One Family, One Mustang, 60 Years

Introduction

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Podcast Preview

0:36Coming up today on this episode of Ford Mustang, the Early Years Podcast. Well, I'll be honest. I have handled every bit and piece on this car at one time, except for spraying it. But I've had it down to, you know, the unibody. I have rebuilt the motor once. A friend of mine and I did. It lasted 20,000 miles or so before I had to have somebody that knew what they were doing rebuild it. So, I've touched everything on it.

1:08These days, it's pretty much done. You know, I've restored it probably four, five, six times because I would drive it. I would wreck it. I would fix it. I would drive it. I would wreck it. I would fix it. And now I'm at the point where I think I don't drive it quite as fast or I'm not quite as crazy with it. But I will own that, you know, if the tires don't spin when I take it out, I'm not having a good day. So, they...

1:39I understood. Welcome 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. Welcome back to the podcast. Today on Ford Mustang The Early Years Podcast, we're talking legacy.

Guest Introduction

2:10I mean, real legacy. Our guest has been riding in the same Mustang since 1966. Yeah, you heard that right. Bought new by his mom. It's officially became his in 1980 or so. And over the decades, it's evolved into something far beyond stock. Rebuilt from the ground up with just a couple of original pieces still hanging on. He's called it the mistress, the beast, and the hot rod. And once you hear the story, you'll understand why. If you love long-term ownership, serious transformation, and the kind of Mustang story that you just can't replicate today, this one's for you.

2:41Let's get into it. David Gast, rhymes with fast. Welcome to the podcast.

2:47Thank you. Glad to be here. Glad to be here. I saw you when you posted up looking for something interesting. I figured, you know what? I might have what you're looking for. So, yeah, definite longevity. Maybe if you were the opposite sex, I might not ask you this question, but what year were you born? I was born in 1964. So, two great things came out in 64. Me and the Mustang. All right. So, we have a couple things in common.

3:17I was born in 64 as well, and I have a 65. So, you know, our stories are intertwined to that degree, but I've only had mine for eight years, and it's been through about four or five ownership changes. And it sounds like, take me way, way back. So, when your mom bought this car, you were basically two years old. You've had this car your entire life. Yeah, me and the car have been together the whole time, as long as I've been alive. And she bought it in, let's see, I believe it would be September 9th, 1966, at Rhett White Ford in Walnut Creek, California.

3:56Wow. And then, you know, it's the whole time I've been with the car, been in the car, you know, as a two-year-old. I mean, the things that, I mean, she, you know, back then, they'd leave you in the grocery store, and I'd be in this car playing around, you know, driving my little Hot Wheels around. I mean, yeah, I mean, that's how long I've been with this car, and it just, it won't. I've had friends that have said, dude, what are you doing with that old piece of garbage? Why don't you get rid of it, get something different, better?

4:29And, you know, that was back in the 80s, 90s. It was just a used car. And I said, why? You know what, it's paid for, it doesn't cost me anything, you know, I'd blow up a motor or wreck it or something. I'll get rid of it. No, I didn't park it until I could fix it again. So, what was the fascination with Mustang, or did your mom just happen to run into a Mustang that she wanted to get? I mean, what's her Mustang story before I got to you? Well, it goes even before that, because my grandmother had bought a 1966 Mustang in April of 66.

5:07So, I'm assuming that's sort of where it started. You know, my grandmother had hers, which I did own for a time. She, when she passed away, she left that Mustang to me. So, I had both of them for a time. And so, I think my mom, you know, she, you know, well, okay, you know, my mom's got one. I'm going to, I'll get one. And, you know, and I often tell people, you know, yeah, I'm a Mustang guy. I'm a Ford guy. If my mom had bought a Camaro, it might be a different story. But she bought a Mustang. All right, so, what type of work did your mom do with the car, or did your dad do in addition to your mom?

5:46Or was it just your mom's car, and nobody put their hands on your mom's car except for your mom? No, no. She drove it, and then there was a time when it was turned over to my stepdad, who adopted me, became my full father. But then he used it to commute from Sonoma, California, down to San Rafael, California. And, you know, it was parked outside most of its life, you know, until about, until when I got it, or even after I got it.

6:21So, when I got it, you know, I started driving in 79 or so, and learned to drive in this thing. And it was pretty much a commuter beater. I mean, let's face it. He was parking it at the curb in San Rafael, and, you know, when I got it, there was sprung seats, a torn top, you know, a cheap miracle auto paint job as my mom had changed the color. And, you know, hubcaps missing. I mean, you know, it was not that ray of beauty that we all think about.

6:56It was just a used car worth five or six, seven hundred bucks at the time. But, you know, when I started driving, I didn't care. It was a Mustang drop-top V8. I was good with that. Yeah. And it looks like, just looking at some of the pictures that you had sent over, plus doing a little research online about the car, roll bar. It looks like a Shelby drop, or at least it looks lowered. You put the side vents in it. It looks like a really cool-looking resto mod.

Car Modifications

7:28So let's talk about some of the stuff that you did over the decades that you've had the car and what your motivation was to make in all the changes. Well, you know, let's face it. I grew up, I had my dad, my stepdad, my aunt. They all raced cars in the early to mid-60s. So I was, you know, I was around cars my whole life. And then when I started driving, you know, it was all about speed. Let's go faster. And the other part of that was that back in the day, you know, it was cheaper to buy hot rod parts than it was to buy stock parts.

8:03And you really couldn't find stock parts anyway. But you could find hot rod parts all day long. So when I first got it, and my dad and I were sharing it because he was still commuting in it, and I got my driver's license, it was about two weeks. And I went down to the local auto shop, and there was a used set of slot mags and slapper bars. And I looked at him, and I said, okay, I'll need some Gabriel hijackers. And without asking anybody, I went ahead and, you know, went ahead and put all that on.

8:37And much to my dad's chagrin, it's like, really? Now I have to drive it to work like this? But, you know, it just manifested over the years into more and more and more. All right. So let's talk about what the more and more and more amounts to because it looks like it's done. Oh, I'm hearing some train go by you right now. That's the idea. I'm trying to get away from it. Northern California for you, for sure. So let's talk about some of the modifications that you've made to the car.

9:10So take me through some of the major changes that you've made. Well, every time I wrecked it, I put on, you know, new bits, new parts, new body. And, you know, that was sort of it. The first time I wrecked it, I decided to go Shelby on it. And I got some mayor racing glass for it. And I was starting to lower it. And I got away from the 70s, jack it up kind of thing and changed, you know, went over to five spokes and lowered it down.

9:49Like you said, I did do Shelby's version. But the lowering then came from a lot of Mustangs Plus stuff, which was a big, big company back in the day for resto modding, you know, and reverse eye, five, five and a half leap rear springs, KYB shocks. I did the Shelby drop, cut the front 620 coils, a half a coil, you know, and got it sitting on the ground. And, of course, as I said, my family was into road racing, so that's where I went.

10:21And sorry to the drag racers, and I love drag racing, too. But, you know what, anybody can go straight in a straight line fast. I want to go through corners fast. So that's where I started to take it. And what's the stuff that you do on your own versus the stuff that you leave to somebody that is at a different skill set or maybe you handle all of that? Well, I'll be honest. I have handled every bit and piece on this car at one time, except for spraying it.

10:51But I've had it down to, you know, the unibody. I have rebuilt the motor once. A friend of mine and I did. It lasted 20,000 miles or so before I had to have somebody that knew what they were doing rebuild it. So I've touched everything on it. These days, it's pretty much done. You know, I've restored it probably four, five, six times because I would drive it. I would wreck it. I would fix it. I would drive it.

11:22I would wreck it. I would fix it. And now I'm at the point where I think I don't drive it quite as fast or I'm not quite as crazy with it. But I will own that, you know, if the tires don't spin when I take it out, I'm not having a good day. So you've had this, you started driving this. It sounds like when you turned 16, you were driving the car. If you took ownership somewhere around the 1980 timeframe, a little bit before that, you started driving around 1980.

11:54So it sounds like you've been behind the wheel of this car since the day you could drive. Yeah. Essentially, I have been around. I have been behind it since I actually, since before I had my license, you know, there was a couple times that I snuck it out, you know, getting my driving groove on early. It wasn't mine straight away because, you know, grades, my parents held that pink slip over my head until I got my grades up.

12:26You know, they said, well, it'll be yours, but we're not handing you the pink slip until we see better grades. So I got it around my late junior year. Let's put it that way. And David, were you always the guy in the, in the high school parking lot, the cool kid with the car, other, other kids around the car, just checking out the Mustang? You know what that the, in Sonoma, it's a one heck of a, a car culture that's still hidden in this town. And there was always hot rods and our parking lot was loaded with hot rods.

13:00And, you know, even at that point, we had a full blown auto shop, which I took, and that's where we rebuilt the motor. The first time around. So, yeah, that was, that would be it. It was, you know, it was always under, under construction. And there was a point where we were had, had it down and rebuilding the motor. I even bought a 64 and a half coupe that didn't even, that barely had a front end and was held on by bailing wire. So I could drive around while I was rebuilding this car. So I totally, totally get it.

13:33What's, so tell me, tell me one point in your life, or maybe there was no points in your life. Was there a point in your life where you said, you know, even this is a little too much trouble. I love that this was my mom's car, but I'm, I'm thinking about getting rid of this car.

13:47No, that's, that's never been the case. It's just, as a matter of fact, you know, my, my family and everybody's, you know what? I don't know where we're going to find a place big enough to bury him because he's going to be buried in his car. Wow. Understood. Understood. Now, do you have, you have kids also? I have a, yeah, I do. I have a daughter and I have a stepdaughter. So for your daughter and your stepdaughter, does either one have designs on, on wanting to take over the Mustang in, in your, uh, in, in your absence?

14:17No, nobody really does. Nobody really does. So, um, I haven't gotten to the point and I, and I probably won't think about it too hard about where it's going to go after my demise. We'll, we'll see a little, it's going to wind up somewhere. I've even considered saying, you know what, maybe, maybe a Mustang museum somewhere just due to its legacy and, and time. You know, and, and, and, you know, so long it's, it's been in my family. So I know that, uh, classic cars are kind of like potato chips. It's hard to have just one. It sounds like you had your brush with, uh, your grandmother's Mustang way early in the, uh, in the game.

14:52Any other classic cars make their way, uh, through your hands over the years? Oh, let's see. I've, I've rebuilt a couple of 68 Cougars, a couple of an early Bronco, um, played with a bunch of Rancheros. Yeah. Anything that was sort of mid sixties Ford, mid sixties, late, late sixties Ford, um, has probably been through my hands and I've touched it at some point in time and played with a couple of Mach ones. Um, it's just, you know, and there was a 67 fastback that I, I did buy only to dismantle and steal the top loader out of it because it had been wrecked.

15:33So, I mean, there was, there was a lot of buying and parting out to get to things too. Let's talk about for a quick second. Let's talk about valuation. These cars over the years have certainly appreciated in value from where they, where they started at, uh, you know, 2,500 bucks or so when people could buy them new off the showroom, uh, floor. And we've seen our share of cars. Like you've mentioned a couple in there, a fastback, of course, you know, you can't touch one. That's not a rusted out shell for less than a 40 or $50,000 nowadays. And same thing with, with the Broncos.

16:03I mean, the Broncos are in the, you know, over a hundred thousand dollars oftentimes for some of these stupid money, stupid money for one of those. Um, but let's face it, they were, they were four by'd and they were cut up and you know what, there's not too many of them left. I do sort of regret losing my, my last early one, but you know, we all make decisions at a point in time with the information we have and we make the best decision we can. And, uh, I'm sure what happened with that was it was traded for a different Ford. So I, I understand completely.

16:36So, uh, so it sounds like from at least what you, the comment that you made about, uh, Broncos and the, you know, stupid money, uh, crazy valuation. Uh, how do you feel just about the overall Mustang market? I mean, you've probably seen on Facebook marketplace, some of the coupes still going for 10 and 12 and 15 grand, but, uh, but the convertibles a little bit more. And then the fastbacks, obviously more than that. What's your thought about valuation with these, with these vehicles?

17:00Well, you know, it's interesting. You think about it because, and I hate to put it this way, but there's, there's a lot of times where there's, you know, there's fires, there's tornadoes, there's floods, there's this, and you know, more and more of the cars wind up getting destroyed. There's only going to be less and less of them. Right. Um, the part that I really find interesting is that back in the day, the convertibles were the hot money. And now, you know, fastbacks have kind of taken over that slot. Um, and it's not that I disagree with that, with that thought, but, um, you know, it's, uh, convertibles are, are definitely a different breed.

17:37And the, you know, unless it's something where you've done something like I've done, um, you know, they're considered sportier models. And, and I'll be honest, I like my convertible as much with the top up as I do with the top down. Um, you know, it just, just gets a good look with the lid up too. I think about my, uh, my convertible. I have a 65 and, uh, it's fully restored in really good shape. And, uh, the amount of times I put that top up over the last eight years, since I've owned it, I think I can count on two hands. So I, I haven't, I don't put it up very often.

18:09It goes out not quite as often as I would like it to. I, uh, I have three other old, you know, cars. I have, uh, three classic Ford trucks. I love taking those out. Cause I don't care where I park it and what dings it actually ding is like a badge of honor, but with the Mustang, it's like, I don't want anything to happen with that one. Um, yeah. And, and I'm with you on that. I do worry about where I, especially with the, with the last, um, body, body and paint job that that's been put on this thing. I mean, it's so custom. It's crazy. I did everything I'd ever wanted to do this time around.

18:42Um, but so yeah, where I park it, like, I'm sorry, Oakland, I would not bring it down here and park it in Oakland. You know, it'll stay in Sonoma, but there are days and I'll tell you what, there are days. I love driving it down across the golden gate bridge and getting my Steve McQueen on in San Francisco. That's for sure. Yeah. I know some of the places have a good, good to park it. So I'll take it, take it on certain nice days like that. But you know, it was, it was funny back in the day, you know, the lid never went up. I'm with you. You know, it was, uh, it was just, just one of those things.

19:15The, the, the girlfriend would say it's, it's too hot. Can we put up the top? I'd say, no, take off your shirt. Oh, it's too cold. Can we put up the top? No, put on a sweater. So, you know, understood. And in Southern California, it's a little bit more even of a climate there than it is in Northern California, but it's still fun to get that top up and down.

Community Involvement

19:35Hey, let's talk for just a quick second about community involvement. Do you do anything with the Mustang community up in Northern California? Or you tend to be more of a loner and, and, and, uh, and not, not a joiner. Tell us, tell us about that. Well, yeah, I, I don't. I mean, I've, I've had it so long, um, and, you know, I've told its story so many times and, and this, this is great because I can get the story out to a lot of people. But there are times where, you know, we'll, we'll go out to eat dinner and, and then I, you know, I look at my wife and we're, we're, you know, getting ready to leave the restaurant and there's people around the car.

20:09And I'm going, all right, let's just wait here for a minute until they leave.

20:15There's another, another 30 minutes of questions that go on, but you know, we've got the devil's darlings, which is a local car club up here and they'll do 4th of July cruise. And, uh, you know, they do some, some other car, little car shows and things around. So I'll, I'll hit those, um, and, and we get them out and have a good time. And, and, uh, you know, it's a good time to, I can fry tire and, and, uh, you know, in a parade and people don't see cops don't seem to mind. So, you know, so it seems like, uh, you know, one of the cars probably in your garage is that Mustang, maybe even some extra covers and protection from other things that might be in the garage.

20:56Uh, true or false. And then if so, what else is in the garage next to, next to the Mustang? Well, the, um, it is, it, it is false because I won't cover it. I, um, I like looking at it. So, but you know, I have a fully finished garage, um, and it's covered in collectible skateboards and, you know, some rock memorabilia and stuff like that. So, um, it's in a very safe place and, and currently parked next to it as the, as the other vehicle would be a, a 1990 Porsche S 928 S4.

21:34So, um, that's the, uh, that's the risky business car. Isn't that a Tom, Tom Cruise? It is the risky business car, but this one's got the spoilers and, and, and the other fun thing is, is it's got a German five liter in it because my Mustang has a 1995 five liter in it from Ford racing. So, um, so now I've got a German five liter and an American five liter sitting next to each other. All right. So before I forgot to ask this earlier, I think I mentioned a couple of the major things that you've done to restore and modify the, the, the vehicle, but maybe just, uh, share just a short list of some of the, uh, some of the other things that you've done, including that, uh, that, um, uh, Ford racing motor in that's in there.

22:17Yeah. Yeah. You know, I got, I got what I like to think a smart is, is, um, when Ford was closing out the five liters and going to the 4.6s, they were, um, they were losing some crate motors. And I said, oh, well, there's a deal. So I picked up one of the, one of the five Oh, uh, the 95 five Oh crate motors from Ford racing. And then I said, well, while I'm at it, I'll go ahead and get a world-class T five five speed to put behind it. And, you know, I already had three 55 posi in there.

22:49So once I got all that bolted and it's like, okay, now I have to stop. And we all know the wound factor needs to happen. So there's, um, 11 and a half inch drilled vented slotted will would four wheel disc brake system all the way around it. Um, and that goes along with all the suspension tweaks that have been done. Uh, it weighs about 3000 pounds with me in it because everything is fiberglass except for the doors. And the quarter panel. So the whole front clips glass, the rear decks glass, the rear bumpers glass, all of that's fiberglass.

23:22And we, we all know the, the, the quickest way to, and cheapest way to get, get, um, you know, speed is to put your car on a diet. So understood. And for those, there's not even any, any sound deadener in there. The only real extra thing in there is the stereo. So I had to have tunes for those of you that want to take a quick look at what David's car looks like. Just go over to, if you're not listening on Spotify or on Apple podcast, go to one of those stations and, uh, or one of those channels.

23:53And you can check out the, uh, the cover art for this week's episode. And it will be a David's photo in there. What should I be asking you, David, that I'm not asking you about in your, uh, in your Mustang journey? Jeez. I don't know. You know, I can't tell you the times I've wrecked it, the times I've raced it. It's been out the Thunder Hill. It's a raceway, uh, on the road course. It's so, you know what, I took it up and down the drag strip in high school because we live about 15 minutes from Sears Point Raceway. Um, it's, I've had Carol Shelby sign the dash.

24:25I've had Sammy Hagar climb in there and sign the dash. Um, I, I could, you and I could talk for hours on this car. It's, you know, driving through the middle of Utah and, and doing a rolling 20 mile an hour drag race with some guy in a Dodge Dart. And we won, by the way. Um, I mean, just, it could go on and on and on and on where this car has been and the, and the, the, the stories that it's, it's got the racing, the, just a lot of, a lot of street racing back in the day.

24:57Um, you know, so it's, it's, it's seen its fair share. And like I say, I baby a little bit more now, but if the tires don't spin, I'm having a bad day. And, and, uh, and finally share some advice that you'd give to somebody that's, uh, right now looking to, uh, to either buy and restore, or maybe just buy and drive whatever, uh, whatever Mustang that they are looking at. What, what advice can you provide? If you can get into one now, do it. They're, they're not going to get any cheaper and they're not making them anymore.

25:28So, you know, unless you're looking at one of the recreation that I can't remember the name of the company that's doing the bodies, but, you know, do it, have fun with it. Um, you know, I started out driving, driving and fixing all at the same time. And I look at, at the Mustangs and a lot of these cars now as giant models, because as long as you have a, have a good chassis, um, you know, with minimal road. The last, it's like a model. You can find all the parts you want and you can go any direction you want.

26:01I mean, it's, it's just like a blank canvas and you become an artist with your car, build what you want, do what you want. Oh, I love that. Become an artist with your car, build what you want, do what you want. That is a, uh, that is a great quote to live by, especially when it comes to these old classic vehicles. David, thank you so much for, uh, for sharing your story. I so appreciate you being on the, uh, on the show today. And if, um, if those in our community want to hear more information about David or David's story, I'm sure if you see him at a gas station, just ask you. It'll take them about a half hour to tell you the whole story. So be invested. Thanks for being here, David.

26:32Thanks for sharing. Well, thank you. Thanks so much for having me. This has been a great time. And, and, uh, yep. I'll look forward to, uh, checking, checking out the podcast some more. Episode coming out shortly. For those of you in our audience, if you have a Mustang story also, and you want to share on the show, please, uh, reach out to me directly. Just go over to the, uh, show notes, click on the, uh, little email list there, Doug at turnkeypodcast.com. 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.

27:04Please subscribe, 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.