The Tale of Old Yeller
Story and photos by MCSD member Mikki
Acquiring My Mustang
My dad, brother and I were restoring an old Model A in our family garage during my junior and high school years. While in high school, my brother and I became too busy with sports and activities and were no longer able to help with the restoration.
Frustrated with the lack of help, my dad decided it was time to sell the Model A. He sold it for $1500, not a bad profit considering he bought it for $50 from an elderly man. My dad split the money 3-ways and gave me my share to buy a car.
Immediately, I knew I was going to buy a 1965 or 1966 Mustang – there was no question in my mind. I wanted one for years after seeing all the TV commercials. It was my dream car. So, I went in search to find the perfect Mustang and after many unsuccessful bids at $500, I had to give up to save more money. At that time most people were asking $550 for a decent and clean Mustang.
After months of saving, my parents surprised me with my current Mustang in August 1975. It was a 1966 Mustang Coupe, Springtime Yellow, Deluxe Pony Edition; Parchment seats with black and brown accessories. Old Yeller was built in San Jose and shipped to LA. It ended up at Hoehn Motors in Lakeside where the original owner bought it. She owned the car from 1966 to 1975, at which then I became the second owner.
Through the Years
In 1985 my car was stolen from a parking lot downtown San Diego. What a shock to walk out to the parking lot to see your car was gone! It remained missing for 10 days, I was bummed. I had recently put a new transmission in the car and the thieves ended up ditching it in another parking lot downtown because the transmission went out on them. It would not go any faster than 25 mph. One of my coworkers saw my Mustang being towed to a nearby tow yard and came to my office to let me know. I ran 3 blocks to that tow yard and there she was! I am certain had that transmission not gone out I would never have seen it again.
In 1986 my sister borrowed my Mustang after her 1978 BMW had been stolen. She was driving it to work when the carburetor caused an engine fire! Luckily, a driver passing by stopped and immediately put the fire out with his fire extinguisher. There was quite a bit of damage to the engine compartment. My insurance company was great and allowed me to keep and repair it. There have been a few other bumps and bruises through the years, but all in all my car has survived it well.
Joined MCSD
It was October 2011, I took the Mustang to the Mustangs by the Bay show. When I drove in, I was greeted by a club member who preferred I not park my car on the street and made room in the parking lot for me. I attended hoping that I could get recommendations on a resource to help with the electrical problems my car was suffering from. The only way I could start it was to take a screw driver to the solenoid which was getting old very fast. I ventured into the show and received a few recommendations from club members and while I was there, I joined the Mustang Club! Walking back to the parking lot, there were several people looking at my car. As I approached, they started asking me many questions. I knew then I needed to enter it in the show the next year.
Electrical Upgrades to the Mustang
In 2013, my Mustang went through quite a few upgrades. I contracted David Toth of Classic Resto Garage to do all the electrical and lighting throughout the car, as well including the radiator, fan, heating unit, radio and speakers, door hinges and regulators, and lastly trunk rust proofing. The work was done in 4 stages.
First, all electrical wiring was replaced from the firewall forward. Replaced the headlight harness, alternator harness, engine gauge harness, firewall ground strap and headlights.
The second project installed a restored heater box, upgrade of the radiator to a larger cooling capacity high efficiency third row unit, a steel five bladed fan for extra air flow, and an upgraded fan shroud. Replaced the turn signal switch and the driver’s door window regulator.
The third stage and the second phase of the electrical work: Rewire under the dash and interior. With intermittent no-start and charging issues, the Mustang would start fine directly from the starter solenoid and infrequently at the ignition switch. There were previous splices all through the existing electrical harness with the old alarm system and the ignition switch had been patched together after being stolen years ago.
The fourth stage of electrical work was to replace the emergency flasher and remove the old 80’s tape deck, replacing with a Custom Autosound USA66 factory looking radio with iPod, MP3 and CD features. There were holes in the metal part of the dash to accommodate the old tape deck that would show when adding the new factory radio. Rather than repair the metal of the dash, Mustang radios in 1966 were an optional feature. Those that shipped with no radios had a removable radio delete plate. We purchased a delete face plate which was cut, painted and used as the face plate for the radio. Also, we installed a Custom Autosound Dual Voice Coil (DVC) in-dash speaker for better sound, rather than replacing with the stock paper cone speaker.
Once the dash area was completed, rewiring from the door jams, door courtesy lights and tail light harnesses were conducted. This would complete all wiring through out the car.
Lastly, the trunk area was sealed to prevent further rusting. A new firewall between the passenger seat and trunk was added as well as soundproofing. The original trunk coverings had mostly disintegrated and were replaced with replica coverings. The spare wheel was still in good condition, it’s locking unit and the original jack were all intact.
I plan to keep Old Yeller as original as possible! There’s still more work to do and eventually a paint job. All in moderation, right? One final note, I am really enjoying outings with the Mustang Club of San Diego and time spent with my Mustang friends. Mostly, I love driving my Mustang around and answering questions everywhere I take it!