The 18th Annual Rods and Roses car show is just FOUR short days away… we are proud to post our final pre show blog story.
Not only will this classic 1965 Mustang convertible be featured in the show, it will also be the star of our Independence Parade after the car show at 5pm. Grand Marshall Guy Robitaille will kick off the parade while being chauffeured by owner Don Wood’s son Larry Wood. This will be the second time the car is used to ferry a dignitary in a Carpinteria parade: Mayor David Lawrence rode in the car too!
We hope you will find this article as fun to read as we did!
“I ordered this 1965 Mustang in April 1965 but it wasn’t delivered until August, 1965 because they had run out of, first, 3-speed transmissions (got a 4-speed at no additional charge) and then wheels.
Brand New August 1965 Riverside, CA
The car has been around:
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- San Jose 1965
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- Illinois 1966
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- Palisade Dam, Idaho 1967
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- Yellowstone, 1967
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- San Bernardino Badlands 1968
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- First 99,999.9 miles 1970
I didn’t have time to dig up photos for 1971 – 2001, but I put a couple more 99,999.9 miles on it during that period.
In July 1982, at 257,580 miles, I had Jennings Auto Marine overhaul the engine (with enhancements), clutch & transmission.
In May 1988, on the Northbound 101 around Noleta, when the freeway had the median dug out about 18” below pavement level, I couldn’t dodge a bouncing trailer that had come off a pickup truck and did a Dukes Of Hazzard leap into the sunken median. Subsequently, I had Allen’s
Body Shop in Santa Barbara fix the front end with new R.F. fender, new valence & apron and new bumpers. Later that year (July) I had Allen’s paint the entire car, and had Nation’s Auto Trim install a new top & back window.
In October 1993, at 389,698 miles, I had Tony’s Automotive in Carpinteria rebuild the engine again, and Soloman’s in Santa Barbara rebuild the transmission.
The car has not been driven a lot since then, but son Larry & I have been working on it periodically.
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- Front End work at Tony’s Automotive, April 2001
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- Seat Covers 2003
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- Rods & Roses 2009
We purchased a lot of interior parts in that time period but procrastinated on installing them because we weren’t sure we knew enough to do a good job. Finally, in 2013, Larry started prep work in earnest.
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- Bare Floor
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- Added Zero Rust paint
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- Added seam sealer
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- Added Dynamat
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- Added DynaLiner
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- Old Seats
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- New Seats & Carpet installed by Quality Upholstery in Ventura
There are lots of anecdotes about this car, like the time, around 1971, I changed the water pump (one of many times) on the side of the road in the Santa Ana Pass. Or the time (1967) we drove the car up Glacier Park, Montana’s Inside North Fork Road (unpaved) and back in the rain, which got the car covered in mud. (Couldn’t find the photo; sorry.)
Come visit during the show to hear more anecdotes and look over the car’s logbooks.”
Rods and Roses 