The starter makes that late-model whine and the engine catches then fires. Even in the wee hours of the morning, it satisfies one’s heart and soul to hear that noise. The garage door opens, shaking the rails and creaking ominously—nothing unusual there. You click the automatic overdrive into the “R” gate and back out into the early morning light. Blasting free of the neighborhood, you scoot onto the highway and stop, then start, and then stop. For excitement, you have a uniform truck decide that where you are is where he needs to be now! Welcome to the daily driver.
Looking at Recardo Ashton’s ’90 GT, it would be easy to surmise that the red convertible is a show car. What is most stunning is the fact that Recardo drives the slick little pony to work every day. In Tacoma. In Washington State. Where it rains—a lot.
What prompted our intrepid road warrior to buy the GT was that he likes the late-models. This becomes obvious when you check the list of other Mustangs he has owned. At present, his stable houses an ’86 LX 5.0 convertible and an ’88 LX 5.0L sedan. What’s funny about this purchase is that Recardo didn’t want it. Candice, his wife, saw the red GT on a used car lot on her way home one night and told Recardo about it. “I said that I didn’t want a red car,” Recardo admitted to us. But Candice persisted. While chatting with another Mustang fan, she managed to pique Recardo’s interest with mention of the white leather interior. Before seeing the car, Recardo thought that white would give him free rein—he could repaint the exterior any color he wanted. That was until he saw the car.
What sat under the blazing used car lot lights was a red GT with a Cervini Mach 1–styled hood and platinum Ultra wheels. Recardo confessed, “I could never paint that car another color…and when I do paint it, it will be red!” Obviously, he has changed his mind about the color red. What Recardo bought, other than the eye-assaulting color combo, was a mildly modified Mustang that packs the 5.0 H.O., automatic overdrive, and all the other GT amenities. As with most used late-models, the car has seen some additions by the previous owner. The careful placement of a 3.73 rear gear and shift kit for the AOD make this car geared for quick starts when that uniform truck tries to bust a move on you. A choice sprinkling of Kenny Brown suspension parts make the GT capable of getting you away from that same truck by quick, precise lane changes.
Yep, this GT is a warrior of sorts—seeing things that would scare the daylights out of the average show car. That’s OK, because day in and day out Recardo and his red GT are out there keeping the dream alive.