Five Decades of Mustang Ownership

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Episode Introduction

1:00Coming up today on this episode of Ford Mustang, the Early Years Podcast. Kind of when it's true, it's in its blood. I basically put the turbo mufflers on it a long time ago, and it had such a nasty sound to it, a nice classic sound to it. And people said it sounded like a beast. I go, okay, I'll just call it the beast. That's okay. And I looked for various versions of it in California, like beast, a beast, A-B-E-A-S-T, D-A-B-E-A-S-T. So I have D-A-B-E-E-S-T instead.

1:33Nice. And up here in Oregon, unfortunately, they don't allow seven letters. They only allow six. So I had to improvise with the license plate up here. So it's D-B-E-S instead of W-E-E-S.

1:47Welcome to the Ford Mustang First Generation, the Early Years Podcast. Every week, we will have conversations with collectors, experts, weekend warriors, and those in the know when it comes to first generation ponies. Start your engines and let's go.

Jim's Mustang Story

2:06So Jim Foster has owned his Mustang for nearly 50 years. And in that time, the car has become more than just transportation. Nicknamed the Beast, this Mustang has survived hundreds of thousands of miles, an engine rebuild after 450,000 miles on the road, a serious accident, and a full restoration that brought it back to life somewhere around 2008. On this episode of Ford Mustang, the Early Years Podcast, Jim will share the stories behind decades of ownership, the upgrades that made a big difference, and what it's like staying connected to the same classic car through so many chapters in life.

2:38If you've ever wondered what it takes to make someone happy with their Mustang, for over half a century, this conversation will deliver. Jim, I'm excited to chat with you. Welcome to the podcast. Thank you very much. I'm glad to have you. Yeah, I'm happy to have you here. So how many years, do you know, like, to the month, how long you've had the Mustang? This September in 2026 will be 50 years. Wow. So I got it in September of 1976. So in 1976, the car was, let's see, it's a 68. So the car was about eight years.

3:10It was about five years, about seven, eight years old, yeah. Eight years old when you bought the car. So are you the second owner, or did it go through a number of hands? Do you know? It was on the second owner, as far as I know, yeah. Yeah. So tell me about that initial, so just take me back to the origin story. What fascinated you with Mustangs, and then how did you end up finding this car? Well, it's kind of interesting because at the time that I got the Mustang, I was working at a shell station in near Woodland Hills, California. And the owner of the shell station had two Mustangs that he was trying to sell, a 68 coupe with a three-speed stick shift, and a 69 with a 390 with a four-speed stick shift, which is the one I really wanted to get.

3:55So I basically mentioned it to my father, saying, hey, I'd like to get one of these cars. And he says, we'll find you something more suitable. I was like, oh, great. It'd be like a Pinto or something like that. Right. I was like, all right, great. So basically, about a couple days later, he drove up in this car, and he said, you like it? And I go, yeah, it looks pretty cool. He goes, well, I'll tell you what. I'll buy it, and you can pay me back. So basically what happened was he bought it for me because I was in college at the time. And then I just paid him back for it over the course of about 18 months.

4:26All right. So for how many years or decades was this a daily driver for you, or was it never a daily driver for you? It was always a daily driver for me for about the first 30 years that I had it. Wow. Then basically the accident happened, and most of my family and friends said, well, you've had the car for almost 30 years. It's time to let it go. And I go, I can't because it's now a part of me. Right. So I basically took the accident money, and I cashed out a 401k, and I put it back together again.

Accident and Restoration

4:52Wow. Okay. So take me back to that year. Was that 2008, or was that prior to that? The accident happened in 2006 on my birthday. Wow. So what was the cause of the accident? I was, if you're familiar with the San Fernando Valley, I'm on the Simi Valley Freeway in the exit lane at Topanga Canyon Boulevard going westbound. And I look in the rearview mirror just in time to see this utility truck hit me, and I must have turned the wheel the very last instant because instead of hitting the car in front of me, I did a big U-turn across three lanes of traffic.

5:26So if you saw on my website, the accident pictures, you'll see one of the pictures while I was facing the wrong way in the fast lane. Wow. We'll have to get your – I don't know that I have your website, so we'll have to get it and post it in the show notes if you're okay with that so people can see what would happen. So how much damage was done to the car at that point, and how long did it – it sounds like it took you a couple of years to get it back on the road. Well, basically, the back end was pushing – the trunk was pushed into the back seat effectively.

5:58So it was smashed pretty good, and I took it to three different body shops at the time, and they would not touch the car because the amount of effort I would take to fix it wasn't worth their while. So I went to a Mustang Club meeting at the time and asked them where could I go to get my car fixed, and they pointed me to Chino's Auto Body, which is in the San Fernando Valley. And he basically took the car in and fixed it for me. That's incredible. Now, have you always been a car guy, or were you just a Mustang guy that just happened to fall in love with that brand?

6:33Initially, I was just looking for a car to get around in. After that, after I've had it for so long, it's like it kind of became a part of me. And at that time, I just enjoyed having the car. And ever since I got it back from the repair shop back in 2008, when I finally got it back, I joined up several Mustang clubs in Southern California and went to various car shows and so forth. And basically told the story of the car at the car shows, and the people liked the story behind the car. And in the People's Choice Awards, I would get votes because of the story behind the car.

7:07Not that the car was in the greatest condition compared to a lot of the other cars that are there. Or it's just that they liked the story behind it. It says, hey, you actually drive the car. I go, yeah, I drove it. It's always about the story behind the car. You know, you drive probably your 68 into any gas station to fill up. And you could probably just sit there for hours talking to people as they're filling up their gas tank. Oh, you're driving my dream car. Or I love that car. Or I get that. I've only had my car for eight years. But in that time that I've had it, every single time I go to a gas station, if one other person is at the gas station,

7:41I'm always getting an earful, which is great. I love having conversations about the car. But you've put 450-plus thousand miles on your car. You've got to have the attention of most of the people in your town. Oh, yeah. I certainly do. A lot of times people find out that this is my first car. And they always keep saying, God, I wish I had kept my first car. And I go, that's one regret that I don't have is I never got rid of my first car because I still got it. That's right. So what are you doing with the car now?

8:11Is this still a daily driver for you? Or are you a hobbyist and driving on the weekends? What are you using it for now? Ever since I got it back from the accident, I had to reinsure it because it's a salvaged car. So it's insured as a collector's car. So I can theoretically only take it to car shows, parades, things of that nature. I can't really use it as a daily driver, unfortunately, even though I kind of drive a little bit more than I should. But with the collector car insurance, I do have a limit of like 12,000 miles on because at the time I was a president of one of the Mustang clubs and they had the 50 year anniversary in 2014 for the Mustang.

8:51So I went to a whole bunch of different car shows. I needed to have that many miles available for me to be able to do all that driving and stuff of that nature, too. So I must have gone to like around maybe a dozen or more car shows that particular year. One of them was in Las Vegas. They had it at the Las Vegas Speedway. So take me through some of the improvements that you've made in the 50 years that you've had this. It sounds like you did a full – did you have to do a full restoration when the car was rear-ended or did you just – Yeah, they basically cut the back half off and welded the back half of the Mustang.

9:24So it's kind of like two Mustangs in one. Right, right. The other changes I've made to the car was I put the shorty headers on it because the original exhaust – cast iron exhaust manifolds kept cracking on me. I had to go through like three different sets of exhaust manifolds. So I just said, fine, I'll just put the shorty headers on there and use that instead. And then I got the – it had a single exhaust. I put the dual exhaust on just before the accident, fortunately, because the original exhaust was a single exhaust that went up and over the back axle and by the – right next to the gas tank, which ruptured from the accident.

10:02Wow. So – and I just drove like 40 miles from work to go home. And had that been there, it might have been a fire on the freeway there too, but fortunately I didn't. Oh, my gosh. Gosh. So, yeah. So talk about – I know you're probably – it sounds like you've been involved with the Mustang community as well. So tell me what the community means to you. Do you go to meetings regularly? Do you go to shows regularly? Well, I have – seeing how I used to live in Southern California, I was a member of five Mustang clubs. I'm still a member of the Mustang Club of America and Mustang Moves Club of California officially.

10:36And then unofficially, I still get emails and Facebook blasts from Tri-County – Tri-Valley Mustang Club, which is based in Ventura. Yep, that's where I am. And also, BC's Mustang Club, I see stuff for the BCMC website as well too. Yep. They're both really good groups of people too. How often do you get to get out to things like cars and coffee that are close to you? Do you go to that? I've been trying to go – up here in Oregon, they actually have a car show season up here, which goes from about the middle of May-ish to like the middle of October.

11:11And on the ending points, the weather can be kind of iffy. So, I still go to car events. As a matter of fact, we have a major car event coming up very shortly called Function for Junction. It's in Junction City, Oregon. And it goes – we have Friday on the 29th, we have the – anybody can cruise there. Then Saturday is the car show in Shine. And then the classic cruise, which is basically 79 and older, goes on that cruise. And I basically am working that show for the most part.

11:43I actually do the traffic control part for the cruises and so forth. But a lot of times, I still go up here and do car shows and car events and stuff as well. They have a really great car community up here in Oregon. It's amazing. So, you must know the inside and out of your car, like the back of your hand. What's the stuff that you do on your own versus the stuff that you leave to – let's call it a professional. I mean, a professional, somebody that's owned a car for 50 years, you know every smell, every noise, everything that that car makes.

12:15I know quite a bit about it. However, I am a computer programmer as opposed to an auto mechanic. So, my goal is to basically find someone who is reliable. So, I go to a lot of cars and coffees and say, where's a good place to take my car to get fixed and so forth. And I found several places that I've gone to through those means there. So, I don't actually do the work myself. I have done some work on my car, but mostly it's done through a professional automotive shop. Have you had the interior reupholstered at any point?

12:45Basically, when the accident happened, the interior was redone. The whole body was repainted. It originally had a black vinyl top, which I took off of that because it was like all rust and stuff like that. Right. And I just basically painted it. So, basically, I just put the black carpet in there. So, it was a black interior with a black car. So, it was like black on black on black type of a thing. Well, let's talk about the name Da Beast. So, at what point did you name it? Has it always been named that? Or was that just when you saw what was truly in its blood?

13:19Kind of when it's true is in its blood. I basically put the turbo mufflers on it a long time ago. And it had such a nasty sound to it, a nice classic sound to it. And people said it sounded like a beast. I go, okay, I'll just call it the beast. That's okay. And I looked for various versions of it in California, like beast, a beast, A-B-E-A-S-T, D-A-B-E-A-S-T. So, I have D-A-B-E-E-S-T instead. Nice. And up here in Oregon, unfortunately, they don't allow seven letters.

13:49They only allow six. So, I had to improvise with the license plate up here. So, it's D-B-E-S instead of W. D-B-E-S. Yeah. That's good. So, anybody in your family claiming ownership after you part this mortal coil here? Or are you going to be buried in it? Actually, my son has indicated more in certain terms that he likes the newer Camaros instead. So, he's not really a classic car guy. He doesn't expect to take it. Currently, he's driving a 96 Toyota Corolla, which was my daily driver until he started driving.

14:25Then I needed to find another daily driver. So, I actually got a 96 Mustang GT as my daily driver. Nice. And this one, I just basically take it to car shows and cars and coffees and car cruises and stuff of that nature. Yeah. It sounds like you're a Mustang guy through and through, except it wasn't linear between you and your son. It sounds like he went over to the dark side. Apparently so, yeah. I was like, all right, fine. If that's what he wants, I'm not going to object to it. If he wants to buy it, I mean, it's his money.

14:56It'll be his car. He can do what he wants. He's not really a car enthusiast like I am. Right, right. But had you ever considered or did you ever consider selling the car at any point? There's been a couple of times due to financial situations where I almost had to sell the car, but fortunately I never did. If I was to sell it, I'd basically say, if anybody wants to pay me six figures for it, yeah, I'll sell it. Otherwise, it's like, no, I don't think I'll sell it really because there's a big thing as a fact that it's my first car.

15:31I can never duplicate that again.

15:35I just had somebody over looking at, you know, classic cars are kind of like potato chips. You know, once you have one, you have to have a bunch of them. So for me, I now have five. I have the Mustang and four F-Series trucks in my all pre-1973. And I had a woman that was coming over that was checking out one of the trucks because she's interested in buying it. I have it up on Marketplace right now. And she said, I can't tell you how much I regret selling my first truck.

16:05And she said, the day after I sold it, I've been on the hunt for another truck. So I understand the, I've never had any intention of selling it. I've never considered selling it. So I try, you know, you get emotionally connected to these cars, don't you, Jim? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. The thing is, is I only got the daily driver, the GT, and this one here. I haven't had a chance to really collect other cars because of financial considerations. Unfortunately, my finances don't really allow it.

16:35So I was like, all right, I just have the two cars to drive around in. One is my daily driver, and this one here is the show car. So now you're trying to make emotional sense out of an, I mean, unemotional sense out of an emotional subject. It's, I don't have the money to do it either. I don't know why I have all these cars that just seem to make their way into my house. Yeah. One of the sayings that I actually have on the poster that I put on the display for the car is, you love your car is not based on how much money you spend on it. It's how much money you spend on it you don't have. That's, that's very true.

17:07And, you know, I, and I would probably put me in this category too. Most of the classics that I have, I've put more into them than they are worth if I went to sell them right now. So the other side of it is too, I handcuff myself by putting too much money into it. And I'm like, no, I'm not going to sell that. I may as well hang on to it. I'd lose $5,000 by selling that. Yeah, pretty much. I mean, that's not really my concern on that level. It's just like, I just don't want to sell it, you know, because it is a big part of me because if I sold the car, someone would have to take up the, the maintaining the website and all the other stuff as well too.

17:43And I still keep getting calls from California, strangely enough, for people wanting to use my car in videos, photo shoots or whatever. I had one person call me up about two years ago. I've already moved up here back in 2017. So two years ago, they called me up and says, the car we were using broke down. Can we use your car? And they go, when did you need it? And they go, we need it tomorrow at eight o'clock in Los Angeles. I go, I don't think I can make it there because I live up here in Eugene, Oregon now. Yeah, they think you're still there. I might make it in time, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

18:15Right, right.

Car Community and Advice

18:16Yeah, I'm part of a production crew that is always scouting for California cars because all of the photo shoots are done here in California. And I'm, I'm probably one of those guys that, that probably connected with you and said, Hey, are you available to have your car tomorrow? Not knowing that you're in Oregon for sure. Well, the big thing is, is like when I was in California and I was a member of five Mustang clubs, the people would initially go to companies that use cars or you had cars available for videos, photo shoots or whatever.

18:47And if they couldn't find what they were looking there, then they would go to private parties, which that would be me. Right, right. And basically it says, I'm looking for a, like a 65 white convertible. And I go, let me check to see what I can find on, and I would find them a 65 white convertible and say, here you go. How's this? You know? So, um, nice. And then on top of that, I don't know if you know this or not, but have you ever seen the Katy Perry music video, the one that got away? No, I haven't. But I, but again, I, I don't know anything about anything.

19:17So tell me about it though. Yeah, basically, um, I was contacted a while back when I lived in California, back in 2011. And they said, we're looking for a black sixties Mustang to be used in a music video. I go, okay, I got one right here. So the producer came by and took a look at the car and he said, this will be fine. Can you be on site in a couple of days? Which is unusual because usually they say, and we want it tomorrow. But this time they gave me a couple of days to get it kind of cleaned up and so forth. And then basically I found out it was for use in Katy Perry's music video, the one that got away.

19:50That is great. So she actually drove the car. Wow. Back in, uh, 2011. That, that's awesome. That's awesome. And, and I don't know that I have that you've mentioned your, you, you talked about your website, but you didn't mention what the, uh, what the web address is. So why don't you share it with our community so that they can have that? Very simple. Dabeast.com. D-A-B-E-A-S-T.com. D-A-B-E-A-S-T.com. All right. I'm going to put it right in the show notes so that everybody has access to it now. So if you check the link in the show notes, you'll be able to just click on Dabeast.com.

20:22Uh, talk to my, um, my new or aspiring Mustang community. Those that are thinking about buying a car, just bought a Mustang. What stuff should they be looking for when they're buying it? What stuff should they be trying to avoid when they're, when they're buying it? If they're looking for a classic Mustang. If they're looking for a classic Mustang, it's basically, it's all a matter of taste. It's like, do you like the way it looks or handles or not? Uh, the classic Mustangs will not get as good a gas mileage. They won't handle quite as well as the newer cars will.

20:55But if you're willing to put up with that, then it's not a, not a big deal, but it's just mostly a matter of taste, you know? I mean, I get crummy gas mileage with my car. I get like 11 miles to the gallon with my car, but it's like, I don't drive it because of the gas mileage. I drive it for fun. Yeah. I'm, I'm with you too. I think I get slightly more mileage out of, out of mine than that, but probably not more than 13 out of my, my Mustang and my, my trucks. I think the best of them gets 10 miles to the gallon if I'm, if I'm lucky. So yeah, we don't, we don't buy our classic cars because we're looking at a good gas mileage.

21:29What's, uh, what's on the agenda as far as, uh, things that you still have to do or what are you considering doing or, or is it just, I'm only going to do something when something breaks? It's kind of, I'm only going to do something when something breaks because of financial reasons. Again, unfortunately, I eventually want to get it repainted because it does have a little bit of road rash on it, which is not surprising. That's why I call it my perfectly imperfect car. Yeah. So, but it has a little bit of road rash on it. Um, and basically like the wiring underneath the hood needs to be really gone through really

22:00well. That's one of the things the air conditioner does not work. Unfortunately, that's something I need to eventually get fixed as well. You know, there's a little things here and there that need to be taken care of that. I don't have to, it's not necessary right now, but it's on the foreseeable future. Maybe. Yep. Yep. Well, they say also, Jim, that behind every Mustang or classic car owner is the, uh, the husband or wife that supports them in their, in their hobby. Uh, who's the one behind you that's helping you do all this stuff and, or, or is just allowing

22:32you to stay in the garage on the weekend when, uh, when they're going out with friends? No, my wife, Margaret is very good about it. Matter of fact, she actually, um, if you remember when I'd mentioned function for junction, yeah, that's one of the biggest car events up here in Oregon in junction city. And she does the ad sales for them for that magazine that we publish once a, once a year. Yeah. And if you wanted to catch me with your email, I'm sorry, with your mailing address, I'll send you a copy of it. So that way you can see what the magazine itself looks like.

23:03Um, but yeah, she's all, she says that my car gave us a social life because before that we just really didn't do much of anything, but the fact that we were in, in five Mustang clubs in Southern California gave us a real social life, you know? Yep. So I encourage people that if they, A, get a classic car or just any kind of Mustang that they want to drive, uh, try and hook up with the Mustang clubs and, uh, and, uh, they're really cool people. Well, I found the same thing that you are finding in, in, in not only the classic Mustang

23:35community, but the classic, uh, F series communities as well is that, you know, you have this common bond with your classic vehicles and it really does, you know, if you have to make a repair, if you need advice, you just get on any of those groups or go to those community or those clubs, the, any of the meetings, it's like walking into an encyclopedia full of information and knowledge about, about your car. And even though you've had it for, you know, 50 plus years, it, it probably it's, when you have a question you don't know the answer to, it's always amazing. Somebody has the answer to the question you need to know.

24:08Yeah, pretty much. So, I mean, you basically just hook up with cars and coffee or, or things like that. And, and just basically meet up with people and talk to them and they love to talk. They love to listen as well too. So yeah, it's just, it's a lot of fun. Agreed. It gave us a social life, a big social life. Agreed. Agreed. And anytime you have a repair and you need to get ahold of somebody, I'll tell you, it's just so easy to get on any of the Facebook groups or go to your community meetings and somebody's got the information for you. Jim, thank you so much for, for sharing your story.

24:40Is there anything I should be asking you that I'm not asking you or anything you want to add while you, while you have, I was checking out the website as you were answering one of my questions and I love that you have a lengthy story that you have written about your, about the beast. And I really do encourage anybody to, to take a look at the website. I'll put a link in the show notes again. Sorry. I didn't mean to short circuit your answer there. Anything I should be asking you that I'm not though? Well, basically, if you want more information about the beast, just do an internet search on D-A-B-E-S-T or the beast Mustang.

25:10And you'll see a bunch of other websites, YouTube videos and stuff of that nature. I'm regretting my car. Uh, I've actually published on YouTube itself, two videos up here because of the Peterson museum. They basically wanted to have like a virtual car show back when they had the COVID problem. And I basically created two YouTube videos of my car and submitted it to them for the virtual car show that they have. I didn't win anything, but I wasn't expecting to anyway.

25:41It's just to get the information out there. Yeah. Whenever I go to car shows, it's basically, I just there to show off my car, tell the story behind it. If I win anything great, it's not, I'm just there to meet people, make friends and have a good time. Yeah, I hear you. I hear you. Well, Jim, your story is, is, uh, is great. I appreciate you carrying the brand name on for 50 plus years. And thanks for sharing your story on the Ford Mustang, the earliest podcast. Thanks for being here. My pleasure. Yeah. I look forward to seeing your podcast again. Thanks, Jim. Thanks. And, uh, for those in our, in our Mustang community, uh, if you, if you have a story that you think

26:12would be a great story to share on the podcast with the community, it doesn't even have to be really an over the top, interesting story of 50 plus years of ownership. It could just be a nuance or something that's, uh, very unusual that you have, or maybe it's just your story, your side. I'd love to hear your story. We are looking for guests for the show and, uh, I'll put a link in the show notes so that you have access to, uh, to my email and my website as well. Thanks for tuning in. Keep it safe. Keep it rolling and keep it on the road until next time. Thanks for listening to the Ford Mustang first generation, the early years podcast, please

26:46subscribe rate and review wherever you listen to your podcasts ideas for the show. Click the link in the show notes. Thanks again for tuning in.