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Has anyone ever asked you "if you could have any car, what would it be?" I've seen that question on multiple forums-my first answer is always a question-"can I keep the one I have too?" Because if not, then I already have the car I would want (not that I couldn't make a list about a mile long of other cars I would love to own)!! (mostly) Stock V6 or not, I love my Stang! Besides, what little girl didn't want a pony? I finally got mine, and I'm not about to part with her!!
So, here's my stang story. I didn't plan on any mods, but I've now got all the ones I want (smoked clears, sequentials & chrome Mach style rims). Really though, I love the way she looked when she was "born" in Dearborn at DAP in June of 2000. So, other than that, she's staying stock. I'll spend my time detailing her-I've been told I might be a detailing fanatic (maybe a lil bit of a green fanatic too-I was excited to get enough gs points to get the green rank pony) Ok, maybe I AM just a LITTLE obsessed with my car-my husband thinks so anyway! I do get laughs when I show up at car shows with my nails painted to match my car-and people practically fall over when I crawl underneath to detail the undercarriage-like this (JUST found this pic while hunting through some old stuff. Taken at WDC 04 on Mustang Alley, yours truely cleaning up under the Stang-there's a bottle of QD (Quik Detailer) near the right front):
Although I think the best reaction is when I break out the q-tips to start detailing the engine....oh, well-could be worse, it could be a Chevy! j/k, I like all cars/trucks, even though I'm partial to Ford. We'll just keep going to events with friends and having a blast doing it!
We bought her for fun, not to win awards. I never even CONSIDERED car shows until after we met some members of a local car club and they talked us into it. I've gone to some shows, won some awards-but the rewards are much more than some little trinket...the friendships we have built over the years are worth more than any trophy I've won. Sure, I still go to shows-what a great way to hang out with friends and meet new people. I do prefer to actually get her out on the open road though-after all, cars are supposed to be driven!
[ remotely linked image: click here ]
A couple quick facts: she's an ex-Florida rental (I've noticed most stangs with the "door guard" strips are former rentals). I have had this confirmed by a source at Ford-she was part of a fleet order in June 00 for Hertz. She had 22,300 miles on her when we brought her home in November of 01, and has just a tick over 36,000 as of April 08. She is Electric Green in color (color code SW). She is not a daily driver, and goes into hibernation for the winter (our dd is on page Three-AWD rocks in the snow).
Mod pics:
With my CHRISTMAS PRESENT, Mod #1, smoked clears!!!
Mod #2, the sequentials look like this:
Mod # 3, the Chrome AFS Heritage style rims. I had gotten a hole in one of the stock tires the week before leaving for the Woodward Dream Cruise. Then I found out they were discontinued and I would have to buy 4 new ones! On top of that, they only made black walls or solid white letters-with the size of the stock sidewall-yuck! So I went online and starting PM'ing, emailing and posting on the Mach registry looking for a set of rims and tires (I originally wanted the stock Mach rims). These rims were cheaper with the tires (and the tires were practically new) then buying 4 new ones. We did have to drive 13 hours two days before leaving for Woodward to get them, but I think it was worth it!
Here's some past pics of places we've been (you can tell the ones taken prior to this year now, since I have my Cleared corners and new rims on!)
Pics with friends:
Hangin' out with some local cruiser buds at Old Fort Niagara:
With some friends (Mustang stoplight-red, yellow, green!!) at a local cruise to a park:
Sticks out like a Greeen thumb :
While we were in Michigan for the WDC, we decided to got to Hell with some friends (not much to do in Hell. Good ice cream though.):
Ford World HQ, WDC 04-headed out to Mustang Alley from Ford world HQ in Dearborn:
Michigan pics:
At Fair Lane, Henry Ford's estate in Dearborn:
Vinsetta garage on Woodward in Michigan (We meet a really cool couple while we were here. We had been waiting for another car to move out of this spot to take a pic, but as soon as they left, another car pulled into the spot! We went over & explained what we were doing, and they moved their car for us. Apparently, their son works here, and they park here every year for the WDC. Being natives to the area, we got to hear some really cool stories about Woodward racing past-they also told us where to find the Model T factory):
(Just a side note to this-I just found out that this is the oldest operating garage east of the Mississippi-it has been in operation since 1912!! They only do work by referal. It is apparently a popular spot for pics-Ford even brought the now-dead Sporttrac adreneline here for a shoot!)
Also at "The Henry Ford", the front doors:
Also taken while in MI for the WDC (05), the Detroit skyline, from Belle Isle:
Another one on Belle Isle-didn't get a chance to check this building out, but it seemed quite cool:
The Belle Isle fountain:
"The Legend lives here"-found the Flat Rock plant while in MI for WDC 06:
Decided to take a drive along Lake Huron this time we were out in Michigan for the dream cruise:
Local stuff:
Olcott Beach, NY-this is an awesome place for photo ops-but you can only get in the park once a year, at a show:
A historical society, I thought the caboose was cool:
Another shot at Olcott Beach, you can barely see Lake Ontario behind her:
Old Fort Niagara:
In front of an old barn:
Historic Youngstown:
Here she is with her older sister, Eleanor (a few years ago, Eleanor's changed a bit since this pic, but is still very much a project in progress-her pics can be found on page four):
Misc stuff:
Oh yeah, that's what the greeen one looks like with the top up! It is up when it's in the garage, when it's raining hard, or when we park it at the hotel at the WDC-otherwise, it's down. Why buy a convertible if you're not gonna drive with the top down? I can brush my hair (Or braid it, or something so it doesn't blow around-hair whipping you at 70 mph actually hurts!), and when it's cold out, we turn on the heat (that's why there's heat, right?), and sunburn eventually goes away (Ow!):
Should prolly add a pic or two of the motor (stock 3.8l), also taken for the Mustang Of the Month:
[ remotely linked image: click here ]
Another engine shot, took this on 1/4/06-it was in the 40's and I just had to go play with the car-even if it just meant taking a few pics & making sure there was no moisture buildup (unheated garage, so no dehumidifier  ):
A shot of the build sticker on the valve cover-these are hard to take care of! Since I'm staying (mostly) stock, I'm trying to preserve all the original stickers and markings(some day, many many years from now, that'll be a big deal-right now, not so much, lol). I'm thinking of trying to spray them with high temp clearcoat:
Another interior pic, including Fred the Ford bear and Woodward the beanie pony (guess where we got him, lol):
The undercarriage, took this pic 1/4/06 (can't wait til spring, needs a good polish & wax again!!). The flash washed it out a little:
My custom painted fire extinguisher (a must have for judged shows). I was going through car withdrawl a few winters ago and decided to paint it with a model car airbrush and touchup paint:
Build sheet. She was car #198, born on June 2nd, 2000 at 7:13:39 pm. Anyone with an SN95 that's looking for their build sheet, try between the bumper cover & foamy stuff-that's where I found mine, and I have spoken to several other people who found theirs in this same location. This is like gold to me, since I have no window sticker (ex rental, if there was a window sticker, it was long gone by the time she came to live with me!):
She's also a calender girl!! Sept, 2006 gotstang calender:
Awesome, made it into the 2007 calendar as well. Even better, she's in October-happy Birthday to me!
And now she's not just a Calendar Girl, she's a Magazine Model! March 08, page 75, Modified Mustangs!!
I want to thank everyone that's ranked me, nominated me for the car show and left all the great comments in my guestbook. I'm blown away-I'm used to getting the ole "whydja buy a V6?" or "when ya gonna add some power to that Stang", rather than "Nice Stang"! The answer, BTW, was either buy a V6 Vert or a GT hardtop. It came down to the all mighty dollar-after all, to quote "Dream Car Garage"-I didn't NEED a car like this, but I (damn skippy) WANTED a car like this!! And that made it an easy choice. Always wanted a vert, it was the right color and right price...so I have a V6. Besides, we've still got Eleanor (when she's done!!) if we "Feel The Need, The Need for Speed" (Top Gun was always one of my favorite movies!).
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The greeen one
