This'll serve as my intro thread and my not-a-build thread. This here is the 1989 GT my grandfather bought used on July 22, 1993 from Red Holman Pontiac in Westland, Michigan. This picture is from October of '93 with my mom and dad driving the car. They borrowed it for a wedding. Fun fact- this is the same day my dad got the call he was getting into the Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne.
The original owner, Kelly, actually still lives down the street! She came by Halloween night of 1993 and asked Pap, who was handing out candy, if he got the car at Red Holman. She told me his immediate response was, "Are you Kelly (last name)?" More on that later.
Over the next ten years, Pap tinkered here and there with it. Hand painted the Mustang GT lettering (visible in the picture), put a Hurst short throw in it, 65mm TB, made his own subframe connectors, took the mufflers off, aftermarket clutch (I think flywheel too but I can't remember), 3.55s, and 275s on the ass end.
I was born August of '99 and some of my earliest memories are riding in it because he'd let dad bring it home and "detail" (Using dawn dish soap- I've grumbled at dad over it, but he was broke so this was Pap throwing him a bone- he couldn't really afford proper car wash stuff and may not have known what dish soap does to them. I doubt either of them did- Pap was an absolute genius under the hood but detailing was never something he really cared about) it for some cash. For the most part, it was used as a decent little runaround car. I don't think he drove it to work often, but he put 30,000 miles on it, since he got it with 60k and it had 90k or so when I started driving it. Dad accounted for some of those, since after Pap retired in 2005, dad drove it more than he did- mainly, if I remember right, if I wanted to go for a spin in it. But from what I remember, between 2006 and about 2009, it mostly sat. We had it in our garage between summer of 09 and spring of 2010, and then it sat some more.
Here's how and where it sat in 2011. Yes, the Chevelle is still in the family. No, it doesn't sit under the carport anymore. Yes, it's a legit SS396 car but completely non-numbers at this point. I took these pictures when I was 12 years old.
It wasn't broken down or anything, we just didn't use it. Gramma got diagnosed with breast cancer, and after retirement, Pap really had little motivation to do anything with any of his cars. So it sat, as did the Chevelle (it had a bad starter at the time).
Gramma passed in 2013, and afterwards, I gently started suggesting we get the Chevelle going again. I don't remember why the Mustang seemed to slip past my attention, since I did love the car as a kid, but it's probably because it was, apart from one other car, the toy I had the most time in. It wasn't as 'new' to me.
Well, in the effort of trying to get the Chevelle started one day, we pulled the Mustang out and I gave it a bath- still using dish soap. You suck, 14-15 year old me! The Chevelle did not start that day, by the way, so we pushed it back and I washed both of them.
Bonus picture of the Chevelle. That's Pappaw on the deck.
After I washed them, he gave me a ride home in it. Now, between the combination of it being his father in law's car and me being a child, dad never really beat on the car too much. I say this to point out what happened next sorta... it was a religious experience. Pap executed a 1-2 shift that was so violent it sorta threw me around in the seat. I looked at him and told him I didn't remember it being that violent. His response? A cheeky "That's 'cause your daddy don't know how to drive it!"
And so, every time I cut his grass that summer, my reward would be a ride home in the car. The next year, it continued, and I shot a video of it, too.
It came back to mom and dad's that summer, too, and we took it to a couple of car shows (nobody cared as Foxbodys were seemingly still seen as 'just another old Mustang' and it looked a little rougher than it really was.
We were going to take it to the Hines Drive cruise in 2015 but didn't. Because that morning, the battery and the hatch striker both gave up, and I'd recently had a nightmare that it caught on fire. Every sign was clear- it did not want to be driven that day.
That fall, Pap and I (mostly Pap) did a tuneup on it. Valve cover gaskets, upper intake gasket, cap, rotor, plugs, wires. This was actually the ONE time I remember being irked at him- he was 65 and his body wasn't in the shape it used to be. That, plus a desire to make memories, and me wanting to learn meant I told him to not work on it at all unless I was there. Well, he did give me my first truck, and the day I got it, he finished putting the car back together... by himself. I'd told him not to! Ah, he just wanted me to be able to focus on my new-to-me truck.
2016 and 2017 were more of the same- driven here and there, nothing major. A cool sidestory is that in 2014 my dad leased an Edge, and as we were picking it up the salesman was telling us about this Phase III Stage III Roush they had. 700hp. He said it was ordered and the guy backed out. He also said 'come back in the summer and we'll let you take it for a spin!' Dad and I scoffed. Well, the summer of 2016, we go back for Dad to get an oil change and check into leasing an F-150, and I, being the little smartass I am, ask 'So what about that Roush?' I'm expecting him to laugh it off and go, "haha, funny!". No, he says, 'well, that one's gone but tell you what, go out on the lot and get the stock number off any Mustang you want and I'll get you and your dad the keys. So I found a Stage 2 Roush and we got to take it home. Dad played with it a little bit- spun the tires in front of our house. We took it to Pap. He gets in, and takes a right off his street. First stop sign, dumps the clutch. Second one, dumps it again. Third one (behind our police station) he spins em again, and one last time pulling into our driveway.
The funniest part? He wasn't that impressed! Now, granted, the judging criteria was a tad different, but he said his spun the tires better (and it does) and took me out to prove it like a week later. That was an awesome launch. 3500RPM and side stepping the clutch. The rear tires were ancient by this point (more on that in a second) and went up in smoke pretty easy. He also correctly guessed just from how it felt the exact horsepower that Roush had. Yes, the 2016 is way faster and technically a 'better' car, but it's not nearly as fun, I'd say. And I've driven a couple of Coyote cars, so I speak from experience and bias.
It was in 2018 when I was finally tossed the keys- after we replaced the alternator (no 3G- he'd had a spare stocker he picked up way back in the day just in case he ever needed it) and replacing the headlights.
I'd also repainted the center caps. I actually need to re-do them again (or just buy new ones)
I beat the snot out of that car that summer, and it just... it didn't care. Not one bit. I think that was when I went from "this car's fun and I love it" to "This is the best damn car on Earth"
That year, we did get it to the Hines cruise. 'Nother fun little story- dad and I hate when people reserve spots at shows. If you ain't there, it ain't your spot. Well, we back in, and guy walks over doing a little bit of a tough guy walk. Dad asks 'can I park here?' Guy goes, in a sharp tone, 'No. It's reserved.' Well, in frustration, dad pulls back on to the road... and stomps it, fishtailing down the road. I only wish I'd have known as I'd have video'd it.
2019 is where the 'fun' started. It's 30 years old at this point, and been run a little hard. The clutch fork cover fell off (which was actually a good thing because it'd been rattling for literal years and drove me nuts. Pap always thought it was the throw out bearing so when it fell off and the noise stopped and the car still functioned I was as happy as a pig in... I don't know the site's rules on profanity so you can finish that), and the window motor on the passenger side went out. I also put a sound system in it, but my buddy who helped me wired it wrong. It sounded like crap- almost as bad as the radio that it had which was a stock Ford radio but not the right one- it didn't have a fader so the rear speakers did nothing. I did manage to at least Velcro the ashtray shut. Oh, one more side story here- We couldn't figure out why it sounded like crap, and fiddled with it before giving up at like 1 AM. I go to back out and I think 'Great, now the dash lights gave out.' I get halfway down the block before I have a 'eureka moment.' The lights didn't give out- I forgot to turn the headlights on.
It also got new tires on the back, because the old Kelly Chargers were date coded the first week of 1998. They were older than I am.
My memory is a bit hazy on 2020, but it started with the brand new passenger window motor stripping out, and ended with the rad leaking. I thought it was the lower hose and replaced that first, but no. Dad took this, it's our boxer, Ace.
The only other problem I remember is the fuel pump relay crapping out which of course was a super easy fix. Oh, and I had to do the ignition switch. Think I had to replace a couple of trim pieces, too- I broke a mirror cover somehow and I replaced the top piece of the center console so it'd latch.
2021 started with an SVE radiator, and was over by June when I thought a freeze plug was leaking. Oh, and the brand new headlights were already yellowing. I think that was on us- we reused the original backing plates and didn't seal the gaskets with silicon.
2022 was a bad year, all around. Pap passed away from lung cancer and I believe a heart attack on March 14th, at the age of 70. The last conversation I had with him was, of course, car related. He had a 383 stroker in the garage that had been long referred to as "the 350" so I asked for clarification. He sounded better than he had in a while- one last burst of energy, because not five minutes later, he'd passed away. I miss him every day. I got this car and the '68 Camaro, my sister got the Chevelle, and my aunt got the Grand National. Yes, we're a spoiled family. My sister and I live in the house, now, hence why most of the recent pictures are in the same driveway.
I didn't work on the car at all that year. I washed it once, but that was it. Same for 2023.
2022:
Part two up next.
The original owner, Kelly, actually still lives down the street! She came by Halloween night of 1993 and asked Pap, who was handing out candy, if he got the car at Red Holman. She told me his immediate response was, "Are you Kelly (last name)?" More on that later.
Over the next ten years, Pap tinkered here and there with it. Hand painted the Mustang GT lettering (visible in the picture), put a Hurst short throw in it, 65mm TB, made his own subframe connectors, took the mufflers off, aftermarket clutch (I think flywheel too but I can't remember), 3.55s, and 275s on the ass end.
I was born August of '99 and some of my earliest memories are riding in it because he'd let dad bring it home and "detail" (Using dawn dish soap- I've grumbled at dad over it, but he was broke so this was Pap throwing him a bone- he couldn't really afford proper car wash stuff and may not have known what dish soap does to them. I doubt either of them did- Pap was an absolute genius under the hood but detailing was never something he really cared about) it for some cash. For the most part, it was used as a decent little runaround car. I don't think he drove it to work often, but he put 30,000 miles on it, since he got it with 60k and it had 90k or so when I started driving it. Dad accounted for some of those, since after Pap retired in 2005, dad drove it more than he did- mainly, if I remember right, if I wanted to go for a spin in it. But from what I remember, between 2006 and about 2009, it mostly sat. We had it in our garage between summer of 09 and spring of 2010, and then it sat some more.
Here's how and where it sat in 2011. Yes, the Chevelle is still in the family. No, it doesn't sit under the carport anymore. Yes, it's a legit SS396 car but completely non-numbers at this point. I took these pictures when I was 12 years old.
It wasn't broken down or anything, we just didn't use it. Gramma got diagnosed with breast cancer, and after retirement, Pap really had little motivation to do anything with any of his cars. So it sat, as did the Chevelle (it had a bad starter at the time).
Gramma passed in 2013, and afterwards, I gently started suggesting we get the Chevelle going again. I don't remember why the Mustang seemed to slip past my attention, since I did love the car as a kid, but it's probably because it was, apart from one other car, the toy I had the most time in. It wasn't as 'new' to me.
Well, in the effort of trying to get the Chevelle started one day, we pulled the Mustang out and I gave it a bath- still using dish soap. You suck, 14-15 year old me! The Chevelle did not start that day, by the way, so we pushed it back and I washed both of them.
Bonus picture of the Chevelle. That's Pappaw on the deck.
After I washed them, he gave me a ride home in it. Now, between the combination of it being his father in law's car and me being a child, dad never really beat on the car too much. I say this to point out what happened next sorta... it was a religious experience. Pap executed a 1-2 shift that was so violent it sorta threw me around in the seat. I looked at him and told him I didn't remember it being that violent. His response? A cheeky "That's 'cause your daddy don't know how to drive it!"
And so, every time I cut his grass that summer, my reward would be a ride home in the car. The next year, it continued, and I shot a video of it, too.
It came back to mom and dad's that summer, too, and we took it to a couple of car shows (nobody cared as Foxbodys were seemingly still seen as 'just another old Mustang' and it looked a little rougher than it really was.
We were going to take it to the Hines Drive cruise in 2015 but didn't. Because that morning, the battery and the hatch striker both gave up, and I'd recently had a nightmare that it caught on fire. Every sign was clear- it did not want to be driven that day.
That fall, Pap and I (mostly Pap) did a tuneup on it. Valve cover gaskets, upper intake gasket, cap, rotor, plugs, wires. This was actually the ONE time I remember being irked at him- he was 65 and his body wasn't in the shape it used to be. That, plus a desire to make memories, and me wanting to learn meant I told him to not work on it at all unless I was there. Well, he did give me my first truck, and the day I got it, he finished putting the car back together... by himself. I'd told him not to! Ah, he just wanted me to be able to focus on my new-to-me truck.
2016 and 2017 were more of the same- driven here and there, nothing major. A cool sidestory is that in 2014 my dad leased an Edge, and as we were picking it up the salesman was telling us about this Phase III Stage III Roush they had. 700hp. He said it was ordered and the guy backed out. He also said 'come back in the summer and we'll let you take it for a spin!' Dad and I scoffed. Well, the summer of 2016, we go back for Dad to get an oil change and check into leasing an F-150, and I, being the little smartass I am, ask 'So what about that Roush?' I'm expecting him to laugh it off and go, "haha, funny!". No, he says, 'well, that one's gone but tell you what, go out on the lot and get the stock number off any Mustang you want and I'll get you and your dad the keys. So I found a Stage 2 Roush and we got to take it home. Dad played with it a little bit- spun the tires in front of our house. We took it to Pap. He gets in, and takes a right off his street. First stop sign, dumps the clutch. Second one, dumps it again. Third one (behind our police station) he spins em again, and one last time pulling into our driveway.
The funniest part? He wasn't that impressed! Now, granted, the judging criteria was a tad different, but he said his spun the tires better (and it does) and took me out to prove it like a week later. That was an awesome launch. 3500RPM and side stepping the clutch. The rear tires were ancient by this point (more on that in a second) and went up in smoke pretty easy. He also correctly guessed just from how it felt the exact horsepower that Roush had. Yes, the 2016 is way faster and technically a 'better' car, but it's not nearly as fun, I'd say. And I've driven a couple of Coyote cars, so I speak from experience and bias.
It was in 2018 when I was finally tossed the keys- after we replaced the alternator (no 3G- he'd had a spare stocker he picked up way back in the day just in case he ever needed it) and replacing the headlights.
I'd also repainted the center caps. I actually need to re-do them again (or just buy new ones)
I beat the snot out of that car that summer, and it just... it didn't care. Not one bit. I think that was when I went from "this car's fun and I love it" to "This is the best damn car on Earth"
That year, we did get it to the Hines cruise. 'Nother fun little story- dad and I hate when people reserve spots at shows. If you ain't there, it ain't your spot. Well, we back in, and guy walks over doing a little bit of a tough guy walk. Dad asks 'can I park here?' Guy goes, in a sharp tone, 'No. It's reserved.' Well, in frustration, dad pulls back on to the road... and stomps it, fishtailing down the road. I only wish I'd have known as I'd have video'd it.
2019 is where the 'fun' started. It's 30 years old at this point, and been run a little hard. The clutch fork cover fell off (which was actually a good thing because it'd been rattling for literal years and drove me nuts. Pap always thought it was the throw out bearing so when it fell off and the noise stopped and the car still functioned I was as happy as a pig in... I don't know the site's rules on profanity so you can finish that), and the window motor on the passenger side went out. I also put a sound system in it, but my buddy who helped me wired it wrong. It sounded like crap- almost as bad as the radio that it had which was a stock Ford radio but not the right one- it didn't have a fader so the rear speakers did nothing. I did manage to at least Velcro the ashtray shut. Oh, one more side story here- We couldn't figure out why it sounded like crap, and fiddled with it before giving up at like 1 AM. I go to back out and I think 'Great, now the dash lights gave out.' I get halfway down the block before I have a 'eureka moment.' The lights didn't give out- I forgot to turn the headlights on.
It also got new tires on the back, because the old Kelly Chargers were date coded the first week of 1998. They were older than I am.
My memory is a bit hazy on 2020, but it started with the brand new passenger window motor stripping out, and ended with the rad leaking. I thought it was the lower hose and replaced that first, but no. Dad took this, it's our boxer, Ace.
The only other problem I remember is the fuel pump relay crapping out which of course was a super easy fix. Oh, and I had to do the ignition switch. Think I had to replace a couple of trim pieces, too- I broke a mirror cover somehow and I replaced the top piece of the center console so it'd latch.
2021 started with an SVE radiator, and was over by June when I thought a freeze plug was leaking. Oh, and the brand new headlights were already yellowing. I think that was on us- we reused the original backing plates and didn't seal the gaskets with silicon.
2022 was a bad year, all around. Pap passed away from lung cancer and I believe a heart attack on March 14th, at the age of 70. The last conversation I had with him was, of course, car related. He had a 383 stroker in the garage that had been long referred to as "the 350" so I asked for clarification. He sounded better than he had in a while- one last burst of energy, because not five minutes later, he'd passed away. I miss him every day. I got this car and the '68 Camaro, my sister got the Chevelle, and my aunt got the Grand National. Yes, we're a spoiled family. My sister and I live in the house, now, hence why most of the recent pictures are in the same driveway.
I didn't work on the car at all that year. I washed it once, but that was it. Same for 2023.
2022:
Part two up next.
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