Back while I was in high school, my dad (Duke) bought a new 1989 Ford Mustang GT Saleen California Edition. This was a special edition offered only to California Ford dealers because they had so many white Mustang GTs in stock. The car came with special suspension, ARE mesh wheels and teal vinyl logos on the fenders and rear hatch.
This car turned Duke into a Mustangaholic and began my love of Mustangs as well.
He did a ton of performance modifications to it and even started building high performance Mustangs for people on the side. There was always a few Mustangs in the driveway!
I got to drive the car a few times including my senior prom.
Around 1995 he decided to install a wild wide body kit on the car so he could put bigger tires under the car. At the time it had a supercharged 347ci engine that made over 600hp and traction was always an issue. The kit was sold by a small business called MPH. They only made about a dozen kits and the quality was lacking! After getting the kit attached/installed (it was way more work then anyone expected), the car was driven for a short time while the bodywork was getting finished.
In 1997 dad parked the car in a makeshift barn/shed on the property while he focused his efforts on remodeling the kitchen in the house. Then the car never moved again! Over the years parts were taken off of it for friend’s Mustang projects including the 347ci engine. Over the years I’ve tried to convince dad several times to let me finish the car but he always swore he was gonna get around to finishing it.
In 2023, 26 years later, he finally conceded that he wasn’t going to finish it and I could have it if I wanted to come get it. The car was in California and I was in Georgia. I booked a flight and flew out for a few days to try to get the car dug out of it’s grave and ready to ship back to Georgia. The car had sunk in the ground up to it’s rockers so I had to dig holes under the car just to get a jack under it and get new tires on it. We drug the car out of it’s resting place with dad’s tractor.
At first look over, the car is in better condition than I expected. The bodywork still looks good and no obvious rust in the floors or anywhere else. Not sure what kind of condition everything is in though.
We then proceed to load the back of the car with all the parts and pieces dad had kept in another barn all these years. Interior parts. Stereo parts. Engine parts.
Now that the car is Georgia, I will get to work getting the car finished the way he always wanted. First step is to get the car running so I can move it in an out of the shop as needed. Next will be finishing the bodywork and getting the car ready for paint. Once the car is mechanically solid and painted a wild “90’s” color, we will get to work on the interior restoration. The final step will to be to install a 351 Windsor stroked to a 408 along with the Procharger supercharger dad still had. This should mean 800-1000hp.
Who doesn't love a Barnfind Mustang?
Follow along on our Youtube channel to see all the updates as they happen.
Project Barnstang is born!
Comments