Plenty of owners park a classic car with good intentions and then quietly forget it. That is what happened to a candy apple red 1967 Ford Mustang that spent the last 20 years in a barn, until its new owner decided it was time to bring it back.
The owner, Nolan, picked the car up about a month earlier and trailered it to a detailer who posts as @TheDetailGeek. Thankfully, the tires still held air and the brakes worked, so they could push it off the trailer and into the wash bay.
Nolan says the Mustang is an original Saskatchewan car, first sold in Swift Current. The first owner kept it until about 2000. After that, the next owner did a lot of work to it, until life got busy and the car ended up out back, forgotten.
“Like the the mice have taken up residence in there for many years now”
A 1967 Ford Mustang Full Of Mice
He also explains that the original 289 V8 was swapped for a 351 at some point, and that he plans to rebuild the engine in the spring. On the outside, the paint was redone by a previous owner, but it never bonded well and is flaking in spots. Nolan plans a full repaint later.
The detailer is honest about the job. In his words, the car needs a miracle. Mice have wrecked the interior, and he has no idea what he will find once he starts digging.
Into The Trunk
After a careful pre-soak and wash, he cleans up the engine bay. Then he turns to the inside, which is mostly mouse droppings and nests. The trunk lock is stuck, and rather than drill it out, he removes the seats and works his way in from the cabin.
When he finally gets the trunk open, it is clear where the mice spent most of their time. They had used seat foam and packing material from old boxes for their nests. Along the way, he finds at least four dead mice and spots two live ones still running around.
“I got in there, I saw a mouse.”
The carpet is so bad that he pulls it out and pressure-washes it, though he still suggests new carpet. Even the front seat belts give up a thick sludge when he cleans them. The vinyl seats, by contrast, come out looking almost new.
Sixteen Hours Later
To finish, he clays and polishes the paint, even though a repaint is coming, and adds a spray coating for protection. He also polishes the chrome, although some of it is too deeply pitted to save. In all, the job takes about 16 hours. Then Nolan comes back to see it.
“I’m like my knees are shaking right now.”
He checks the engine bay, laughs at the mouse stories and keeps coming back to the same feeling.
“I feel like the luckiest guy in the world right now, honestly. Like I won the lottery, man.”
What To Do Before Cleaning A Long-Stored Car
A car that has sat for decades needs a careful approach. Here is what we took from this one:
- Wear gloves and a mask when clearing out rodent nests and droppings.
- Close the windows and cover the carburetor or intake before washing.
- Test flaking paint gently before polishing, since aggressive work can lift it.
- Remove badly soiled carpet rather than trying to clean it in place.
- Never just turn the key on an engine that has sat for years. Get it checked first.
Where Things Stand
The Mustang is clean, shiny and ready to sit in Nolan’s garage for the winter. The engine still needs work before it runs again, and Nolan plans a repaint. For now, though, the car that sat in a barn for 20 years looks like a classic again.
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