Custom 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Rides Low, Doesn’t Drive Slow: Crate Engine to the Rescue

Well, that’s exactly how I feel when I see someone do something to the original Mach 1’s aesthetic, be it custom body panels, or even something as inconsequential as lowering the ride height. I understand why you’d want to do it. Makes the car look sleeker. But certain American classics need a bit of ground clearance to flaunt their road presence, the Mustang being one of these cars.

One other thing I wouldn’t do to an original Mach 1 would be fitting it with larger wheels, which also messes up the overall aesthetic, at least in my eyes.

Now, all this is not to say that I don’t appreciate this custom 1969 Mustang Mach 1 that we just found getting auctioned off, because a lot of work went into it. However, something tells me that only certain buyers would be into it the way it looks now – thankfully, it wouldn’t take much work to revert it to its original stance.

Visually highlights include the matte blue exterior, gloss-black hood, body-color bumpers, hood scoop (a Mach 1 staple), front and rear LED lights, plus a set of gray-finished 18-inch American Racing Shelby wheels with Pirelli P Zero All Season tires. Again, I think 18-inch wheels are a bit too excessive for a first-gen Mustang, but to each his/her own.

This Mustang rides on a Total Cost Involved suspension kit, comprised of a torque arm rear suspension and adjustable Ridetech coilovers. It also has four-wheel disc brakes with cross-drilled and slotted rotors.

Inside, there are a lot of custom bits that should make riding in this Mustang a very special experience. For starters, you’ve got the TMI Products front sports seats and the contoured rear bench, all trimmed in black and gray. Meanwhile, the front seats also feature Corbeau harnesses, while replacement woodgrain can be found on the dashboard and door panels.

Other goodies include the Vintage Air climate control system, Mach 1-branded floor mats, a flat-bottom steering wheel, replacement instrumentation, and a RetroSound Bluetooth stereo working alongside the Rockford Fosgate amplifier and speakers.

As for performance, this ‘69 Mustang Mach 1 has been fitted with a 5.0-liter third-generation Coyote V8 crate engine, featuring a revised air intake, a Painless Performance wiring harness, and tubular exhaust headers. According to the seller, it’s putting down 460 horsepower, with everything going to the rear wheels via a Tremec T56 Magnum six-speed manual gearbox, and a Currie Enterprises 9” rear axle with 3.89:1 gearing.

Finally, the Magnaflow mufflers complete the build, resulting in the type of Mustang you would undoubtedly love to drive. Would you love looking at it, too? Maybe, maybe not. Its current configuration can look a bit suspect from certain angles, but again, that’s not a reason to not buy it, seeing as how "fixing" its stance would be really easy.