My Stangs HeaderText Box: This page features my current collection of Ford Mustangs...and one that my wife and I are “Legal Guardians” of. All told, I have owned eight different varieties since I turned 16 way back in 1987. Little did I know my first car would be the beginning of an obsession...just like the guitar I guess! To learn more about my history with Mustangs, be sure to check out the PAST ‘STANGS page. *Click on each image for a complete slideshow Text Box: Without a doubt this is my ultimate dream car. This car belonged to my first boss when I was 16 (Scott Fox, Store Manager of Mr. D’s) at the time I was driving the Capri RS. Scott didn’t drive it much, and it had well under 10k miles on it...still showroom new condition. As an eager teenager, of course I told him I wanted to buy the car when he decided to sell. The car spent many years stored in a barn, and driven very little. Back in the late 90’s we were close to a deal when his wife stepped in and convinced him to hang onto it—Scott was the original owner, and nearing 20 years old it was becoming collectable. Of course I was bummed, but by now we had a gentlemen’s agreement that I would get first rights to the car should that day finally come. Fast forward to 2008 when I was already in deep with my Saleen and the 1985 GT Convertible, Scott called me and said the time had come. He was eager to buy a motorcycle and needed some funds for his son’s college education. He already had a younger guy interested in trading his motorcycle for it, but Scott held to his word and gave me the first option. By now the chase had gone on for 21 years so of course I had to jump! My wife quickly agreed, and I made the decision to sell off my George Lynch guitar collection to help pay for this one. The deal was FINALLY done on September 5th, 2008—and my dream car was finally in my garage! The car didn’t run as it had basically sat for years, so we trailered it home, with just 13,550 on the odometer! Thankfully it sat on a set of aftermarket wheels and tires, while the original TRX rims and tires were preserved in the barn. I quickly dropped the tank and blew out the fuel lines, replaced the fouled plugs and had the carb rebuilt by 3D Carb & Injection...and presto—she fired right up and ran like new! The paint was a bit neglected, but thankfully the interior still looked and smelled like new! I spent about 18 hours massaging the paint with steps of compound, polish, glaze and wax—and she hit her first show just two weeks later, taking 1st Place in the ‘79—86 Fox Mustang Class! Today the car spends most of its time at shows or local cruise-ins, with the occasional jaunt out on the town. It rides on a set of refinished TRX wheels with like new condition, 13 yr old Michelin tires for driving duty. The original wheels and tires are retired in the garage. It gets trailered to distant shows, and has been honored with 2nd Place and 1st Place the past two years respectively at the Fox Mustang Reunion in Dublin, Ohio. The car is lightly optioned, including Porno Red leather interior (no power window/lock/rear wiper option, no cruise), and the AC still works! The odometer now reads 14k & change—and will continue to be a low mile, survivor show piece for as long as I own it...which should be about as long as I am alive! With a vintage Year Of Manufacture Plate registered to the car, she appropriately reads MYDRM82.

1982 Mustang GT — 14k Original Mile Survivor

1985 Mustang GT T-Topper — 16k Original Mile Survivor
Text Box: Its not very often we get to land our “dream car”, but who would have ever thought landing a second dream car would be a reality? That’s exactly what happened for me on July 4th, 2009! With the 1982 GT filling my garage along with my ‘85 GT Convertible and the 2005 S-281, I had all but assumed my collection was complete. Marc Price owned this 1985 GT T-topper, and just so happened to live right across from my brother. I found this car in 1995, and much like Scott Fox’s ‘82 GT, it was a low mile car that essentially was stored and cruised in very rarely. I introduced myself to Marc, and of course told him the same thing I told Scott back in 1987—that I wanted the car. At the time it was not for sale, but Marc and I did loosely talk about a transaction several times over the years. Much like Scott’s wife, Mrs. Price was quick to point out that Marc should hold onto the car for collector reasons. Barely six months after owning my dream ‘82 GT, I got a call from Marc that the car needed to go, as he and his wife had decided to spend the money on restoring their 1970 Grabber Green Mach I. Considering I had just sunk myself a few months earlier on the ‘82, I asked for some more time and Marc graciously obliged. Meanwhile, a friend of mine had been itching to get back into a Fox Mustang, and his wife agreed he could buy one only if it was a rag-top. As luck would have it, my buddy was very interested in my low mile ‘85 GT Convertible and we quickly made a deal. My wife wasn’t all too happy as she loved the ‘Vert, but she did compromise and accepted the t-roof as an option! The car was cared for 100% as you would expect for a low mile, original car to be. She ran great, looked fantastic and literally needed nothing to be show ready. I made the two mile jaunt home in my new pride and joy, with just 15,456 miles on the odometer. This chase had lasted 15 years, and MYDRM85 was finally home, sitting next to MYDRM82! Much like the ‘82 GT, this car sees primarily show and cruise-in duty and gets trailered to distant show. She rides on a NOS quality, second set of 10 hole wheels with new Goodyear Eagle GT II tires for driving duty, while the original wheels and Gatorbacks are retired in the garage. The car is fully optioned, and everything still works—including the AC! She made her first show debut in September, sitting next to my ‘82 GT, and both cars were honored with a tie for 1st Place in the ‘79-86 Fox Mustang Class! The odometer now reads just over 16k miles, and just like my ‘82 GT will continue to be a low mile collector piece until the day I die. Text Box: After several years without a Mustang in my garage, I began to get the itch and discussed it with my wife. It was late 2004 and the new S197 body style was being released. And to top it off, 2005 would re-introduce the Mustang world to Mineral Grey—my favorite color. Mineral Grey was an option in 2001 and 2002, before being replaced by Dark Shadow Grey (also a very nice color). In February of 2005 I began looking around, and after striking out locally I decided to hit the internet. That’s when I discovered the new Saleen package. Knowing it was out of my price range, I kept looking. Off to my dealer, where I decided I should place an order—which is where I learned the bad news that lead times were 16+ weeks, which would be cutting it close for Job #1 of the 2006 models. I wanted a 2005 as there is something about the first and last years of a body style—plus Mineral Grey would once again be replaced in 2006! Back to the internet, and I quickly began crunching the numbers on the Saleen S-281. Since they wouldn’t be releasing the supercharged versions until late year, the price was a bit more manageable—although still painful. After some serious talks with my wife, I decided to pull the trigger on 2005 S-281 #92 from the local Saleen Dealer in Indianapolis—Alderman Ford. It was a VERY happy day for me as I finally had a NEW Mustang that I could cherish from day one. This was a car that I intended to keep as a low mile, showroom new survivor car just like my two dream Fox Mustangs (which I didn’t own at the time). We hit our first show in May of 2005, the Shelby Spring Fling in Brown County State Park. There we met several fine folks from the Saleen Club of America and quickly joined. We were hooked, and over the next several years we hit the car show circuit like it was going out of style. The car is fully optioned by Saleen, built off a GT Premium Package and is 1 of 41 as optioned in Mineral Grey. With an off-road H pipe and CAI kit with Diablo tune as the only mods (combined with Saleen’s enhancements), she puts out ~370 hp. Of course with the heavy 20” rims, only 299 of it reaches the road. For the most part I have stuck to my plan of babying this car. Through 2009 the car had just 5200 miles—although all fun miles! But with the addition of my two Dream Foxes in the garage, my attitude changed a bit as those cars were much easier to appreciate as “collectors”. I decided I should have a little more fun with the Saleen, thus in 2010 I drove it to northern Michigan for my annual “guys golf trip”. Then in August, along with some friends we hit the road overnight to Newburgh, NY for the SCOA Nationals. The car now has 8300 on the odometer, but I don’t regret it a bit. She’ll still be treated like a garage queen, but something tells me the miles may creep up a bit higher than I originally intended. No worries though as I now have my two Dream Foxes to satisfy that urge. And even though she won’t qualify until 2030, I already have the Year Of Manufacture license plate (currently used at shows) as SOWAXEMAN.

2005 Saleen S-281 #92
Text Box: Not that I own this car, but it does rest in my garage—and it is just too bad-ass not to share! I guess you could say my wife and I are “legal guardians” of this car. It belongs to a friend from southern California that visits Indiana several times a year. This car came up for sale in New Jersey a couple years ago, and he wanted to buy & keep it somewhere in Indy for when he visited. After a short talk, I decided I’d store and care for the car for him since I had some extra space. The only stipulation was I had to drive it occasionally to keep everything lubed up, and treat it like I would treat my own. Obviously he knows how I treat my own Mustangs, so not a problem! The car was delivered to the neighborhood clubhouse in April of 2009, the weekend of the Mustang 45th Celebration. Just in time to get her fully detailed, make sure all was well with the car—and make it’s debut at the Shelby Spring Fling in Brown County State Park. As you can imagine, this car was a big hit among all the SCOA members in for the weekend. This car is a 1 of 2 car from Saleen in 1988, built from the Coupe (or Notchback) body style—making it quite rare. The car has been highly modified under the hood with a DSS 306 stroker and a Vortech S-Trim blower—putting out nearly 550hp. It features a complete racing suspension of Griggs GR-40 and Racecraft components. This car drives like nothing I have ever driven—the power is insane for a car of this weight, and the suspension makes it feel like you are on rails! It is a blast, but scary at the same time considering it is not mine. I drive it very rarely, and cautiously as it literally scares the shit out of me! The interior is nearly 100% Saleen, the only exception being telemetry gauges and the roll cage—and in showroom condition at that. The exterior of the car is mostly original (save for the racing wheels), including the single stage paint. The car has 33k original miles, and aside from the usual rock/bug damage to the lower fascia she shows very well. Most would ask why modify such a rare Saleen—including me—but after spending a lot of time with this car I must say it is done VERY tastefully. A beautiful example of the “notches” and simply a beast, that I have appropriately named the “Mean Saleen”.

1988 Saleen Coupe #400—Mean Saleen