Jack Beedham Feature Article in Motor Trader Magazine
1967 FORD MUSTANG GT FASTBACK
Jack has been running his business, Jack Beedham’s Exhaust and Brake Centre, for 33 years and his interest in cars extends well beyond his work life. According to Jack’s son Bobbie, now the owner of the family’s business, it has become a way of life.
We are a car family. always have been. That’s our life quite honestly!
And that lifetime of passion reveals itself not just in the success of the business but in the cars the family enjoy collecting – cars that, in Jack’s collection, include a ’62 Chevy 2-door SS, a Chrysler Woody Wagon and a Falcon Sprint, and in Bobbie’s collection, a Ford Ranchero, an early Fairlane and an XF Falcon.
Amongst the cars Jack owns, a special place is held for this remarkable looking 1967 Mustang GT Fastback. It’s a car Jack discovered in the USA and is a replacement for a much-loved vehicle he owned nearly four decades ago.
“I found the car in Las Vegas while on holiday,” he says. “I had one back in 1976 when the family was young, but I sold it and moved on. I always regretted getting rid of it.”
Which explains why, when he stumbled across the exact same model 35 years later, and with his children all grown up, he had to buy it and ship it back home.
Though it was in excellent condition, Jack’s pursuit of a personal perfection meant he has made some substantial changes to the car.
“The Mustang was a very original car when I bought it. There aren’t that many around and there wasn’t a bit of rust in the car, or any damage. It was just beautiful.
“However, I did repaint it to the colour I like instead of the original gold and, though I didn’t touch the motor or transmission or anything else for quite a few years, I then decided to go that step further and upgrade the mechanicals.
“The original engine was a 289 with a four-speed top-loader and 8¾-inch diff.
“I wanted something special with a little bit more horsepower – a bit more grunt and drivability – so I replaced the engine with a 408 Windsor, the transmission from a top-loader to a C4 manual shift automatic, and replaced the diff with a 9-inch Truetrac.
“We changed the wheels, tyres and the exhaust – it’s got a 3-inch dual exhaust on it – and we made extractors for it which are HPC (high performance coating) coated. Mechanically, the whole drive-train has been changed.”
Though the Mustang is not his everyday vehicle, Jack does take it regularly to track days, car shows and events like the Cooly Rocks On festival held recently at Coolangatta in southeast Queensland (see page 30) – a massive event at which the Mustang proved popular with the crowds, standing out even among the more than 1000 classic cars that had descended on the coastal town.
“I do keep it under cover, it’s that sort of car,” says Jack. “It’s not my daily driver but we’re not ‘trailer queens’ either – I do actually drive it to shows and track days!”
And so he should, for the result of all the hard work put into the car is a beast of a vehicle that sounds as ferocious as it looks, and one that deserves to be driven and not treated as just a ‘show pony’.
For out on the roads, and at shows like Cooly Rocks On, the Mustang turns a lot of heads.
“Everyone loves it,” says Jack. “Everyone looks at it, the kids wave – it is a very popular car.
“And it is my favourite too. It is just what I wanted."