shelby GT500. But then again, would the new GT500 be as exciting as this classic Mustang?
The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S. Full profile
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