Paperwork!  Original paint!  22,400 original miles!  Marti report!  429SCJ DRAG PACK!!!  Seriously?if you?re looking for a 3^rd generation Mustang that?s a cut above it?s here right now!  No time for a typical introduction on this baby!

I?m up to my eyes in paperwork, and avid readers know how those old scrolls make me swoon!  If we don?t have the originals, we have photocopies!  Let?s start with the originals?how about a window sticker.  And an invoice.  And a build sheet.  And the owner?s manual with owner?s card inside.  And the consumer information sheet.  And the rest of the owner?s manual packet.  And the starting instructions placard for over the driver?s side visor.  AND a picture of the car, less than three months old, from 1971!!!  Photocopies include the front and back of the original title and the finance agreement!  I?m going to need air!  The Marti Report seems almost unnecessary here but we have one of those, too! 

So on to the option list.   How about more than $1500 worth of options on a $3300 car???

429ci R code SCJ ram air engine

Mach I Sports interior group

Select-Shift Cruise-o-Matic (C6) transmission

Drag-Pack w/3.91 gears and Traction-Lok

Power steering

Power front disc brakes

Rear window electric defrost

AM/FM stereo radio

Console

Tinted glass?all windows

Instrumentation group

The invoice lists that the car should have 12 gallons of gas in it at time of delivery, and compensated the dealer accordingly?four dollars! 

Delivered new to Biggio Ford Lincoln Mercury in Steubenville, Ohio, the car was purchased within two weeks of arrival by Donald Middleton of Mingo Junction, Ohio, (who kept the car until 2006?that?s a real run!)  It must have been a rush job to get this guy built, as the order didn?t go in until June 10^th and wasn?t built until July 9^th?only a couple of weeks from the end of ?71 production!  Either the dealer or Mr. Middleton must have known the cars would be further neutered for ?72 or it was just chance, but out came this heavily optioned car!

The Pebble Beach set would describe the car?s condition as mostly original and treated to a ?sympathetic? restoration.  Leave the patina alone, while tending to the mechanicals and sprucing up tired finishes.  That said, the green paint on this car is original, and in fantastic condition.  Ford laid down a nice coat on the car, too, as it?s very even and abnormally free of the defects you usually find on cars built during this era.  The silver paint at the bottom edges of the car has been touched up, probably due to stone chips than anything else.  The decals are all original, as evidenced by the slightly uneven application from side-to-side on the front fenders?you?d figure that after pumping out over 121,000 cars at the Dearborn factory in 1971 alone that they?d get ?em straight, but it?s sure a sign of the times!  The glass is all original too, and the windshield still wears its 1972 highway patrol inspection sticker!

Twist the ultra cool hood locks, pull the latch and open that massive ram air hood.  What parts that were nice enough on their own were cleaned and returned to their homes, such as the valve covers, the original battery cables and even the original spark plug wires!  Fresh paint coats the original air cleaner, the motor while the compartment was touched up as required.  New parts are few and far between, such as the reproduction battery, the radiator cap and the washer fluid bottle.  Original parts are everywhere (such as the frequently pitched air pump) and are a reflection of the car?s mileage and care.  There?s obviously a fresh tune on the motor as the sound is strong and mean, and the car gets up and goes, drives straight and accelerates effortlessly!

Underneath you?ll see cleaned, primed and painted floor pans ... this was NOT a car that was ever driven through an Ohio winter!  Having only 22,000 miles on the clock you?ll find all sorts of details that would normally be lost to time, such as the driveshaft stripes and inspection marks on the front and rear suspensions.  New duals from front to rear sound menacing and look stone stock.  The transmission?s super clean and was just resealed.  Original equipment Firestone Wide Ovals in F70-14 on steel wheels with dog dishes and trim rings are standard fare, and are confirmed by the build sheet and the picture of the car from the fall of ?71!  One more Wide Oval hides in the completely original trunk.  The jack?s in place, too, and the trunk?s still covered in its original paint, as well!

Open the heavy, really, really well adjusted doors and climb in.  Close ?em gently?all it takes is a slight effort!  Obviously the door alignment guy was in better shape than the decal guy!  I?m not sure what to claim is new in here?and that?s a new one on me!  I don?t mean that the steering wheel is nice or that the door panels are in good shape?on this car, the original CARPET is still on the floor!  Now that?s dedication to originality!  Everything?s in great shape, too, from the uncracked dash to the unfaded gauges to the unripped seats to?everything else!  If you like MCA events, you will LOVE this survivor interior ... this 1971 is a REFERENCE for the judges.

See why my intro paragraph was so short?  This car?s too cool to wait on fluff to get to the description!  A drag-pack 429 car is cool ... the last of the Mustang big blocks, an original paint, 22,400 mile car is off the charts and a car with this much paperwork is a home run?and this car has all of this and more!  I didn?t even mention the pictures of the car from the 70?s and the 80?s?we even have a photo record of the car wearing its one and only modification?mags!  Call and make this rising star yours for show and play!