A person’s interests throughout life often develop early. In the case of Bay Area native Bill Jenkins, they began when he was 16. “A friend’s father drove us to the back area up at the San Francisco airport and there sat 4 rows of just out-of-service '66 Hertz ‘Rent-a-Racers,’” said Bill.
At the time the newly out of service rentals were being sold for $2500 but at 16, Bill didn’t have the money. But his interest in Mustangs had been sparked. It continued to grow over the next few years.
“In 1969, I got into the '69 body style. And my timing was perfect as my car was on its last legs and my parents actually bought a new 1969 Mustang Sporstroof which I made the payments on,” said Bill. “I wanted a Mach 1 but I wasn't complaining.”
Since early 1969 Bill has had a ’69 Mustang in his garage except for a couple of years “when sanity visited me for a short time.” In fact that initial ’69 was his daily driver for over 25 years and, as Bill put it, “the most dependable car I’ve ever owned.”
He also owned a 1969 Shelby GT350 for 18 years and a ’69 Q Code drag pack Mustang which he owned for all of 10 days. “It was either sell it or be divorced,” he said, admitting to the joke.
Still, there was one ’69 that he always wanted. “I always wanted my 1969 Mustang to be in Acapulco blue with black interior and the Ram Air 428 Cobra Jet,” he said. So in 2006 he went looking and found the car of his dreams. Little did he realize at the time that this car was something very special.
Bill’s love of this car and his curiosity about its background drove him to do a little detective work. “I would say the best memory of the car so far was when I did a name search for the owner who restored and showed the car. And in a relatively short time, he replied to one of my inquiries. He has provided so much history and documentation. And no one else prior to me had ever obviously done so.”
What Bill found was that the car rolled off the line on January 2, 1969 at the San Jose plant so that his owning it and bringing it back to the Bay Area became something of a homecoming for the car.
Painted in original Acapulco blue with black “comfort weave” interior, the Mach 1 growled with that famous 428 Cobra Jet engine with a Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission. It had power steering and power brakes and an AM radio.
Through correspondence with prior owners Bill has learned a great deal about the car. In fact he has complete Elite Marti and MCA show event results as well as the original sticker and lots of pictures and even video of the car.
Between the time it rolled off the line until 1979 the car had seven owners in Nebraska, Georgia and Iowa. In 1979 the car was purchased by Bob Kasprzak of South Bend, IN who turned the car into show classic. According to Bill’s conversations with Bob, the car was given a 14 month frame up restoration. Bob even sent Bill pictures of the process.
After it had been restored, Bob started entering the car in MCA shows in Indiana and Tennessee in the modified class. Over a two year period the car had quite a successful show run, including 10 first place finishes and two Best of Show.
In addition to showing at events, between 1980 and 1985 the car was featured in five automobile publications including Mustang Monthly, Mustang Monthly, Car Review, Mustang, and Mustangs. It made a striking cover model.
Between 1985 and 2006 the Mach 1 made its way to Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Minnesota. Bill learned that the car saw street use during this time but spent considerable time garaged. In fact only about 6500 miles were put on over those years.
Which brings the story back to Bill. He is currently enjoying the car he fell in love with over 30 years ago. “The car is not now in show quality but has maintained a very nice '30 years later' appearance,” he said. Though he hasn’t decided what exactly to do with the car or where to go with it, he still sees a great deal in this classic beauty. “I believe it deserves 'one more time, done right',” he said. “Just not sure if it will be me.”
Whoever does it, this car is a proven classic and worthy of being admired for years to come.
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