Heading into a new family I wanted to buy a project car while the dollar was still US$1.07 well before the wife to be had veto rights.
Here she is when she arrived in Sydney front panels loosely bolted on, front Eleanor apron hanging sadly on, 6 point roll cage. No engine but the engine bay and the car itself stuffed full of valuable fastback parts and go fast goodies. It didn’t look like much but it was a ’65 A code fastback, yes it had its issues, but it was mine and I felt like a rock star at the transport depot.
I found the car on fleaBay sitting in a garage, not a barn, in SanDiego. The ad seemed a little too good to be true, a lot high dollar drag parts came with the car. The auction didn’t sell, I contacted the owner, who sounded legit and stoked his little stang could be heading off for an all expenses paid trip halfway around the globe. He supplied all the info and photos I asked for, I satisfied myself the car wasn’t a rust bucket made an offer which to my surprise was immediately accepted.
It was a San Jose build A code, built in October ’64 with a clean title, original door tag and California black and gold lic plate still attached. It is a very early build fastback with 64.5 parts installed such as the wiper mounts. From my research the factory kept using the previous model components to build cars till they ran out. It came from the factory with the new 6 bolt A code 4 barrel 289, C4 auto, white duco and a standard red interior. A colour combo I rather like though now painted in silver.
It had most recently been the subject of a father and son projecft. It found itself onto the road, then the drag strip with some success (low 9s on street rubber I was told) with a nitro fed 331 and then lost its way. The motor was pulled big dollars spent on running gear, engine bay butchered for a twin turbo alloy block monster that never made its way back into the car and then sat around gathering dust. The original block was long gone detonated in one its early runs. But the car was bought by the owner as a complete car and would at least come with the hard to get fastback interior parts.
A Qld based importer played broker for me as nothing is simple in the states. Mike travelled from LA to San Diego confirmed the car existed and then took the owner to the bank and arranged the first of many tows for the car back to his yard near LA. Then import approval for my absolutely stock little stang and it was on its way to Oz. The father of the owner even made several trips to LA, it’s a at least a two hour trip one way, to drop off parts he found in his garage.
A lot of sleepless nights then followed concerning what condition the car was really in. You see a lot of sad pitiful cars arrive in Australia, not all of them are rust free desert cars like Ronin187’s coupe.
The car was then on a very circuitous trip to me in Sydney. San Diego Ca. to LA, loaded into container, LA to Brisbane (yes Brisbane, found out my importer takes all non starters to Brisbane) unloaded in Port Brisbane, Port Brisbane to Ormeau, Ormeau back to Brisbane road freight yard, Brisbane to Seven Hills, Seven Hills to me.
Next - the in the flesh professional inspection revealed……
(he's old and cranky,.. a bit like a bear with a sore head)
