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Story: 11 Years to Find This 1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1

The Mach 1 was a performance-oriented package on the Ford Mustang, introduced in 1969 and part of the line-up through 1978 (and again in 2003-05 and 2021). This is the story of a young fan of the Mach 1 series and the search that brought him to the fastback featured here. The car had been sitting since the early 1990s and would still be in storage had not a young man named Jarrod Frankum come along. The car was discovered in Lubbock, Texas and its story is told here on Motor Trend. Our thanks to Larry D for passing this interesting tale along to us.

Ford had used the name “Mach 1” in its display of a concept car called the “Levacar Mach !” at the Ford Rotunda. The car used a cushion of air as propulsion on a circular dais. The name was then applied to the new version of the Mustang that came out for 1969. The Mach 1 had a tough-looking graphics package and the minimum powerplant that could be ordered with the car was a 351 cubic-inch V8. The Mach 1 would help shore up Mustang sales which had been declining every year since 1966. Mach 1 production would represent 41,000 of the 191,000 of the pony cars Ford built in 1970. By then, the pony car market was flooded with competitors.

Jarrod Frankum was a teenager in Lubbock, Texas in 2009 when he developed an interest in the 1969-70 Ford Mustang Mach 1. His father had owned one a few years earlier and he caught the same car bug that his dad had. For the next 11 years, he searched to find one of his own but was disappointed time after time because the examples he turned up were either rust buckets or overpriced. That changed one day when he was riding his Mach 1-decorated skateboard to college classes one day and passed a 1970 Mach 1 parked on ramps under a carport.

Though he was hesitant at first, thinking he would strike out again, he approached the owner to see if he would sell the Ford. At first, the answer was no, but the owner thought it over and after realizing he was never going to restore it, he decided to let the kid have a shot at it. He was also facing fines from the City of Lubbock for having a non-running car within eyesight on his property. The car had been inactive for the better part of 30 years with some minor rust. The owner had removed the steering wheel to deter thieves from making off with the car.

We don’t know what they may have settled on as a selling price, but it was likely below market because of Frankum’s sincerity. The seller threw in a collection of parts, both new and used, and a set of new tires on Magnum 500 wheels. Once Jarrod got the car home, he and his father had it in running order again within a few hours and started patching up the rust spots on the Mustang, which weren’t too bad. Jarrod plans to use the car as a driver for now and then restore it later, maybe going with a coat of Grabber Blue paint and fuel injection to help better power the car. However things turn out, we’re told that Jarrod is never going to sell the car. It took him too long to find it!

Comments

  1. Avatar alphasud Member

    I had watched the video earlier in the week. Real heartfelt story that any automotive enthusiast will want to watch. Brought tears to my eyes and a great story.

    Like 5
  2. Avatar erik j

    Very nice mustang-so original. I hate to hear that the color may change so radically, it could be worse.The fuel injection i,m ok with just keep the old parts. The best part of the story is someone this young caring on the care and love of this mach 1

    Like 4
  3. Avatar walt mcclurg

    2 bad it wasn’t a 4 speed, I got a 34 Roadster [5spd], 35 pickup [4spd], 65 Mustang fastback [5spd], 69 Mustang fastback [4spd] so much fun 2 drive, auto’s r 4 women-boring. Yank it & put in a T5 stick

    Like 3
    • Avatar Donnie L Sears

      I take it you don’t like anything original. No matter what it is pull that automatic out and put a five speed in it. When are you moving up to the 6 and 8 standards?

      Like 4
      • Avatar Mike

        Why stop there? My Peterbilt has an 18 speed…. :)

        Like 5
  4. Avatar TDS

    I had the exact 70 (color combo) with a 351 Cleveland 4bbl w/auto trans. The shock towers on these cars were notorious for failing. They crack along the section where the upper suspension is mounted. I paid $400 for mine in better condition than this back in 1981. With a broken shock tower. $300 to weld it up and align the front end. Some stoner dude needed weed money and went from $1200 to $400 cash on a day he was Jonse-ing! LOL I put about $1200 into it and sold it 2 years later for $3200. Wish I kept it now!

    Like 0
  5. Avatar Jarrod Frankum

    Interesting. Some of these details aren’t correct. But cool to see other writers share about my story. I didn’t know it would get shared so widespread.

    Like 1

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