This article is fourth in a series by MCSD member Richard Blackman. Photos supplied by Richard too. 

If you recall, I am building what we call in the restoration world a “restomod”. I am taking a 1969 Mustang Mach 1 that I bought in Riverside and adding my own touches to it, which is intended to make it a better driver, more user friendly (closer to a newer ride) and uniquely different from any other Mustang out there. 

I also bought a 2016 Mustang GT at an auction in Florida and I have incorporated several parts from that car into the ‘69. 

In the first three articles(The Hunt, Dismantling and Finish Body Mods & Paint), I have attempted to share with you my journey through this process. My hope is that it will inspire you to consider what you can do to your own Mustang to make it more YOU by personalizing it. I don’t expect everyone to go as far as I did, but there are subtle things that you can DIY to improve your ride. 

Here is the final part of the “Conversion” story. There will of course be many little things I still need/want to do but sharing this journey with you has been a good exercise for me as it has helped me document the many challenges of merging a classic pony car with parts from a newer one. In the beginning, the mountain top was a long way off, but as I climb, I can see it now and that inspires me to continue on. I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have in sharing it with you. 

The time is mid-May. The engine and tranny are in, underbelly coated to prevent rust, interior floor coated and sound-proofed with Boommat. Seats and door panels off to the upholsterer, (AR Jay’s Upholstery, Rick Herrera (619 985-8085). A Flaming River steering column installed, foot pedals installed, doors installed, brake and hydro-boost installed, and tires and wheels ready for install. Needless to say, a lot is happening as the car comes closer to its first start up since the engine was removed from the 2016 GT. 

On May 27th, the electrical wiring work began. This is a large undertaking even if you are “wired” for this kind of stuff. I chose Christopher Spicer, (spicerwire.com) who has a very solid reputation in the car community. He is very knowledgeable with Fords, as well as RV’s, motorcycles, and off-road vehicles. 

We (Chris and I) began with a complete walk thru on the car. The hiding and routing of over 1 mile of wiring is important and you need to work with the electrician to determine the best routing for general wiring, gauge wiring, interface with the engine, primary location of fuse box, door wiring (lighting and power window’s, mirrors, etc.), power seating, courtesy lighting including dome, rear seats, under dash, center console, glove box, etc, and entertainment (Speakers, Sirius, GPS, back up camera, antennas, etc.) 

Next came the selection of the interior color scheme. I have selected dark (Charcoal) grey and taupe or buckskin leather as my primary interior colors.  The carpet is grey in color and looks like a burber weave which should eliminate any wear patterns often found in auto carpets. The headliner is a single piece made by TMI. It is from their uni-suede line and should work well with the upholstery. Sun visors are also from TMI and in uni-suede fabric. 

It’s important to note that there has to be coordination with wiring and upholstery. One cannot get too far ahead of the other especially with items like inner door panels, carpeting, seating, the dash and speakers. The center console is primarily from the 2016 GT but needs to be modified to mesh with the lower part of the dash. This involved all hands-on deck to make this feature piece look like it came out of the Ford factory. 

One of major challenges was having to buy a second set of headers for this car due to fit issues, we discovered that the second set, made by Heidt’s, hit the firewall on the passenger’s side. These headers are specific to Heidt’s Pro-G series and not the Superride Gen II which is what I purchased. Heidt’s is not in the header design business, but they recognized some significant design issues with their system, so they made these headers available. (They were not cheap). The cliché, “had I known then, what I know now,” I would have had a set of headers made specific to this particular design; Just part of the learning curve. We contacted Bob Butler from Butler Headers here is San Diego to significantly modify the passenger side header for final fit and finish. Both left and right side headers are fabricated correctly they went to Olympic Coating in San Marcos for a ceramic coating finish. 

It’s now the end of August and the majority of the exterior body parts are installed. This includes trunk lid, rear spoiler, rear valance, front fenders, front grille, and valance. All weatherstripping is now installed, windows and trim installed. The car went to Ed Hanson’s Muffler Service in Spring Valley for the fabrication and installation of the exhaust system. I chose Magnaflow for the mufflers. I’m using the exhaust tips from the 2016 Mustang GT as a final touch. 

AR Jay’s Upholstery did their magic with the interior installing the carpet, seats, dash, headliner, door panels, rear shelf, center console, and all the eye candy you could possibly put into a build like this. The car should be virtually complete and ready for our Mustangs by the Bay car show. 

When I first began this project, my initial goal was to merge a modern car with a classic muscle car. Bringing these two worlds of automotive engineering together was met with obstacles I never imagined, but in the course of fulfilling the goal I believe the end result was worth the angst and frustration endured over time spent. 

Your project needn’t be as aggressive as mine, but you can certainly have as much joy and personal satisfaction as I had in achieving something that was just an imagined goal. 

Specifications: 

Engine: Coyote 5.0 Gen II rated at 435hp. (We’ll get more I’m sure) 

Transmission: Tremec T-56 six speed Manuel with a 9” rear w/ 4.11:1 gear ratio. 

Suspension: Heidt’s Superride Gen II Front Suspension and mid-eye leaf springs with Bilstein shocks in the rear 

Brakes: Willwood 12” f and 11” r, 4 piston calipers, drilled and slotted rotors with hydraulic power assist booster 

Steering: Flaming River column with power steering by Heidt’s 

Cooling: Vintage Air with C&R Dual fan Extruded Tube Crossflow radiator 

Exhaust: Headers modified by Bob Butler with, Ed Hanson’s Muffler Service for the install of “H” Pipe and Magnaflow mufflers. 

Wheels/Tires: American Racing VN507 Rodder, 225/35R18 front, 275/45R18 rear 

Paint and Body by Braun Mullenhauer 9619 985-2804, color: Velvet Red PPG931442 

Engine & Mechanicals by Jeff Audia, Quickdraw Racing (619 212-0373) 

Electrical by Christopher Spicer with Spicer Wire (858 525-1245) 

Interiors by Rick Herrera with AR Jay’s Upholstery (619 985-8085) 

One final and very important note: A big thank you to my wife Michelle who puts up with this passion of mine. 

Without her support and understanding, none of this would have happened.