Brian McCarthy's 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Daily-Driver
When you see a 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 rolling down the street these days, you’d likely expect to see a Baby Boomer behind the wheel, re-living fond motoring memories from his or her youth. That’s not this one. Millennial Brian McCarthy of West Lafayette, Indiana, is still in his 20’s, and his classic ’69 Mach 1 is actually Brian’s daily driver.
Here’s Brian’s Mustang story, told in his own words:
“My name is Brian McCarthy and my fascination with Ford Mustangs began when I was a young kid, around age 8. No, I didn’t have the stereotypical father/grandfather who had Mustangs growing up, restored cars, or even worked in the auto industry to expose me to classic cars. For me, it was seeing the old, faded-green 1966 Mustang in my best friend’s garage at 8 years old. Something about that Mustang always looked cool and fostered my interest in Mustangs as I grew older.
“Fast forward 12 years. Having little to no experience working on an old car other than changing brakes and oil, I purchased my 1969 Mustang Mach 1 for $7,500 in Southern Virginia with money I had saved up from working hard in the summer. My Mach 1 came from the factory with a 351 cubic-inch Windsor V-8 motor, a four-barrel carburetor, and a 4-speed Top Loader transmission, with no power steering, no power brakes and no A/C. She was built in mid-July 1969 in San Jose, California (one of the last ’69 Mach 1’s built!).”
