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Editor's note: This is part of a series at KSL.com featuring some of Utah's coolest cars. If you own a customized vehicle — from sports cars to semitrucks — email fjolley@ksl.com with a photo of the vehicle and a brief description for consideration.HYRUM, Cache County — Brian Estes and his ‘73 Ford Mustang Mach 1 were destined to be together. So much so, that Estes decided on “Destiny” as a fitting name for his ride.
It all started when Estes was 9 years old and his older cousin bought a ‘73 Ford Mustang Mach 1 as a replacement for a ‘71 Mustang Mach 1 that had been damaged in an accident. Estes got the chance to ride in the vehicle with his cousin a few times before it was backed into by a dump truck and damaged.
After the incident with the dump truck, the cousin took the insurance money and put it toward a different car. He stored the Mach 1 in his grandparent's field in Wellsville, and it sat there for 30 years. Over time, the Mustang became rusted out and vandals broke out the windows as it lay forgotten in the field.
In 2015, it was decided that Estes’ grandparent's land would be sold. Estes went to help clear the land and was looking for something to remember his grandparents by. The cousin offered to sell the Mustang for cheap, and a deal was made.
Thirty years after he fell in love with it and over $12,000 later, Estes now enjoys the ‘73 Mustang Mach 1 on a daily basis. “Destiny” and Estes just couldn’t be kept apart.
It was especially meaningful for Estes, as the ‘73 Mustang Mach 1 was the exact car that sparked his lifelong interest in vehicles over three decades ago.
“Every part of me wanted a car like that when I grew up,” Estes said about the day that he first rode in the Mustang as a 9-year-old.
Estes set out to restore the vehicle. He wanted to keep it as close to original as possible, but almost all that remained of the Mach 1 were the doors, the quarter panels, the roof, and a few windows. Everything else was gone — the floor and trunk were rotted out and the wheels were missing.
The Hyrum resident sold off his other project cars for parts to give himself the necessary funds for the Mustang, and he brought the beast into his garage. The restoration was a 2 1/2 year process. Estes estimates that he spent almost 15 hours per week working on the car, which lined up nicely with his four 10-hour work shifts each week.
The ‘73 Mustang Mach 1 is a one-year-only model, which made locating the correct pieces a laborious process. Estes spent a lot of time on eBay, but he was able to put the car back together. He got a Marti Report, which allowed him to find the exact shade of the original paint color. Estes, who spent years as an auto-body technician, painted the Mustang and redid the interior himself.
Este’s ‘73 Mustang Mach 1 still sports its original 351 4V Cobra Jet engine as well as its original four-speed Toploader manual transmission. The only modifications to the Mustang are a CD player that replaced the original cassette deck and a set of Mastercraft wheels that still stay true to the car’s era.
“I like that it’s a four-speed manual,” Estes said. “I like rolling through the gears in it.”
Estes, who also owns a 1969 Chevy Chevelle, is a member of the Cache Valley Cruising Association. He has taken the vehicle to shows around Cache and Box Elder counties and plans on taking it to Peach Days in Brigham City in September.
Estes enjoys driving the Mach 1 around and doesn’t worry about putting miles on it. Above all, he feels grateful to drive the very car that, as he says, “planted the gear-head seed in his head.”
“Somehow, some way, this car was destined to be mine,” Estes said.
Wes Mangum is a Utah State University student and a citizen of Logan. He likes cars, writing about cars, and eating tacos. Wes can be reached on Twitter @hjmangum or by email at mangum953@gmail.com.
