Dave Williams' story about how he got "Number One" is a lot like mine! In August, I sold a '93 SHO that I'd had since it was new (and before that I had a '90 that I bought new). So here I was, a few extra dollars in my pocket and an empty space in my garage, and I started talking (again) about getting a vintage Mustang. My wife of 20 years said, "You've been talking about getting an old Mustang for as long as we've been married, just shut up and do it!"

Well, I always try to do as my wife tells me, so I stopped talking and started looking for a car in earnest. I found a nearly perfect '66 fastback and was all ready to buy it when I discovered one "little" problem... I couldn't drive it! I've driven several older 'Stangs in my life, but they were all automatics and when I got into this 4-speed GT fastback, I discovered that, with my left leg jammed between the door and the steering wheel (I'm 6'4"), I couldn't operate the clutch. Damn!

Okay, I guess it's time for Plan B. I considered buying a Corvette, but with only two seats, my wife and two daughters wouldn't be too comfortable, and even though I have a clean driving record, I'm not willing to pay the 'Vette surcharge that the insurance company would hit me with. Hmm... What about a newer Mustang Convertible? One of those would look pretty good parked next to my Explorer and my wife's Windstar. And, compared to a vintage Mustang (reliability, repairability, maintainability, insurability, safety, comfort, etc.), it was the logical thing to do.

I checked out the local classifieds and found an ad that sounded pretty interesting. After talking with the seller, he emailed me a picture of his car and a short description of it. The picture was of a nice lookin' green car with a gray cloth interior. The seller said that the car was totally stock except for a K&N air filter and a '35th Anniversary Dash Bezel'.

"Whatinthehell is a '35th Anniversary Dash Bezel'?" I asked myself and went to Google to search for same. One of the Google hits was for www.Mustang35th.com, where I learned all about 35th Anniversary Mustangs. I was still a little confused, how was his green car a 35th Anniversary Mustang, when they only came in Red, White, Black, and Silver? It took me a while, but I finally figured it out! While checking out the web page, I spotted the CLASSIFIEDS link and went there to see what there was to see. The first car listed in the Classifieds was an awesome looking Red Convertible with only 21,000 miles on it. I checked out a lot of car lots, web sites and classifieds, but kept coming back to that red car. One week later, after a bunch of emails and phone calls, I was on a plane, headed from Seattle to Dallas to buy a car!

I flew down on the Friday before Labor Day weekend and was headed north that evening in my new car. I spent Friday night just north of Oklahoma City and headed north for Kansas the next morning. I started driving at 7:00 in the morning and did not turn my wipers off until I stopped for the night in Silverhorn, Colorado. It rained in Kansas. All of Kansas! Because of heavy rains and flooding, I had to veer easterly and go up through Topeka and then head west towards Denver. I had just bought a convertible and my first day driving it was through 800 miles of rain! Sunday morning dawned clear and bright and I left Silverhorn, top down, headed for Steamboat Springs and then points north and west. What a great drive! I headed northwest towards Wyoming and then west through southern Idaho and on into Oregon. I stopped for the night in La Grande, in Eastern Oregon, and then had a "short" 400 mile drive home to Seattle on Labor Day. I was home in time for lunch.

They say Texas is in the "West", but I strongly disagree! Did you know that Dallas is 250 miles closer to Portland, Maine than it is to Seattle? I put 2,400 miles on the car on my weekend jaunt home and only 500 miles in the 12 weeks since. It's now under cover in the garage, waiting for the next clear Seattle day when I can drive it again. The car (#1,918 of 4,628) is now licensed in Washington as "GT-35TH" and I'm registered at www.Mustang35th.com as "Topless in Seattle." My friends and neighbors are having a great time teasing me about my "mid-life crisis car" but I tell them that I was only doing what my wife told me to do! (She'll probably say "Yeah, for the first time in 20 years!")

This is another great story about a man and his Mustang. What could be greater than your first trip in your Limited Edition?...2,400 miles of open highway and a free weekend! I hope everyone enjoys hearing stories from other Limited Edition owners. If you have a story you would like to share with everyone about your Limited Edition or any other subject, email it to me and we can see about putting it on the site! Thanks Mel for sharing your story with everyone! -- David S. Miller