The Classic Mustang

By Patti Smith

Bob Wood always had a love and respect for Mustangs, one of Ford Motor Company’s first muscle cars. In 1975 he found a Fastback for sale with a $2,500 price tag . This was surprising since the model retailed for just over $2,600 nine years earlier. The seller told Bob that it was parked under the carport in his driveway and warned him that the price was firm. Just one look at the dust-covered beauty and Bob knew he had to have it . The interior of the car was immaculate and the odometer read only 32,000 miles. “It was just like a brand new car,” Bob said. “I didn’t even ask for a nickel off the price. It was so nice I didn’t want to take a chance on him not selling it to me.”

Bob joined the Mustang Club of America and traveled to car shows on weekends. The car quickly turned into a historic showpiece consistently winning first place trophies throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s. In the beginning, cars were judged against other cars. As the popularity of the Mustang increased, divisions were added, and a point system was established. Now each owner competes against the standard and has the chance to earn a Gold, Silver, Bronze or Platinum award. Bob is thankful to more experienced members of the club who took him under their wings and helped him learn what he needed to do in order to earn more points.

Bob showed the car until about 1984 when “Life got in the way,” he says. He became a deputy sheriff and worked nights and weekends. He didn’t have time to continue his hobby, which also became too expensive for his growing family. His next career was as a U .S . Marshal which caused him to travel a lot.

“I didn’t drive it. I parked it,” he said. The last time he drove it was in 1998 when he moved to a new house. “I backed it in the garage and never drove it again.”

During his show days, one of the questions Bob was asked the most often was, “Will you consider selling it?” Bob’s answer always was “No.” His intention was to keep the Mustang in the family. “I always wanted to pass it on, and it seemed like a waste to let it sit in my garage and collect dust,” he said.

Bob knew that his daughter, Jeannie Weaver and her husband Russell Weaver, are passionate about Mustangs. This made the decision easy to take the car out of storage after about twenty-one years . Russell and Jeannie have had the car back on the show circuit. They even took the Fastback up to Charlotte, N .C ., in April for the 50th anniversary of the first generation Ford Mustang. The Fastback was one of 4,000 shown. That number also includes five others from the Bay County’s Bay Mustang Club . Russell is vice president of the club.

The Club participates in Panama City’s downtown Friday Fest, held the first Friday every month, and the monthly Cruise-In held at the Wicked Wheel on Hutchison Boulevard in Panama City Beach. The Club, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last fall, is like a family. For example, members have formed caravans to escort other members home from the hospital with their newborn babies.

Russell calls it an honor to own one of the 35,000 Fastbacks ever made. He respects the history of the car and plans to be an excellent caretaker of it for his eight year old daughter, Ashlynn. Russell and Jeannie hope Ashlynn will one day take the car to the 100th anniversary celebration of the Mustang.

Jeannie said people often do a double take when they pass by the car and see the poster stating the car they are looking at is unrestored. Everything down to the paint is all original. “They don’t make cars like that anymore,” she states. “The designers had an eye for beauty . They were not made just to go from point A to point B . There was an artistic quality to them.”

It makes Bob Wood proud to see the Fastback, which only has 40,000 miles on it, back in shows again and to see that it holds its own against other cars that have been taken apart and restored. “You go to the shows and everyone has something in common – their love of cars,” he said. “I knew Russ was not just going to put it in a garage. He was going to do what you should do with this car. It gives me great pleasure to see them doing that.”