DEARBORN - When Clark Wilson special-ordered his 1972 Mach 1, he thought he’d own it forever. But after his dad had died in 1995 and he needed cash to care for his ailing mom, Clark sold it to help out. Some 15 years after his mother’s passing, he began a search in the hopes of locating that special Mustang. To find out how he found it in New York and what his chances are of buying it back, read the email that Clark sent us below, followed by the email we received from the current owner of Clark’s 1972 Mach 1:



“Hello, Ford Performance! My name is Clark Wilson and I live in Sarasota, Florida. I have a story to share about a young man who special-ordered a 1972 Mach 1 with a plan to keep it forever. That young man was me! But then in 1995 my Dad passed away, and I sold my Mach1 because Mom needed money. A couple of years ago I started to search for my old car, and I finally found it in 2016 in New York!



“My story actually begins with a deal that I had made with my Dad when I was a teen. He said, “Work with me at the gas station for two years and learn about cars and how to work on them, and I will buy you a new car.” So I worked alongside of my Dad, who was an expert mechanic, and learned much about cars.

“True to his word, in October of 1971, my Father and I went to Bill Cook Ford to order me a brand-new 1972 Mustang Mach 1. I ordered it in Medium Bright Yellow, with a 351 CJ, 4-speed, PS, PB and A/C. I ordered the Deluxe interior with a console and an AM radio, plus the side stripes. It took forever to get it, but after it was finally delivered, I had a new Best Friend, I did add the factory Ram Air system, the front spoiler, a set of factory twist-style hood pins, a set of Magnum 500 wheels, and a 3.50 rear gear (as it came with a 2.75).

“To me, this was not only my Best Friend, it was the best Mach 1 in the world. He never let me down, and when we did some racing, he won 95 percent of the time. When we were together, we were as one; I flat-out loved that car! On its 18th birthday, I did a complete restoration on the car, including a stock rebuild on the engine and 4-speed manual transmission.



“Fast forward to December 26, 1995: My Dad passed away while taking care of my Mom, who was bed-ridden. I was the youngest of five, but my Dad and I were very close. When Mom got sick, he asked me to give him my word that if something would ever happen to him, I would never allow Mom to go into a nursing home and that I would take her in to stay with me and my family. Being a man of his word about buying me the car, I gave him my word about caring for Mom.

“After Dad’s funeral, we moved Mom into our home, even though we didn’t have an extra room for her. We gave her our bedroom, and my wife Lori and I slept on the couch. Because Lori and I both worked full time and also had two daughters, we had to find someone to watch Mom during the day, then we would take over on evenings and the weekends. The biggest problem was that hiring a caretaker would cost extra cash that we didn’t have, so I decided to put my Best Friend up for sale. I never wanted to part with it, but I had to because I gave my word to my Father, and we needed the money for my Mom’s care. It sold in one week.



“My Mom lived with us for fine and a half years before she passed. After her funeral, I always wanted to know how my Best Friend was doing. So in August of last year I started a search for my old Mach 1. I had the old tags but no actual VIN number so I was dead in the water until I decided to contact the Marti Auto Works, I told them I was the original owner and it was special ordered and that I knew all of the options. Just on that information they were able to find my car's VIN number, and from there I found a company that could only tell me that yes, a car with that VIN is was still registered out there, and only that its new home was in New York,

“With only that to go on, I began contacting all the Mustang clubs in New York and all of the online Mustang Forums frim that region asking if anyone had seen that Mach 1. Months passed and one day out of the blue I got a forum response email that merely said: ‘Call me about your car.’ The email was signed with a name and a county in New York, but not the city. So I tried searching on Facebook and – I finally found the owner! His name is Steve Scarselli.

“After we exchanged some emails we then followed up with some phone calls about my Mach 1. My hope is to one day go up to New York and see my old best friend again and maybe figure out a deal so that I could actually own him once again. I would like to thank Steve for taking very good care of him all of these years. I also hope the story of how I found my car will help others who are looking to find a long lost Mustang. It felt like I had to go thru hell to locate it, but the whole process was a rewarding one. I did as my Dad asked taking care of my Mom, and I found out that a new friend in New York has taken great care of my Best Friend Mach 1. Steve said he’ll send you a note about the car and some photos. Thanks for sharing my story.”

--- Clark Wilson

Sarasota, FL

“Hello, Ford Performance! My name is Steve Scarselli. Clark Wilson asked me to contact your and tell you about a 1972 Mustang Mach 1 that he used to own. I am the current owner of the car, and this is how I came to own it:

“My story with this car begins in 1995. I was in search of a yellow-and-black 1972 Mustang Mach 1, with a 351 Q-Code engine, a 4-speed manual and a black deluxe interior. I kept searching locally and was having no luck whatsoever for a couple years. I then started my Internet search across the United States and after about a year or two of looking and coming close on a few occasions, I finally located the exact car that I longed to own in the Tampa area of Florida.

“It just so happened to coincide with a vacation I was taking in Disney the following week, so coming across this car at that time couldn't have worked out any better. I could go on vacation with my family and take a day’s drive to Tampa and look at the car.

“The gentleman selling the car didn't know a whole lot about it except that he had recently bought it in Florida. The day came for me to finally get a look at the car that I've been searching so long for, and I was not let down when the garage door opened and the cover came off the car! I didn't want to look too excited, but at that moment I knew that car was coming home with me that day. There was just a bit of negotiation and a handshake, and I was able to finish my vacation with my family, anxiously awaiting the car’s arrival in New York the following week.

“After taking ownership of the car and not knowing its full mechanical history, I decided to rebuild the motor and start fresh – but with my kids so young and being busy with all their activities, it really didn't leave me much time to enjoy the car. As a matter of fact, over the past 19-plus years that I've owned it, I've put less than a couple thousand miles on it. It stays garaged and under cover most of the year and only brought out on special occasions.

“Then in the fall of 2016, I got a Facebook message from a guy named Clark Wilson asking if I owned a 1972 yellow-and-black Mach 1 Mustang he’d been looking for – and that he was the original owner. When I replied and we exchanged emails, it turns out I owned the car he has special ordered back in 1971. Our emails turned into phone conversations about the car -- and we talked a few times at length as I learned the full history of my car.

“I have since become friends with Clark and after hearing the story of this Mach 1 I have come to realize that I am just a mere foster parent for his Mustang, while Clark made the sacrifice to take care of his parents. It turns out that I had been considering selling the car prior to Clark getting in touch with me about it. Because of his ties to this car, I told him if he's interested in the car, he has the right of first refusal when I put it up for sale. I can only hope that the car will be reunited someday soon to its original owner, where it will be taken care of properly and they we spend the rest of their lives together. But only time will tell the end of this tale!”

--- Steve Scarselli

Kingston, NY