The best CalSpec memory I have is seeing it for the 1st time......which was a real pins & needles experience for me because I basically purchased the car "sight unseen." Doing that is so uncharacteristic because I'm basically a real conservative person. I had been talking to an auto restoration shop on the Cape in MA and was totally impressed with the kind of work I saw there. Anything from Model A's to muscle cars, T Birds, Mopar
and European cars. In fact this place has "the" reputation for quality and always wins awards etc. I spent time talking to the owner, and told him what I wanted was the car I had in college.........basically a 68 Mustang coupe with 289CI and 3speed or 4 speed. And that I wanted a car I could restore, but it had to be a solid #7 with #10 being the best. The owner told me that what I wanted was a south western car that was never exposed to the harsh New England winters, and that he made several trips a year to Texas, Arizona and So. California. I said it made sense, and to give me a call when he found a car I'd be interested in. He called me about 4 weeks later, but he hadn't really found what I had been looking for.....so I told him I was patient for the right car, and to keep looking. By the end of June, he called with a list of 3 cars that fit my description, but he said "I have another car which is kinda rare that you may have an interest in.......it's called a California Special." My heart began to pick up pace a bit, because as a kid I'd seen one California Special but never had really seen another one since then. It was kind of ironic because I had recently read an article about that special production car. I called a friend of mine in Keene,NH that does primarily Mustang restorations and he told me to get serial nos, and a list of about 8 questions to ask. What really made this vehicle attractive also was it had a 289CI, air conditioning and was from Phoenix, AZ. After everything checked out, I wired $ to my friend who said I won't be back for another 3 weeks because I have other cars to pick up. B
ut one thing he said that was re-assuring was, "if you don't like the car when you see it, I'll buy it back from you." Needless to say I was chomping on the bit to se my "sight unseen Mustang purchase." (It was tough keeping that from my wife).
3 weeks later I was down on the Cape to see my car, and could not believe my eyes when the mechanic drove up to me, handed me the keys, and told me to take it for a spin for an hour. I must admit I couldn't believe how straight and solid the body was, and couldn't wait to get the car home !
.............it's been almost 8 years later, and I've completely restored the car outside and inside. There were a few "surprises" but nothing major, and my wife and I spend a fair amount of time cruising the countryside or over to the beach in the warm weather.
I basically run the car from mid-April to the 1st of November, and then put her away for the winter. This car has given me such pleasure, always gets a lot of looks and questions, and makes me proud to own a fine example of Ford Mustang's California Special.