1969 Mustang Sportsroof: Our shed

Date: 02.03.2011

Greg Leech's 1969 Mustang Sportsroof

Greg Leech's 1969 Mustang Sportsroof

Greg Leech's 1969 Mustang Sportsroof

Greg Leech's 1969 Mustang Sportsroof

Greg Leech's 1969 Mustang Sportsroof

Greg Leech's 1969 Mustang Sportsroof

Greg Leech's 1969 Mustang Sportsroof

Greg Leech's 1969 Mustang Sportsroof

Greg Leech's 1969 Mustang Sportsroof

Greg Leech's 1969 Mustang Sportsroof

Greg Leech's 1969 Mustang Sportsroof

Greg Leech's 1969 Mustang Sportsroof

Pretty and tough, Greg Leech's 'Stang gets attention.

Our Cars: Greg Leech's 1969 Mustang Sportsroof

1969 Mustang Sportsroof

Greg Leech’s beer was spiked by Pony Car potion and he sold his Unique Cars project HG Premier to buy this tough ‘Stang. He was hoping for a trouble-free car…

Contributor Leechy is another staffer influenced by Phil Walker, who found this Mustang on one of his US jaunts and woke up Greg in the middle of the night to tell him to buy it.

"I always thought Mustangs were tough and always liked the ’69," Leech confesses. "I identified the front of the ’69 with Allan Moffat’s Trans-Am racecar and it will end up with the same wheels as Moffat’s car. If Phil says a Mustang is good, it is, because he’s so anal and fussy. He said it was 9/10 body-wise and everything on it is new, so I just trusted him.

"I was happy with my old HG but someone made me an offer I couldn’t refuse and the Aussie dollar was at US93 cents, so I bought it sight unseen. It’s an original car done up front-to-back as a Mach 1 clone by a father and son team; it had been in their family for years. It’s got a 393 stroker, AOD transmission, Gold-Trac rear-end and four-wheel discs." Leechy wanted an easy ride to muscle car heaven and didn’t fancy getting his fingers greasy but the best laid plans…

"I spent more time under the HG than driving it," he laughs. "I wanted a turn-key car and one that I could put my kids in and the Mustang fits the bill perfectly. And whilst it’s a reasonably hot car, it’s a bread and butter V8 auto that I can jump in it and go to Sydney any time I want. It turns out that I did have to do some work on it and it’s tested my patience but the car is as straight as a die and all I’ve done is drop the front-end 30mm and change the Holley for an Edelbrock, which is probably a retrograde step as it turns out. But it goes like shit out of a Shanghai and there’s a helluva lot of bang for your buck."

Mustangs are flavour of the month and there are plenty on the road these days but Leechy doesn’t care, he feels special when he’s at the wheel with one elbow on the door. "I feel 10 feet tall when I drive it, it makes me feel great," he smiles. "I don’t have to drive it fast, it sounds like it’s going fast.

"I love the way people want to talk to me about it and when my kids get in it they puff up and want to be seen by their mates. It pushes every button I need and most of that is pretty elementary male testosterone-driven stuff. I’d defy anyone to drive it and not say, ‘That’s alright!’"

Model 1969 Ford Mustang Sportsroof

Purchased 2010

+ "What do I love? Four hundred horsepower!"

- "Would have preferred a manual, I feel like a 90 percent Mustang driver."

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