1968 Ford Mustang Fastback

FIRST-CLASS FASTBACK

The Mustang is one of the world’s most popular classic muscle cars.

No surprise there. It was the first Pony car, plenty of them were made (and still are being made), and there really are few cars that can challenge its iconic status.

Perhaps the most famous of the Mustang models, and the one considered the most visually striking, is the Fastback. That model’s sloping rear adds an aggressiveness that found its greatest expression in the hands of Steve McQueen in the 1968 movie Bullitt. Ever since then, it has been the model that much of the public associates with the Mustang name.

This 1968 Fastback is owned by Andrew Bear, MTA Queensland’s Area Manager for the region from Brisbane’s south side to the NSW border.

A car nut since he was a toddler, Andrew trained as a mechanic at his father’s workshop and spent 13 years on the tools before moving through dealership management ranks and eventually coming to work with MTA Queensland.

In those two decades, he has owned and restored plenty of classic cars but the Fastback Mustang has always been high on his list of desirable motors.

“I just love the ’67- ‘68 Fastback. It is my favourite shape and has great lines,” he says. “They are pretty hard to get in good condition and they are pretty sought after, so when they do come up for sale they go pretty quick.

“I found this one in Victoria and bought it sight unseen. That can be a bit of a gamble but the owner told me about the work that had been done, sent through a few pictures, and it looked like a good, honest car. It turned out to be a very good car indeed.”

In fact, the car was so good that after years of using his mechanical skills to restore his previous vehicles, Andrew had only minor updates to make this time around.

“As a mechanic by trade I do love bringing a car back to life,” he says. “However, after putting in a lot of time on previous cars, this one required the least amount of work.

“The previous owner had it for about 15 years and had completed a full bare-metal paint job about five years ago which meant any issues with the body work were fixed. The car had also been converted to right-hand drive and that conversion had been done very well.

“So, I have made only cosmetic changes since I bought it – I’ve lowered it, changed the bumper bars and rear lights, replaced the dash and centre console, installed a new grille and aluminium radiator and given it a tune-up.”

With the right-hand drive conversion, the Mustang has obviously been heavily modified from its original factory set-up. Such changes are not always viewed favourably by collectors but, for Andrew, there are no such qualms about tweaking a classic car.

“I like my cars to look cool, to sit nice and low, to perform well,” he says. “I am a mechanic by trade and I like to change things, install aftermarket elements and so on. It’s true that fully original cars are worth the most money but I love tinkering and while I would probably leave a completely original car alone, most of the cars I have owned had been modified in some way.

“In my view, once the originality is gone, they become something of an open canvas and you can really express yourself. I enjoy being able to modify the car and make it what you want it to be.”

For Andrew, then, the joy of owning a classic car is in the driving. Storing the car away and taking it for an occasional spin is not for him.

“I enjoy driving it,” he says. “And it is a really nice drive. It has power steering, a good strong engine and a nice auto. Enjoying a classic car is what it is about for me – if you have one, enjoy it.”

Andrew would know more about that than most people. The names of the classic cars he has owned and restored reads like part of a petrolhead’s ‘most wanted’ list, and they were not only used for a weekend’s enjoyable coastal cruise – there was fun to be had on the track too.

“I did have an LC GTR Torana at one time,” he says. “That had a 308 V8 and I did a lot of track work and hill climbs in that – it was a weapon!

“As for the others I have owned . . . My first car was an LX Torana and my second was an HT Monaro. After that I bought an HK Monaro on which I completed a full engine rebuild, a 9-inch diff conversion and plenty of other work. The LC GTR Torana followed that and I went on to buy a ‘67 Fastback which I spent 5 years turning into an ‘Eleanor’ Shelby GT500. I then had a ‘67 GT500 Shelby mock-up before getting this Mustang.

“I wish I could get them all back now because they’re worth a lot more now than when I sold them. Sadly, you can’t keep all of your toys!”

For now, Andrew will continue to enjoy the ’68 Fastback. The future, however, looks set to be filled with other, equally as brilliant, motors.

“I’m always looking for classic cars,” he says. “There are some great cars out there and I like a lot of different types – even some of the newer stuff such as the (Skyline) R32 GTR. I am a car enthusiast so there is always something else around the corner. Let’s just say I’ve got a lot of cars on my bucket list and I am chipping my way through them!”