In the mid-1970’s, Pat Ciambrello received a “hand-me-down” that would change his life forever. His older brother gave him his ’66 Mustang. Pat was 17-years-old; this was his first car.

“That’s when I first got the bug,” remarks Pat. “From then on, I always had some kind of special car.”

As a young adult, some of Pat’s special cars included a ’50 Chevy 2-Door Coupe, a ’50 Chevy Panel Truck, a ’70 Caddy and a ’63 Plymouth—which he says was more of a ‘cool car to have’ than a collector vehicle.

But, as years passed, Pat’s attention was less on the collector hobby, and in the ‘70s and ‘80s, he became more involved in racing and building motorcycles, instead, he says.

“But I always had a soft spot for collector cars,” he adds.  And, that soft spot brought him back to the hobby, 17 years ago, when he dove right in, full speed ahead.

In the early ‘90s, Pat found himself back into collector cars, when he saw a ’66 Ford Mustang Fastback for sale. He bought that car, and two years later, he found himself purchasing another Fastback—the pictured 1965 Ford Mustang.

“Fastbacks have always been my favorite body style,” says Pat. “And, the ’65 Mustang is so special, because I envisioned what I wanted it to look like. And it took a lot of work and time to get my dream car to be the way I wanted it.”

It took him over a decade to pursue making his ’65 Mustang into the ultimate dream car, but this past August, the job was finally completed.

Pat says that the car was bought with a good paint job, but he was only able to update his car, here and there, for the first 10 years.

“I fixed the steering and suspension, but drove with a bad motor for a few years.  I put in a better motor and drove with that for another five to seven years,” says Pat.  “Then… the motor blew up!  It was time to totally rebuild the car: a new theme, a new color, a new style.”

Over the course of two-and-a-half years, Pat completely disassembled the car and made the following changes:

• completely smoothed engine bay
• smoothed fire wall
• totally hidden wires, no cables and lines in the engine compartment
• battery relocated to trunk
• aluminum radiator
• electric fan
• 408 cubic inch supercharged motor with 662 HP and 628 ft torque built by Trans Am Racing
• 5-speed TREMEC manual transmission
• aluminum driveshaft

• 9-inch Moser rear with Auburn differential
• 31 spline axles
• Total Control front suspension with coilover shocks
• Air Ride Technologies air bar rear suspension with coilovers
• Baer 13-inch disc brakes on all four corners
• Boyd Coddington wheels with BFGoodrich rubber
• car lowered three inches
• rack and pinion steering
• custom made rear sway bar
• custom dash (only two done in Mustangs like this in the world)
• tilt steering
• suspension powder coated
• all bolts polished Allen head
• all body work, welding and paint by Carl & Dan at Wrights Kustoms & Classics
• powder coat by Penn Metal Finishing
• polishing, detailing, build and fabrication ideas by Pat, himself. (“Special thanks to Ralph Ciambrello and Mike Gilbert,” adds Pat.)

....Pat's shown off his totally suped-up Mustang at 18 car shows since it’s completion in August—and, the car has picked up 18 top prizes! 

This year, Pat expects to attend 25-30 shows, including the Annual Boardwalk Classic Car Show in Wildwood, N.J., the Atlantic City Classic Car Show and Auction, the All-Ford show, in Carlisle, and some Goodguys events.

Pat also attends and helps in coordinating The Northeast Muscle Car Club’s 8-9 shows and cruise-ins, each year.  Pat says that has been involved with the 75-member club for over 10 years.

“One of my favorite parts of the hobby is the sheer joy I get from running the club’s car shows,” he says. “Handing out the trophies… admiring someone’s hard work and efforts…”

Pat also adds that he enjoys the camaraderie and friendships that come along with the collector car hobby:

“When I first started in the hobby, I may have had a circle of 10-15 friends,” he says.  “And, now, I have met hundreds of people! There is a different story, a different tale, a different struggle behind every person and their car.  I have met so many interesting people.

Story by: Becky McLaughlin