CAR OWNER JAMES BALSYS

CAR NAME–YEAR & MODEL INFO

ORANGE PEOPLE EATER - 2004 MACH 1

AT THIS POINT I KNEW EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED...

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

My passion for cars started when I was younger when my father showed up with an Oxford White 1999 SVT Lightning. I was always into cars but that really sealed the deal and ever since I was hooked on Fords. Later on when I was in high school (2011) I had a few friends with New Edge Mustangs and Foxbodys. One of them had a 2003 Mach 1 and at the time I didn’t know all that much about the Mach 1. I figured it was just a GT with a different hood and some stripes. Boy was I wrong! So we went for a ride one day and I was sold after sitting in the retro styled seats and seeing the Shaker hood move around. Fast forward to 2017 and I finally had the opportunity to start looking for a weekend car. At this point I knew exactly what I wanted, it was the same car I had been in six years earlier (03-04 Mach 1) so I started looking everywhere for a Mach 1. Initially I was looking for an 04 DSG Mach 1 but six months later I happened to come across a 2004 Competition Orange Mach 1 with only 27,000 miles on it located in Wisconsin which happened to be 1200 miles away. So I bought a plane ticket, flew out, signed the papers, and had the car shipped back to CT. I’ve kept the car ever since (named it the Orange People Eater) and have no plans of ever selling it.

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!

amp rack and subwoofers, built 8.8 rear end with 4:10 gears, welded axle tubes, 31 spline axles, Ford traction loc diff out of an 03-04 Cobra, 02 GT rear brakes to clear 15s, Ford Racing diff cover, Ford Performance aluminum drive shaft, UPR upper and lower rear control arms, Borla stingers and an offroad x-pipe, and rear seat delete.

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.

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

PHOTO CRED: DOMENIC VERBICKAS

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

Mods - first off the cars is 1 of very few Competition Orange Mach 1s with a factory installed block heater. It has a JLT cold air intake color matched made to work with the factory shaker, Ford Racing coil covers, tuned, double adjustable coilover suspension in the front and Eibach springs in the rear with adjustable shocks, AFS 17x10.5 Mach 1 deep dish rear wheels with 315/35r17 Toyo proxe tq, after market double din pioneer head unit with a retro fitted Mach1000