January 2010 Car of the Month
Collier & Laurie Granberry’s 1969 Mustang Grande

Happy New Year to all of our club members and Mustang enthusiast! The way this story goes, back in August 2009 I’m driving out in the country in Morgan Hill, navigating my way to a few Saturday morning estate sales. As I am heading south on Hill Road, I stumbled across an old Mustang on a 5-acre ranch. The red paint caught my eye right away. So I made a u-turn for a better look, and parked on a side road. I walked down the long driveway to introduce myself to the owner, and inquire if the car was even for sale. It had appeared to have been parked outside, on their property for many years. It looked tired and in need of some TLC.

As I approached the main house at the end of the driveway, I ran into the owner Clyde Cummings (retired), sitting in a lawn chair with a glass of ice tea on a rather hot day on his front porch. I introduced myself, and as we got to talking over the next hour, I found out that this was his wife Ethel’s car. Over the last 10 years, the car has just been sitting out in the field. Years ago Ethel had bought a new mustang to replace her 1969 Pony. Clyde and Ethel have been approached by many people making cash offers to buy the car outright. But they always said no to everyone who approached them. It was just too hard to let it go. I made it known that for the right price, I wanted to buy and restore the car to its original splendor. Clyde said it was up to his wife.

 

So we both walked over to the car for a closer inspection. It appeared that it had become a shrine to all of the squirrels and gofers in the area. As we opened the hood to check our the engine, the plug wires had been eaten away and there appeared to be hay everywhere within the engine bay. A true barn find. Amazingly enough, when we opened the driver door, I was floored to discover that the original interior was very well preserved. The data plate, still intact in the door, helped fill in some of the blanks. The DSO was 41 (Chicago). The car had blue and gold plates, so it must have been in California since at least the mid 70s. The engine was a 302 2bl with a C-4 transmission. Also it had air conditioning. The Grande also has the upgraded interior along with a wood grain dash and deluxe steering wheel.

Ethel bought the car in 1977 when they used to live in the city, from a San Francisco Policeman. He had purchased it from a bankers wife, who most likely were the original owners that drove the car out from the Chicago area.

Before buying the car, my biggest fear was not knowing if it would even start and drive. Anyway, as I was just about to leave their house, Ethel returned home from shopping and I was able to attempt to persuade her to think about selling me her baby. She was very nice that day, but I could tell she was in no hurry to sell.

To make a long story short, I did buy the 1969 Mustang and it runs great. I think the biggest plus in this transaction is that the car has only 86,000 original miles on it. It will take some time for a total restoration, but never the less, a lot of fun to drive. A true survivor.

Submitted by Collier C Granberry