Love at first sight for a classic car owner
Sagi Marisi’s Mustang Mach 1 inspired by father’s first car
In this business — the automotive journalism biz — there’s usually lots going on and sometimes things fall through the cracks. This is one of them. Back in February, at the Canadian International Auto Show, which is held each year in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, a young guy came out on top in a new feature the show initiated for 2016, the AutoShow Your Auto contest (get it?).
The winner, a 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 owned by Sagi Marisi, received the most votes and got the highest praise from the judges. He won boasting rights plus $5,000.
I made a note to self: “Do story on Marisi and his Mustang.” Then the show was over and I set aside the notebook. One thing led to another (you know how it goes) and the opportunity to finally do the story only came a few weeks ago. Better late than never, I always say.
Marisi is 30, came to Canada from Israel when he was 16, and fell in love with cars. He got his driver’s licence and decided to become a licensed mechanic, which is his profession today. He works as a service adviser for a GM dealership in Richmond Hill.
“I got a few first cars — cheap cars,” he said. “One day, I was talking to my dad about first cars and he told me that when he was 18, he had this 1971 Mustang Mach 1. We had Google, and I was able to find a picture. I’m looking at it and this car is just stunning. It’s safe to say that this was when I was stung by the Mustang bug. Once you have that, you can’t shake it off. Even in college (he attended Centennial College’s automotive program), we had to choose some kind of vehicle and do a project on it, an assignment, and every time, I chose that ’71 Mach 1. This was always my car. I had a sticker on my binder. I was obsessed with it.”
Marisi is the kind of guy who — once he makes up his mind — doesn’t mess around. He gets at it. The decision to become a mechanic is a good example. He woke up one morning and decided that would be his path in life. He didn’t waver. Same with the car: he made up his mind to buy a ’71 Mustang Mach 1. So he did.
“I got some money together (in 2014),” he said, “and I started looking. There’s a saying, ‘We don’t pick our cars, our cars pick us.’ I believe that to be true.
“I got a call from my brother and he said, ‘Check on Kijiji. I sent you a link to this Mach 1; take a look and see if you like it.’ So I click the link and it’s a classic car dealership in St. Jerome, Que. I’m looking at the car, and it’s like a mustard colour with a tan exterior, and I think, ‘Oh, I don’t know about that one.’
“I said, I have to write everything down on paper. What do I want in my Mustang? I wrote down my ‘musts’ and my ‘wants.’ I kept looking at the car, and it had every- thing. It had every single option (front spoiler, rear louvres, 351V8, power steering and brakes) except for A/C, and it was automatic, but 95 per cent were automatic, and it’s hard to find a good-condition manual one. This was built for Canada, straight from Dearborn, Mich. It was a one-owner car. Long story short, I saw it Thursday morning, called in sick for Friday-Saturday, got into a vehicle Friday morning with my brother and his girlfriend and we went to Quebec with a certified cheque.
“I was afraid to drive it back to Toronto, with it being old and all. I didn’t know anything about it, really, so I arranged to have it put on a transport truck. I got it here, got the insurance done, and I’ve been driving it ever since.
“The car was mint. Just about everything is original. I did some work on it last year; it was overheating in traffic. I took it to a shop in Woodbridge and all they do is classic cars, and we ended up doing a head gasket.”
Marisi said he’d always gone to the auto show — “I’m a car guy” — and remembered in days gone by when modified and restored cars were a big part of the annual exhibition, which will be held next year from Feb. 17 to 26. He kept looking at his car and wondering if there was some way he could show it off.
“I guess it’s a mixture of luck and timing,” he said, explaining that he called the show to inquire about making the Mustang a part of it, only to be told that they were planning a new feature, and if he got past the first stage — lots of likes on Facebook — then there might be a chance. And there was.
“I took a week off, because I wanted to be there with my car and to talk to people about it. You get to talk to the older generation, people who actually owned cars like mine and drove them. People would say, ‘I owned one,’ or, ‘I crashed one.’ I heard good stories and bad stories. It was very nice and very educational, and I enjoyed that.”
Does he want to buy another Mustang?
“Yes, absolutely. But I’m still young, I’m only 30. There’s still time.”
And does he still have the $5,000 he won?
“I put it right back in the car.” nmcdonald@thestar.ca