When I was a kid, my family always went to my grandparents house for holidays. My Grandpa had a 1969 Mustang that I was in love with from the first day I saw it. I used to sneak out of the house and go down to the barn where he kept the car and just sit in it.
About the only thing I could make the car do without the keys (which I wouldn’t have…because sneaking) was play with the turn signals. The Mustang had a hood scoop with integrated turn signal lights similar to the ones on this video from a 67 Mustang:
I’d sit there, turn on the hazard lights and stare at the awesomeness of blinky lights on the hood. I’d do this for hours.
When I was 10 or so, my Grandma made the mistake of making an off-handed comment that when I was older I could have the car.
I never let her forget it.
Fast forward five or six years and I found myself still sitting in the Mustang – only this time I’m being handed a set of keys by my Dad.
I had my dream car. It was green, had the ugliest hubcaps ever to come out of Detroit and the interior smelled of Oregon Coast – but it was mine and I loved it.
My dad (who’s awesome) spent the next year or so restoring the Mustang into one of the most beautiful cars I have ever seen:
I spent the rest of my teenage years trying (and failing) to avoid speeding tickets.
As the years went by, the glamour of owning a classic car started to fade. My young-adult-self bought and enjoyed a Mazda Miata. The Mustang was driven less and less.
In 2003, I decided to donate the Mustang to St. Mark Catholic Church as part of their campaign to build a new church. The raffle raised almost $10,000 and the new owner promised to give the car a good home. It was a sad parting-of-the-ways between myself and my dream car, but it was for a good cause.
As time has past, I have come to regret the decision to get rid of the Mustang. This year, I decided it was time to do something about it…
The Mustang Restoration 
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