CAR OWNER GARY RUPPERT THE MACH - 2003 MACH 1 CAR NAME–YEAR & MODEL INFO

EVERY TIME I GET BEHIND THE WHEEL I FORGET HOW OLD I AM...

I’ve been into muscle cars since I was in single digits. There was a shop down the street from my house that worked on MOPARs and I got to see all of the old MOPARs at that shop. It was great. You would think I would have owned one when I started driving. I’ve owned many vehicles in my life but my two favorites are ‘68 GTO which I no longer own but wish I still did and my ‘03 Mach 1.

MEMBERS OF THE STANG MAG FAMILY ARE MORE PASSIONATE ABOUT FUN AND INCLUSION THAN THEY ARE THEIR CARS AND THAT SAYS A LOT!

Seven years ago my son Chris purchased his first car, a 1997 Red Mustang. That is when my obsession with Mustangs started. We went to a Mustang Performance shop in San Antonio, Texas to pick up some wheels and a transmission for the ‘97 stang and on the Dyno was a Terminator. I looked at my son and said I could roll in that. It was gorgeous. So my quest begins. After looking at many Mustangs I found this 2003 Mach 1 and as soon as I saw it, I knew I wasn’t leaving without it. It had my color combo, Dark Shadow Gray with Black. I instantly had the vision in my head of what it would look like after I took care of the issues it came with and where I wanted it to be. When the previous owner asked what I was going to do with the car, I said I was going to bring it up to the next level and take it to car shows. And that is exactly what I did.

If you asked me if I thought I’d be writing an article for STANG Magazine for my car this time last year I would’ve said no. If you asked me if I would be writing it about a different car than the 2005 Roush Mustang I had I would’ve said hell no. I loved that car but acquiring this one reinvigorated my passion for car shows and events!

every bolt on part.

I met Daniel Ramey at a Beltway Mustang show and won my spot with STANG Magazine in their Carlisle Ford Nationals display. Needless to say I wasn’t sure what to expect being that I didn’t know the people attending and was going by myself.

Every time I get behind the wheel I forget how old I am and it takes me back to my youth when life was simple, fun, and driving a muscle car was what we did back in the 70s and 80s. I fell in love with the body style when it first came out and now that my kids are all grown and out of the house, I actually own one and I’m still enjoying it. My son now has a Mach 1. Machs run in the family I guess you could say.

The STANG Mag family welcomed me in from the very start and made me feel like one of their own!

My thanks to Emily and Lightworx Studios for showing her true professionalism by showing vehicles in a new light. Peace out fellow Mustang enthusiasts.

Members of the STANG Mag family are more passionate about fun and inclusion than they are their cars and that says a lot! I can’t wait to see what’s to come in 2022!

I belong to two Mustang clubs here in Texas - MOCA (Mustang Owners Club of Austin) and Wild Side Stangs. The car holds three 1st place, four 2nd place, one top 25 and one top 40 trophies. I can’t have a cookie cutter Mach 1, this car had to be different than the other Machs, regardless of what the purists say. “The Mach” is garage kept and sees around 1-2K miles of Texas roads per year. I have a bunch of bolt on parts to add horsepower to the car which sits at 400HP on stock internals and a really good tune that brings out the best of