T-Birds & Mustangs! Old Cars reader rides

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Eric Novosel’s hot pony features a 351 Cleveland, three-speed automatic, factory air, tilt steering wheel, intermittent wipers, power brakes and power steering. “It’s a highly optioned car” he says. “This is the eighth Mustang I’ve owned in my lifetime.”

“I’ve wanted this vehicle ever since I was a kid watching ‘Vegas’ with the character Dan Tana driving a sweet red one,” says Timothy Lewis. “Now that I’m near retirement, I bought this at an auction to make those dreams finally come true.”

Gerard Bartasavich says his restored classic 1957 Thunderbird “was owned by Zoe Dell Nutter, actress, model, huntress, pilot, inventor. Over 400 people attended her 100th birthday party. She passed away at 104 years old.”

My ‘7-Up’ Mustang is all-original with only 37,656 miles. It’s a joy to drive!” says Jeff Bennett.

The 7-Up Mustang was an interesting model — only 30 were originally produced, and they were meant to be promotional giveaways for the soft drink company at the NCAA basketball finals. The promotion was ultimately canceled at the last minute, but Ford decided to re-brand and build 5,000 of the such cars for the Mustang’s 25th anniversary. They were all LX convertibles equipped with the 255-hp 5.0L V-8 engine, and all were painted Deep Emerald Green clear coat metallic and featured a white leather interior and a white convertible top. 

Bud Elliott has owned his ’Bird for more than a dozen years, “and it has won many trophies at car shows. It is all original, but has been repainted the original color of Samoan Coral. The engine, transmission and rear end have been gone over and resealed and all the wiring has been replaced. It runs great.

“This T-Bird has meticulously been maintained,” notes owner Tony Ragano. “I have only put on 6,700 miles since the engine was rebuilt.” The gorgeous third-gen ’Bird is loaded: 390-cid Z-Code V-8; Cruise-O-Matic transmission; power steering windows, brakes and seats; power custom-made soft top; removable tonneau cover; Kelsey-Hayes chrome wire wheels; whitewalls; continental kit; custom exhaust; chrome goodies on the engine; and custom-upholstered trunk liner.

Greg Torbinski has owned his Petty Blue 1968 “Going Thing” special edition Mustang since 1973. It retains its 428 Super Cobra-Jet V-8 and four-speed transmission and most of its original paint. The odometer shows only 16,000 miles! About the only notable item to have been replaced is the carpet, Torbinski says. 

“It’s a former drag car. I have Marti Reports and over 800 pictures documenting the preservation,” he says. 

A total of 109 — the accepted number — of these special editions were ordered by Ohio dealerships for the Ford Total Performance Show at Thompson Drag Raceway in Chardon, Ohio, in 1969. The Going Thing Mustangs were available in special-order Petty Blue or white. They featured an unusual stripe with  “THE GOING THING” stenciled at the bottom of the stripe. They also carried a large Ford decal on the trunk lid.

“I was 15 years old when my mother purchased this Mustang in June 1965 from Heiser Ford in Milwaukee [Wis.],” recalls Dave Scott. “She traded in a 1957 Dodge station wagon. The car still has its original interior, engine, transmission and sheet metal. Maintenance and repairs have been ongoing ...It is equipped with 289 V-8, automatic transmission, power steering and brakes and radio. The car has been driven approximately 62,000 miles in 60 years and has not been wet in more than 30 years.”

Gerry Goguen was 14 when his dad bought him his “dream car,” and he has since turned it into a unique custom machine. “I’ve spent most of my life doing restoration and custom work and six years ago I started the restoration process, creating a one-off, all-steel power retractable hardtop with a retractable tonneau cover, incorporating many custom touches I added when I was in my teens: Mickey Thompson Indy Profile tires at rear with Firestone Wide Ovals front with chrome “smoothies;” 10-inch steering wheel; Thrush sidepipes; and the quick-fill gas cap and four-speed I scavenged from a wrecked Mustang GT when I was 16... In designing the retractable hardtop, I tried to mimic the Ford design style of the day in making all the components for the car from scratch. None of the retractable components were scavenged from existing cars.”

“I recently purchased this 1978 Ford Mustang II online out of Ohio,” says Tom Howard. “I’ve done numerous upgrades. It has a V-8 302 in it, so it can move!” 

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