READERS’ RIDES

TAKE YOUR PICK: OF THESE TWO BLUE OVALS: A MALEVOLENT MUSTANG OR A CUTE CORTINA

Igot it at the start of this year, down in Melbourne. I’d been looking for one for ages. I was watching this one, so I went down one weekend to have a look at it. It was a little bit exxy in terms of price, but it had a lot of stuff going for it. So I bought it, got it sent up here, and then the fun began – working out what’s what in it.

For example, the steering column isn’t an original Mustang column, it’s a hot rod column. So someone’s done that, upgraded the brakes, upgraded the clutch; it’s got more modern technology to stop it and change gears and whatnot. It was an automatic, and now it’s a 5-speed. Those are the main differences I can find in the car, just those mechanicals. Everything else is pretty original. The engine is a 302 out to a 347. I believe it’s the original engine, but I can’t get anywhere near the engine number. The paperwork has the engine number on it though, and the chassis number, so that’s what I’ve been going off.

I’m now going to call it Raven because it’s being an utter bitch. It doesn’t like being called a pony. Let’s go through the issues: We’ll start with the clutch. The clutch went and we changed the master cylinder, but it got air trapped in there somewhere. Then the pedal; there was a pivot point with a few linkages – we replaced it with a tie-rod to have a more constant clutch. The Holley was shot, so it has a new one. The extractors, too – they were for a 302 engine but that wasn’t the issue, the issue was the different steering column change, which meant they had to get extractors from a completely different car. So they put them on, which meant the car has about 30mm clearance from the

ground. The steering column meant the original extractors wouldn’t fit, so I have to get the new ones cut up to give me some more clearance.

The there was the ignition problem; it was getting hot, and didn’t want to start, then sometimes it would, then it wouldn’t. Then I wanted to burn the bloody thing. So we put a new coil in it, and electronic ignition in it.

The guy who brought it into Australia went to the US on a working holiday

– he was a car enthusiast. He already had a high-end Range Rover and an Aston Martin and some other cars. He went to Mecum Auctions not planning on buying a car. But he did. He brought the Mustang back to Victoria but I ended up buying it from a prestige car sales joint – it was parked amongst all the Ferraris and Lamborghinis. It was registered in Texas not long ago, so I’ve kept the Texan sticker on, as well as the Victorian one. I like it as a bit of history for the car. We don’t have the stickers in Queensland anymore, though.

What I like about the car is that it’s old school. I wanted something that looked different. It’s not like a Ford or Holden today where you could buy either and they look similar. You also haven’t got all the electronics on it. It’s a car. It’s a classic. Sometimes kids walk up to it and ask me, “How do you open the door?” Even the windows, they look at the winder and you get, “Where’s the button?”

I hope to be able to use it for special occasions too, like formals or as a wedding car. Not to be paid, just for people I know.