It
Only Took 33 Years!
The
story of Gary & Ellen Wheeldon’s ’68 Coupe
In Gary’s words... I fell in love with Mustangs in 1967. My neighbor brought home a 1967 coupe and parked it across the street where I could see it every day!
That began a dream that was out of my reach at the time. I was putting myself through college while on active duty in the Army and funds were lacking. Ellen and I got married and soon thereafter we had our first child. I then began a career in education which didn’t lend itself to large savings accounts or big boy toys. My dream would have to wait. L
Over the years I stayed in the Army Reserves and completed course work which allowed me to advance in both my rank and pay. We got the kids through college and finally had some discretionary capital. My long standing desire for a Mustang grew, and my dream was becoming more of a reality! I would spend my spare time looking at ads, going to shows, and drooling over those Stangs in parking lots.
33 years after I fell in love with my neighbor’s 67 Stang, my dream was about to come true! I was managing the ROTC summer training at Ft. Lewis, WA in 1999. I spent a little time looking at Mustangs in the I-5 corridor and on the internet. I saw one for sale in Beaverton, OR. How convenient! My son lived in Hillsboro, OR at the time and I was going to spend the July 4th holiday visiting him. When I got there I asked my son to help me find the Mustang I’d seen on the internet. Believe it or not, he replied, “I know exactly where that is. My neighbor owns the lot!” So, even though it was a holiday the lot owner let us go down and drive the ’68 coupe! Wow!
As usual I just couldn’t bring myself to make the deal. That evening I called my wife, Ellen, and she asked to put our son on the phone. Her words to him were, “Do not let Dad walk away from this one! He’s wanted a Mustang forever.” Right after that conversation the neighbor walked over and said to our son, “If your dad is serious about the Mustang he can have it for what we paid for it in trade. I’ll call the lot and tell them to find the amount.” The deal was completed! I headed back to Ft. Lewis and asked the shop next to the lot to check the car and replace anything that needed to be replaced in order to drive it from Beaverton to Spokane. The shop replaced the brakes, mufflers, spare tire, power steering hose and gave it a tune up. In August, I was able to drive home in my new Stang! The car and I made it in 100+ degree heat through the Columbia River Gorge, and it only took three quarts of oil to complete the drive!
Since 1999 that ’68 coupe has had a premium engine rebuild, an AOD transmission installed to replace the C4, new interior, tires, brakes, exhaust and other improvements. It was joined in our stable by a vibrant red 1992 Mustang LX convertible Feature car (which has been sold and still resides in our IEMC) and a 2006 Mustang GT premium coupe, which also has a story, of course.
It took 33 years but I’m still in love with Mustangs!