Mark Houlahan Tech Editor, Mustang Monthly June 13, 2017

Many of us can remember friends or family members whom have been the recipient of the traditional high school graduation gift of a new (or new to them) car. Such was the case with Jeff Chandler Sr. back in the early 1980s when his parents gifted him an A-code (that’s a 289 4V making 225hp) 1966 Mustang fastback. This was the very car he drove when he would date his eventual wife and one he kept all these years.

In 2008 history repeated itself when the elder Chandler passed the fastback down to his son, Jeff Jr., with the agreement that Sr. would help his son restore it. While the fastback sat Jeff Jr. bought and built himself one heck of a Terminator Mustang. His 2003 Mustang Cobra currently has a glove box full of 9-second time slips! You can check that ride out HERE.

The standard black interior was retained during the restoration, with the majority of the upgrades happening under the hood.

The engine is still a 289, using the original crank and rods, but stuffed into a late-model 5.0L roller cam block.

In 2014 the timing and finances finally worked out for Jeff and his father to put the fastback under the knife for a full restoration. “We put it on a rotisserie stand and replaced floor pans, frame rails, toe panels, trunk pans, quarter panels, and core support,” Jeff Jr. states. The fastback received all new suspension and the original 289 was pulled down and the crank and rods salvaged to drop into a late-model 5.0L roller block. Speed Pro forged pistons, a Trick Flow roller cam, PAC valve springs, an Edelbrock Air Gap intake, and a Holley 600-cfm carb top it all off. Future plans include Wilwood four-wheel disc brakes, lowering the fastback more, and looking into fuel injection and possibly a Paxton supercharger.

“I’m most grateful for this opportunity to share this experience building this car with my father; I am really into the performance side of building cars. This would not have been possible without the help of my father Jeff Chandler Sr., that has a big collection of classic Mustangs he has restored for himself,” Jeff says.