RPM Featured Member's Ride  - "bcorbin" Bret Corbin's 69 Mustang Mach 1
Story and photos provided by Bret Corbin

My love for the Mach 1 goes back to the mid 70's.  A good friend of mine had a Mach 1 with the 428 Cobra Jet.  I think it was a 69 or 70 but can't honestly remember for sure.  It was after all over 35 years ago and I was a Mustang virgin at the time so you'll have to forgive my lack of memory.  It was raven black and it was gorgeous.  Big fat tires (50's) on the back and jacked up to fit the tires.  I guess that was a 70's thing as I don't see that anymore.  Now we lower our cars.  I can also remember driving down the freeway and my friend stepping on the gas and being pinned to the seat.
 


Fast forward to about 6 years ago.  I started collecting die cast classic Mustangs.  Mostly from the Danbury Mint but if I saw one I liked I usually bought it.  At some point I started looking on EBAY and other places to see what "real" Mustangs were available.  I was just looking and had no intention of buying one but when my lovely, beautiful, understanding, caring (should I keep going?) wife said; "Why don't you buy one? I couldn't believe it and started to seriously look for one to buy."  I think I looked for between 6 and 8 months.  Along the way I toyed with the idea of buying a new Mustang as I really like the current year Mustangs as well.  The cost for either was about the same.  A friend and co-worker put it to me this way; "If you buy a new car it will be worth less than you paid as soon as you drive it off the lot. If you buy a restored classic you will mostly avoid that."
 


I wanted a 69 or 70 Mach 1 and initially wanted the big 428 Cobra Jet engine.  Sticker shock caused me to rethink things a bit and I came to the conclusion I didn't need the big engine.  I'm not much of a speed demon anyways so I was OK with that.  I was basically looking anywhere within 500 or so miles so that I could go and see the vehicle before bidding or buying.   I looked at cars from Central CA to Las Vegas and anywhere in between.
 


The car that I now own was found on EBAY.  It was only about 25 miles from my home in San Diego and it was only about 5 miles away from where my father-in-law, who is a retired Ford mechanic, lives.  The day before the auction was to close I met my father-in-law at the shop that had the Mustang to have him look over the car and help me to decide if I should bid on the car or not. The mechanic that rebuilt the 351 Windsor engine and did most of the work on the car was there along with the owner so we were able to get all the information I needed to decide that I wanted to bid on the car.  The owner and I hit it off really well as we had several mutual interests and ultimately he asked me to make an offer and if it was good enough he said he would sell me the car on the spot and cancel the auction on EBAY.  The rest of course is history.  The owner had told me his reserve price was $35,000 and I got the car for slightly less than that price. 

One other note of importance is that once I had a real Mustang I was no longer allowed to collect die cast Mustangs.  I was and am OK with that.
 


The car had just been painted its original color which is black jade with the blackout hood.  Cosmetically it was and still is in great condition.  I have removed the points and put in a Pertronix Igniter and new Flame Thrower coil and it has worked flawlessly.  The car originally had an automatic transmission and at some time along the way the transmission was changed to a manual which is how I would have wanted it.  The transmission was a 4 speed toploader and it needed a rebuild.  After doing a bunch of research I decided that it would be in my best interest to put in a brand new T5 from Ford Racing which gave me overdrive and low RPMs on the freeway.  2000 RPM at 65 mph to be exact.  I also had the rear end rebuilt and a new drive shaft put in at the same time.  Another change I did was to put LED lights in the dash and also the hood scoop mounted turn signals.  Remember those?  The dash was very hard to see at night prior to this so although it was a cheap an easy change it made a big difference.  Another change that was made prior to me was a 4 barrel carb was put in.  So this little pony has some extra get-up and go.
 


The car is not used as a daily driver but I try to get it out every week and more often in the summer months.  San Diego's summer months are longer than most locations so I get her out often.  I just use it for cruising and pleasure drives, never to race.

Great car to cruise PCH with I loved it when I had my 71 (Mach 1) and roll the windows down and smell the ocean air.Love the old black and gold plate too on the front. Beautiful ride and thanks for taking the time to do the write up and photos.

Amazing car!!  Great write up!!

Awesome ride! I'm very jealous.