| My Cars Section
The Red Racer I don't know how else to put it; I am a certified gearhead My first car was a 1985 Ford EXP. The Exp was built off the escort chassis and supposed to be a sporty option to the Escort GT. It was a two sweater, and powered by a 98 CI 4 cylinder carbureted SOHC aluminum headed motor. Brand spanking new the thing put out 80 horsepower. By the time I got the car 160-xxx showing on the odometer and was not in the greatest shape. It did signify what every American male at that age wants though, freedom. I was just starting my love affair with cars, and I was bound and determined to get a Mustang. My parents had a Mustang, a 79 with a 2.3 litre 4 banger and a Variable Venturi carb (another of Ford's great ideas HAH!) It was orange, with tan interior. The original fox body Mustang; this particular car didn't have anything going for it. My Dad worked for Ford Aerospace (now Loral) and in his position he got great deals on lease cars every year, so we had a whole bunch of different cars as I was growing up, a couple different escorts, a Taurus some Tempos a Capri, and the ugly duckling, a black EXP. As they got a new lease car every year, they always left the Mustang at home, as my mother's car to go to the store and other short trips. The motor suffered, but it always has really low mileage. When we finally donated it the odometer had 88,XXX miles showing, and it was 17 years old. With my dad having worked for Ford, my desire for a Mustang was natural, the law was decreed, no Gm products in his driveway. What I really wanted was an 88-90 5-litre Stang. This was in 94-95, and they were just starting to get hot. I would faithfully read 5.0 Mustang and Mustangs & Fords along with Hot Rod Chevy (Car) Craft and Popular Hot Rodding. My dilemma was two fold, A) I was young and insurance would be a pain B) my dad saw no use for a fast car. This was partially because 5litre Mustangs were flashy, and my dad was all about blending in, becoming one of the many sheep. To be fair in his lifetime he had owned some nice cars, he bought a brand new 62 Grand Prix 389 4 barrel. He also owned a 68 Thunderbird with a 429 and a 69 Camaro with a 350. You must forgive his sins, his father worked for GM for many years. My other problem in my quest for getting a 5.0 was that I loved the look that the older Stangs had. Specifically the 67-68's. It didn't help that a friend had got a 67 when he turned 15 and had spent many hours working on it and it was a pretty nice car. When I started my second job I was working with my friend Tony. His Dad was a huge car nut, unfortunately a fan of Gm products with contempt for Fords. Tony had found a 68 Mustang for $300 and started working on it. The body was trash, but his father Ernie is a bodyman by trade and spent many hours working on it. It looked real good to a 17 year old who owned a mid 80's econo car. I had made up my mind, I was going to get an old Stang and restore it. The decision came for two reasons. 1. The cost factor- going into this project I could pick up an old Stang for about 2 grand and slowly work on it. After all I still had my econo/$hitbox to drive. 2. The road presence- an older Stang has. There's a certain presence about it when you see one going down the road, it just seems to fit perfectly. To me the 5 litre seemed like a smart alecky teenage car. As I started to see some more on the road they started to get annoying, they were too common. |
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