My First 1971

I was sifting through a bunch of old pictures yesterday and ran across some pics of my very first 1971 Mustang coupe! It was 1986 or 1987 and I had just bought a 1966 Mustang coupe that I wanted to restore and to do so I sold my old GMC truck so I needed something to drive.

As I was heading home from work I saw this Mustang sitting at the corner where I turned to go home. I stopped and got the phone number which seemed familiar, and headed home to call to inquire about the car.

As it turned out it was one of the civilians we worked with at Eglin AFB and since we knew each other and worked together he gave me the straight scoop on the car and told me I could have it for $1,200! It took me all of about two seconds to tell him it was sold!

When I got it it was in pretty good condition though the 302 did smoke upon start up and the interior needed a little help in the usual places (arm rests and steering wheel, carpet, etc.). I spent a few hours on a Saturday and popped the heads off and gave her a quick valve job at the base hobby shop.

I went to the Mustang shop in Pensacola and picked up some new interior parts, letters and trunk mat/tire cover. I also picked up a new steering wheel and ordered up some Keystone Klassics and some new tires. I had already added my CB radio and new mirrors and changed all the gear oil in the rear end and the three speed.

After a couple of weekends I had my new daily driver!

These are all before and after shots.

Nice looking car Mac! What happened to it?

Nice looking coupe. How long did you keep it?

Nice daily Mac! What ever happened to it? In the spirit of Paul Harvey, what is the rest of the story?

Nice story! How does it end?

Doc

Love the Key Stone Classics. Was the CB a 23 or a 40?

Love the Key Stone Classics.

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X2! Also couldn't help but notice the same plastic 'flag' mirrors I had on my first '85 Nissan 4x4.

What's that parked on the grass next to the driveway (in the third from last picture)?

The story ended with me selling that car to finish the restoration of the '66 a couple of years down the road. The guy who bought it had tried to buy it a few minutes after I had struck the deal in the first place! I drove that car almost every day for those two years and put about 40k mile on her driving from NW Florida up to Atlanta, down to Orlando and a few trips west to The Big Easy! I loved that car and almost kept it and sold the '66 but I was so close to the finish line...still, I made a decent profit on her but I sure hated to see it drive off without me!

Love the Key Stone Classics. Was the CB a 23 or a 40?

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The CB was a 40 channel Cobra 148 GTL with SSB and a small 100W linear amp behind it. I had it opened up to also transmit and receive from 26.815Mhz to 28.085Mhz.

What's that parked on the grass next to the driveway (in the third from last picture)?

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That was a 1972 Mustang that a friend bought just before I bought mine. His was more like Swiss cheese than a Mustang and he over paid for that car with me in his ear telling him to wait and that another car would come along soon enough. Truth be told, I bought this one just to show him what an idiot he was! He never got that thing completely finished before selling it for a loss.

I'm diggin th CB look. I have an old SEB 23 channel & a few old antennas. Who knows, I might go all retro & put it in my Mach for some matching old school kicks.