With collector cars, determining provenance is critical in knowing its value. This means understanding its rarity and its history is important.
One of the first things I did was to order the elite Marti Report. This report, in addition to giving me the complete factory option list, door data plate info, a reproduction of the door data plate and a reproduction of the window sticker, would also provide me with the vital production statistics for the vehicle.
In this case, I had already decoded the door tag so I knew a fair amount about the car. I knew it was a genuine Mach 1 built in July 1969, that it had come with the rarely seen 390 engine, C6 automatic transmission and that it was originally a beautiful Acapulco Blue color.
That didn’t mean there weren’t a few surprises. For example, I had no way of knowing it was originally equipped with power steering. By the time I got it, the power steering pump and most of the components were long gone (see Sins of Our Youth).
It was also interesting to realize the car had originally been sold by Beverly Hills Ford, which was merely 30 miles from where it had been parked in 1989.
Even more surprising was to learn it was the only 1969 Mustang Mach 1 built in this color and with its specific list of options. So you may be asking yourself ‘What is so special about it coming with the fiberglass belted F70x14 raised white letter tires?’
What most people don’t realize is that while most of the restored Mach 1s you see at car shows are wearing those tires, very few of them actually came equipped with those tires from the factory.
Unless your Mach 1 was equipped with the 428 Cobra Jet in 1969, it actually came standard with a E78x14 tire. Now you could order the optional tires, but that upgrade actually got you a F70x14 white sidewall tire, not the raised white letter tires. Those tires were supposed to only be available on the Cobra Jet cars!
While cleaning out the center console and the glove box I found the bill of sale from the original owner to the second owner, several of the old vehicle registrations, and even a few repair bill receipts. With the combination of all these items I was able to track its lineage from when it was a new car until the day I purchased it!
Noting that the car still wore the original black and yellow California license plate, I decided to carefully peel back the registration tag stickers to see if I could get back to the first set (1969/1970). Note, California hadn’t begun using the ‘month’ stickers back then.
Next Step: Sins of Our Youth