For Fan Car Friday this week we bring you Eric and his iconic ’69 Ford Mustang Mach 1.  Fan Car Friday is a segment where we want to share with the world the automobiles that our fans have. We have absolutely no affiliation/relationship with the cars, the build or the owners. This post was made with written consent from the owner.

“Here is my car. It’s a 69 Ford Mustang Mach 1. It is a 351W 4 barrel 3 speed automatic. It has a nine inch rear with 3:25 gears.

It had a rotisserie restoration a few years prior to my purchase. I love driving it and also taking it to shows.

I have always loved this particular year. It’s the 50th anniversary of the Mach 1 as a Mustang trim.

I purchased it in the last month. That’s why the photos sent seem like they are right out of someone’s showroom. I bought in NC from East Coast Classic Cars. They were great to work with.

I bought a classic car for the same reason many do. It is something i remember as a kid, and it brings back great memories. I have always wanted this car because my uncle had one. He used to pick me up from pre-school and peel wheels. I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

He was killed in a motorcycle accident and it also serves as a way to remember him.

I’ve been looking for the right 69 Mach 1 for over 10 years. I’ve been to Mecum Indy once and Harrisburg twice looking. I’ve been to several events where there were cars for sale including Carlisle and York, PA. I’ve had a few cars inspected from owners and classic car dealers. The cars turned out not go be what they were represented to be.

I was looking for an original Maroon car, M code 351W with automatic trans. I was hoping to find one in great condition. After a couple years I was finding out what I wanted was like finding a unicorn.

I started looking for ones sold in the past. A Salt Lake City dealer had exactly what i wanted a few years back. He gave me great advice. He said find a car in great shape and make it your own.

That was the turning point. I was able to find one in great condition with Candy Apple paint. It was in NC and went down to see it in person.“

The Ford Mustang Mach 1 is a performance-oriented option package of the Ford Mustang, originally introduced by Ford in August 1968 as a package for the 1969 model year. The Mach 1 title adorned performance oriented Mustang offerings until the original retirement of the moniker in 1978, returning briefly in 2003 and 2004.

As part of a Ford heritage program, the Mach 1 package returned in 2003 as a high performance version of the New Edge platform. Visual connections to the 1969 model were integrated into the design to pay homage to the original. This generation of the Mach 1 was discontinued after the 2004 model year, with the introduction of the fifth generation Mustang.

Ford first used the name “Mach 1” in its 1969 display of a concept called the “Levacar Mach I” at the Ford Rotunda. This concept vehicle used a cushion of air as propulsion on a circular dais.

1969 was the benchmark year for Ford Mustang in its proliferation of performance names and engines. No fewer than six factory performance Mustang models were available (GT, Boss 302, Boss 429, Shelby GT350, Shelby GT500 and the Mach 1). Additionally, seven variations of V-8s were available in the ’69–’73 models; most of these also available in the new Mach 1.

Due to the Mach 1’s success, the GT model was discontinued after 1969 following poor sales of 5,396 units versus the 72,458 sales for the Mach 1. The Mustang would not wear the “GT” badge again until 1982.

The Mach 1 package was only available in the ‘SportsRoof’ body style (previously known as the ‘Fastback’); never on the hardtop or convertible. Many resto-mod visual conversions have since been performed by owners and enthusiasts, but are not Mach 1’s by VIN code.

The Mach 1 started with a V8-powered ‘Sportsroof’ body and added numerous visual and performance enhancing items such as matte black hood treatment with hood pins, hood scoop (including optional Shaker scoop), competition suspension, chrome pop-open gas cap, revised wheels with Goodyear Polyglas tires, chrome exhaust tips (except 351W 2V), deluxe interior, livery and dealer optional chin spoiler, rear deck spoiler, and rear window louvers (SportSlats).

Standard equipment was a 351 cu in (5.8 L) Windsor (351W) 2V motor with a 3 speed manual transmission, and a 9-inch (23 cm) 28 spline open rear axle. A 351W 4V was optional as was a 390 cu in (6.4 L) FE, and the huge 428 cu in (7.0 L) Cobra Jet 4V with or without Ram Air, and even the introduction of the “drag pack” option with the modified 428 cu in (7.0 L) Super Cobra Jet engine. A 4-speed manual or 3-speed FMX (small block)/C6 (big block) automatic transmission was optional, and the 428SCJ added a cast iron tailshaft in place of the regular aluminum one to the C6. A “traction lok” rear axle was optional, and the 428 CJ/SCJ included a “traction lok” with a 3.91 or 4.30 ratio, 31 spline axle shafts and a nodular case. In 1970, the 3.91 ratio was a “traction-lok”, while the 4.30 ratio was a Detroit Locker.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Mustang_Mach_1

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