Meet our new ride!

Did I ever tell you that we love vintage stuff, and have been nurturing the dream of one day owning a nice old project car? (Anyway, now I did.) And after years of dreaming and talking about it, it looks like it has found us. Two weeks ago during our US day trip I asked M to pull over so we could reprogram the GPS and look at the map... And we came face to face with a little springy, fierce, poppy red 1965 Mustang for sale.

We're no experts, but we still have seen enough to know that it was in great shape. The body looked nearly perfect, and the interior had been nicely redone, while preserving all of its original charm. It wasn't expensive, and it had so much personality we were a little stunned (and infatuated). So we first discussed with the owner (who has a motorcycle dealership), and who told us that he had purchased it in June from a federal government auction, as part of a lot along with two motorbikes. Meaning that the car has been seized because the owner was arrested. *Interesting!*

The car has passed a NY state safety inspection a few months ago, and everything that can usually be problematic with vintage Mustangs has been replaced. It doesn't have rust, except for some understandable speckles on the chrome details, such as the bumpers. The engine is still very responsive, even after 119,000 miles: after all, the main reason why there are still so many on the road is that these were everlasting. The breaks, transmission and suspension are decent, although heavy and completely different (harder to drive) than those of a recent car. It's is not a speed bomb: it's the smallest engine, has about 120 horsepower, three (very loose) gears, and does not have such great acceleration, due to its weight. It's not convertible, and doesn't have AC or any extra feature, only an AM radio and a button-push heating system. The gas mileage is obviously a little ridiculous. But, I mean. It's SO cool!

If you're into vintage cars, this one is great because you can get any and every part you need easily, and it's also not difficult to find people who can work on them. There's a whole market for possible upgrades and restorations, as well as plenty of information available to work on it yourself. Some parts, like the tires, battery, oil filter and such, can be replaced with standard current Ford parts. The front trunk is huge, but surprisingly empty and basic, which makes it much easier than a recent car for DIY repairs (both because you have lots of space to work and because there's not much you can scr*w up).

A few other crucial factors also worked in our favor: first, my car lease is up in a few months, and I will have to return it anyway, and second, since M and I now commute together, we're not as dependent on a two-car lifestyle anymore. Funny how things work out: when thinking about it, we realized that this is exactly the right window for us to make such a purchase, because it wouldn't have been quite right just a few months prior or after...

So we decided to give it a go, and make a (lowball) offer, which was accepted. The idea is that I won't buy another car after returning mine, and we'll try to manage with our other main car plus this one. Although the Mustang is definitely in good enough shape to be a daily driver, this still makes more sense in California than here, where winters and salt used to de-ice the roads make it much harsher on vehicles. With this arrangement, only the cold months would be more problematic, because we would try to only use the Mustang sparingly. So it's not a completely rational thing, but hey, you only live once! It's a lot less expensive than a recent second car, and if things don't work out, we can always sell it again, and most likely won't lose any money in the process.

There are just a few issues with importing it into Canada, such as timing and paperwork involved at both borders, as well as one major compliance problem: it doesn't have seat belts, at all! But of course, it has big ashtrays and cup holders which I'm pretty sure weren't for coffee, so these were the times, people, when you could ride in your car unrestrained, with kids squabbling and jumping on each other in the back seat, while smoking and drinking!!! {Irony here}. You can however get safety belt kits online, and the owner graciously offered to have it done by his mechanics before we go back there.

We're probably going to pick it up next Friday!