A dry breeze rustles through the trees around Gary Bowmans Southern California home. The sun is warm on my face. Today is a day Im happy to be alive and far from the pressures of Los Angeles. My wife, Barbara, watches patiently as I burn classic Mustang images onto Fuji 35mm film. Theres a country kind of hush. A horse whinnies nearby. The aroma of country living teases the olfactory nerves and excites the senses. Gary lives almost 50 miles outside Los Angeles, deep in agriculture country up the coastaway from the roar of the city. Here he handcrafts some of the nicest Mustangs youll ever see. Gary doesnt restore Mustangs for a living, but rather as a hobby for special friends and family. Professionally, Gary is a teacher. Listen closely and you can learn a lot from this man.
This is a Concours-restored 65 Mustang convertible clad in Vintage Burgundy. Were not even sure if a red convertible can outdo the visual charisma of a burgundy drop-top with the Interior Decor Group option in white vinyl. This car excites and captures our imagination. When the car rolled into Garys shop, it needed a full-scale restoration. So he stripped the car down to a bare shell, worked the steel, eliminated the rust, and gave a tired classic a new life.
If youve never restored a Mustang, then its impossible to appreciate what goes into such an effort. To do it right, it takes monthssometimes years. When you bring home a car such as this one, you cant wait to get started. Its all you can think about in the shower and during dinner. Then comes the hard partdisassembling, cataloging parts, and taking extra care not to damage irreplaceable parts. Its the victory of finding that elusive broadcast sheet underneath the carpet. Its discovering a book of matches from 1965 behind a kick panel.
Thoughts always turn to what the car is going to be like when its finished. Daydreaming consists of that first drive, accelerating, and listening to a fresh 289 channeling the ponies through a crisp C4 or Top Loader four-speed. Then the course of work snaps you back to reality. Theres a long way to go. You have a body to massage, parts to order, elusive pieces to find, and wrenching with a buddy on a Saturday afternoon.
Restoring a Mustang is mostly baby steps that lead up to a finished product that will never be finished. There will always be something to do on the road to perfecting a show car. Each workday on a restoration is part of a phasestripping the paint down to the bare steel, working the metal, filling the imperfections, blocking and sanding, and watching the paint go on by the hand of a seasoned professional. Once the paint has been applied and the color sanded and buffed, then its time for the assemblythe most exciting part of a restoration.