Old pics of the one I wish I still had 😢

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You owned Don 'The Snake' Prudhomme's 'cuda flopper?! Cool! :LOL:
Owned no, but almost bought it back in the 90’s . Should have but didn’t pull the trigger. I’m regretting that one. If I remember correctly, dude that sent me those pics was in Missouri. Still one of my favorite pictures i have. I should have clarified that... you got me 🤪
 
My biggest regret was selling my 1975 XB GS Fairmont. I sold it in 1998 for $2000 Aussie dollars and at the time I was a little bemused that nobody here really seemed to want these old "Mad Max" cars. About two years after I sold it I noticed the prices for them suddenly started to rise, and nowadays I think it would be at the very least a $50,000 car. It had an FMX auto and a 302 Cleveland (yes a 302 Cleveland motor was a thing in Australia) which I had stroked to a 351 and it went like a rocket. I heard later that the young bloke who bought it lost his license in it a week later, after being caught doing burnouts in it.
I only sold the XB so I could upgrade to a bit of comfort in the form of a Ford NC Fairlane (an Australian luxury car), which was really stupid because I didn't actually need the money and I had space in my yard to keep it.
And over the years I would sometimes have really exciting dreams where I had managed to track the car down and buy it back, then I would wake up really disappointed - you know how much you loved a car when it keeps beckoning to you in a dream! 🤪
However, being pragmatic, I love my 1972 Mustang the best out of all three (also had a '70 Mach 1), and I don't think I would have looked to buy one if I still had the XB, so from the loss there was eventually a greater gain.View attachment 81387
A friend has a 75 John Goss that I did some work on and drove a little. Not many people here can fully appreciate what these cars were. Shorter than a Torino, but wider than the Mustang. Chassis shares a lot with the 66-67 Fairlanes, so most Mustang suspension stuff fits....but you can get ALOT more tire under those rear fenders without tubbing. Also, no shock tower braces to get in the way.

 
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No photo of my first Mustang. But, it was a 1969 HardTop (Coupe), Candyapple Red, C4 auto tranny, ARA aftermarket A/C, manual 4 wheel drum brakes, and a powered by a 250 L6 engine. It was a nice hand-me-down from my parents, but back in high school all I could think of is how much I wish it had a v-8 in it. Lucky for me it was a 6 cylinder as it is likely the one reason I am still alive today. That particular Mustang was proven more reliable and tougher than I would have expected from any vehicle until one day it did a 4 wheel drift into the back of a parked station wagon where someone has spilled lots of sand on a bend on a residential road where I was playing Andy Granatelli. The Mustang did not survive the encounter.

A few months later my dentist decided to trade his 1969 Mach 1 Mustang in for a Datsun (Nissan) 240Z. He was offered $800 for the Mach 1 as a trade vehicle, and I purchased it from him instead of him trading it on. That Mustang had the base 351 2v engine, and an FMX auto tranny with 3.0:1 rear axle ratio gear set. In time I built that 351 up, after replacing the internals of the FMX with upgraded performance B&M components and Shift Kit. In street trim it would pull 0-60 in 5.8 seconds, very quick for back then, and did the 1/4 mile in the high 12s at 125 MPH or so. Not bad for a non-computerized controlled engine. Sadly, in 1976 I decided to sell it so I would have a cash cushion for my exit from the Army. More sadly, the friend who purchased it from me was in the Mach 1 when a Los Angeles trash truck backed into id, pinning him in the cabin, and totaling the car. I only have two photos of that Mach 1, one from just before I went into the Army in November, 1974, and the final resting spot following it being crushed in the accident mentioned above.

It was not until 2017 that I got back into Pony Car Mode, long after "life happening" for me (marriage, kids, career, etc). We have 4 pony cars, and I do not plan to ever sell them. They are intended to be handed down to our children (all adults and on their own now). Meanwhile, Lynda and I are having a blast with them.
 

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