Jerry Heasley April 3, 2018

“Wow, look at that fastback!” Tony Cothren said. He could barely believe what he was eyeballing in a remote region of Louisiana. Was that a 1969 Mach 1? That baby looked restored!

Cothren owns Street Dreams, a car store in Fredericksburg, Texas, that sells a lot of Mustangs, Camaros, Chevelles, Corvettes, some Shelbys—that kind of stuff—so he knows his classic Mustangs. Cothren and his son Kile made a pretty snappy U-turn as they drove down Route 371 South, past the dot on the map that was Sarepta, Louisiana—population 941. They were returning from a classic car auction in Oklahoma and had stopped for the night at their cabin on Lake Erling in Arkansas.

Tony was shocked, and his exact words were, “you don’t know how shocked,” to see it parked outside “a local little body shop—a 1969 Mach 1 with a cardboard ‘For Sale’ sign in the window.” He could hardly believe the condition of the Mach 1, which he said was “restored, in lovely shape.” How could this car be for sale in this tiny town?

Sometimes a Rare Find is in excellent condition and ready to go. This 1969 is a Silver Jade Mach 1 with the 351-4V backed by a Select Shift Cruise-O-Matic transmission and a raft of extras.

Cam paid a dealer $36,000, but still had room in the purchase to make a profit, if he wanted to sell. Friends tried to buy the car, and Cam turned down a $10,000 profit at one time.

Tony called the number on the sign and the owner of the body shop came out to talk, explaining that he was selling the car for the owner. Cothren said, “We talked a bit and he said he was assisting the family in the sale, as the owner had passed away.”

The price, Cothren said, was very fair, plus the seller cut a little more off due to the fact he said he really wasn’t in the classic car sales business. The car included a portfolio of documentation and appeared rust free. Cothren agreed to buy the Mach 1, but since he didn’t have a check on him, he and Kile drove 15 miles to an ATM and brought back a $500 cash deposit to hold the car.

Under the hood is the stock 351-4V.

The Mach 1 joined the inventory at Street Dreams. As soon as the car went online, Cam Gillespie in Ontario, Canada, saw pictures of it and agreed to the price, no hesitation, which was $36,000. He didn’t care that he was buying the car from a dealer because he knew the market and he knew what he wanted. Later, the experienced and amiable Cothren told Cam, “I’m glad you didn’t snooze on it, because I got people lined up to buy the car.”

When the Mach 1 arrived by transport to his home in Ontario, Cam was happy to see a rust-free Mach 1, just as he expected. “It’s an original-owner car from a guy in California. He owned it 44 years until he passed away. The car is all original except it has been repainted once.”

“All I had to do was get in the car, start up the engine, and drive,” Cam said. The car was ready to go.

Original high-back bucket seats are still in excellent condition. The mileage on the car is 81,000.

This is the Sport Deck Rear Seat on the Mach 1.

Cam ordered an Elite Marti Report and found out his car is one-of-one when narrowed down to this AM 8-track player, still in the car.

This invoice reveals $2,723 for the base 1969 Mustang SportsRoof, and $1,460.59 worth of options and accessories.

How often do you see one of these owner cards that Ford issued for warranty work?

One reason Cam pulled the trigger was all the documentation that came with the car, including this original buildsheet.

Another piece of paperwork with the purchase was this thank-you letter to the original owner from the dealership that sold the car brand new.

The Sports Appearance Group was specified with no tape stripe, but somebody has added a stripe since then.