Hi everyone!

My name is Wyatt and I'm sure like most here, I love mustangs! I've been a long time reader for fun and tend to nerd out over anything mustang. It's my dream to one day build a restomod style 69 Mach 1, but in the meantime, I'm going to focus on my grandpa's 2007 GT.

It's a long, sad story, so I'll spare everyone the nitty gritty details in this post and just give a brief overview. (I'd be happy to share the story though with anyone who's interested, after all, who doesn't like a good car story) I recently worked out a deal to buy the mustang back from the family friend it was sold to after my grandpa died.

I'm extremely sentimental when it comes to this car and the memories with my grandpa it holds for me. So to finally be in a place to get it back is beyond description.

I hope to learn a lot from this community as I dive into learning about the car. I'm located in the Arizona valley and usually try to hit local car shows on the weekends. Maybe I'll see some of y'all around.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk!
-Wyatt

 

Welcome Wyatt,

It's Great To See a New Enthusiastic Mustang Member. Your Gt Looks Great & I'm Sure G-Pa Would Approve of a Family Member Taking Care of His Pride & Joy. I Too am a Sentimental Car Guy & Always Find it Hard to Cut Loose with a Car as I Get attached To Them. Ones That Once Belonged to a Family Member That Passed Can Especially Hard.

I Don't Know if You Had Seen This Thread But it Shows The 05-09 Era Mustang Dressed To Emulate a 69-70. Perhaps You Can get a Happy Medium if You Choose To Put Some of That Flavor on the 07!

https://themustangsource.com/forums/...allery-435190/

As Far as Arizona I Went To Automotive School There Back When I Was Just Out Of High School!

https://themustangsource.com/forums/...ck-day-550857/

Best Regards,

Kc

 

Wyatt, welcome aboard. Family stories and history on Mustangs is almost always fascinating. I appreciate your dream of building up a '69 one day. My first Mustang was a '69 coupe. I have a soft spot for that model year.

But the first Mustang I rode in was a red '66 convertible, 289 with a three-speed. I was six years old. My dad bought it new, but we only had it a few weeks. The bucket seats hurt my mom's hip pretty bad (from a surgery repair). So he traded it back for a '66 Fairlane convertible, 289 and a C4 automatic.

Ten years later I had my license and we still had that convertible. It's the car that made me want a convertible again. I've been driving convertible Mustangs now for almost 20 years. Can't wait for the weather to warm up!

Your '07 looks real sharp in the photo. How is she equipped?

 

welcome to the forum ... the 2007 GT is sort of almost like a factory resto-mod , that's why I love the S197 generation cars

 

Thank you for the pointer; I will definitely keep that thread handy! I think the blacked out hood is a timeless classic for the mustang especially when looking to mimic that early mustang style

I'm digging the jean jacket in that first picture haha! On another AZ note, driving without AC in here is a right of passage in my opinion. My first vehicle was a 1978 F-150 with no AC and it was brutal. Always brought two shirts to anything I went to; one to sweat through and on that I actually wanted to wear haha! Anyways, that is really cool regarding the automotive school; wish we had more of those around.

 

You can't go wrong with the '69, it's just a beautiful car no matter what trim or style you have. My dad is a pontiac guy, so I can't win him over completely, but he has always supported the idea of getting a Mach 1 and admits, "Yeah, that's a nice car." haha!

It's cool to hear your story about your love for convertibles and how something that might have been brushed off as insignificant to most had such an impact on your preferences down the road. I have to ask, do you ever plan to go back to a red '66 convertible?

As for mine, it has the deluxe package, so the inside is pretty basic. I was told that it had an optional exterior package though from the premium? I'm not sure if that is correct as I am still learning. But aside from an aftermarket exhaust, the family friend pretty much kept it in its stock form.

 

True that! I do like pretty much every generation of mustang. But that being said, they nailed the modern take on an old classic with the introduction of the S197!

I still want to do '69 restomod though haha!

 

Wyatt Sent Me A P.M. After Seeing Where I Had Offered to Talk a Member Through a Few Details of The MyColor Upgrade! Had a Nice Call With Him and He Knows His Cars. His Polite Easygoing Knowledgeable Attitude Reminded Me of My Late Son Andrew. I Can't Give a Better Compliment Than That!

Feel Free To Contact Me Again if Needed!

Best Regards,

KC

 

Thank you! It was a pleasure meeting and talking with you! I look forward to learning more from you and everyone here.

I will definitely take you up on that in the future as I dive into the car more!

 

Welcome aboard and I was so very moved by your story, to say the very least... I can also definitely relate to your post regarding the S197 Mustang, as I also became an S197 owner thanks to Ford nailing the retro-styling of the first generation 65-70 Mustang... Prior to purchasing my first S197 Mustang in 2005, I had previously owned 3 Fox body Mustangs, my last was a "93" SVT Cobra... However, when I first saw images of the S197 concept car at the 2003 NAIAS, I said to myself that if Ford were to produce a production version, even if it fell just a little short of resembling the concept version, that I would do whatever it takes to purchase one... Once the production version was introduced in 2004, I placed an order in November of 2004 for my then 2005 Torch Red GT Premium... When it was finally delivered in February of 2005, I made the bittersweet decision to trade-in my 1993 SVT Cobra in order to make my S197 Mustang purchase become reality... Although, I really enjoyed my "93" Fox Body Cobra for 10 wonderful years, I knew deep down inside that if Ford were to ever produce a retro-styled Mustang which resembled the original 65-70 1st generation cars that I admired strongly throughout my youth, I would someday own one, no matter what it took... Therefore, when the opportunity finally presented itself back in late 2004, I jumped on it, and the rest as they say is history...

 

Thanks for sharing your story! Those Fox body mustangs were no joke and nowadays it seems like many people are going back to them to either coyote swap or use for a drag car setup. That SVT cobra sounds awesome, but as you said, it's difficult to hold onto when the S197 exists. Do you think at this point you would ever go back to a Fox body for the nostalgia or have you left those for good as far as ownership is concerned?

 

Welcome partner, nice stang.

 

To answer your question, it was really a very bittersweet moment when the time finally arrived for parting with the "93" SVT Cobra, but as I mentioned in my earlier reply, the S197 Mustang was the closest to resembling the original 1st generation 65-70 fastback cars that I admired growing up as a youth... Therefore, being faced with the choice of only being able to keep either the Fox Body Cobra or purchase the S197 Mustang, the retro styling of the S197 made it way too difficult to hold onto the "93" Cobra... However, if I had a two-car garage and were able to afford purchasing the S197 without the trade-in value of the SVT Cobra, then yes, I would've most definitely kept the Cobra alongside with the S197, no question about it... I would also be very interested in owning another Fox body Cobra, if the opportunity presented itself, providing of course that I had at least a two-car garage... In the meantime, I was so very pleased that you were able to buy back your Grandpa's 2007 GT and hope you're able to enjoy many great years and memories together with your family down the road...

 

Never say never. But pretty unlikely until (maybe) after I retire. I would want to buy a driver in good condition at minimum. While those old Mustangs are pretty simple to work on, I would not want to restore/rebuild it. I want to drive it. Solid '66's are not cheap. But I could be content with a six-cylinder 3-speed for a sunny day out now and then.

More likely, if I was going to go after a Gen 1 Mustang, it would be another '69.

 

Welcome aboard and congrats on reacquiring your Grandpas Mustang. It looks to be in great shape! I also love the '69-70 model years and especially the Boss models hence my ownership of Miss Scarlett. Best of luck to you.