When Frank Costanzo was 17-years-old, he loved his ’65 GTO; he would cruise around his hometown of Hoboken, N.J. and soak up all fun vibrations of the time. The year was 1967, and Frank was experiencing the height of the muscle car era.

But, by 1970, he found himself in the Air Force, where he served for 6 years, followed by 20 more years of serving in the Army. He says that during his 26 years in the service, he wasn’t able to devote his time to the car hobby. But, upon retiring in 1996, he was able to buy a hobby car, and found himself ‘heavy into it.’ His first post-retirement car was a 1970 Mach 1 Mustang.

For some early Mustang owners, part of the fun of having the car is researching its history. Many people feel that there is something interesting in every Mustang’s past. When Frank bought his car, he knew that he was the third owner of the car and knew that the second owner was the man taking his money. But, he didn’t realize, at the time, that he knew the original owner, as well!

After owning the Mach for a little over two years, Frank decided to change the interior from dark green to black, which looked a lot nicer with the Wimbledon White exterior. During this process, he came across some old DMV papers that listed the first owner’s name. That name turned out to be the same as the person down the hall from him, at work.

His co-worker hadn’t recognized the car, because it was Medium Lime Metallic the last time he saw it. (That, of course, explains the green interior.) It turns out that his wife had received the Mustang as a birthday present, when she turned 17, and held onto that green-on-green Mach for 16 years.  The car was then bought and restored by the second owner and ended up in Frank’s possession some years after that.

Upon getting his hands on the car, he quickly fell in love with the car, as would be expected!

“The Mach 1 is like the pinnacle of Mustang development,” says Frank. “And, this car just brings you back to 1970. You can feel the vibrations of the hot car age. You feel like your back in your teens or 20’s.”

And, after having the ’70 Mach 1 for a bit, Frank also bought a 2003 Mach 1 to complete a “then and now” set. Recently, Frank traded in the ’03 for a 2007 Saleen/Parnelli Jones Limited Edition. And, he still, of course, owns the 1970 Mustang.

Frank’s become a car guy all over again throughout the last dozen or so years… And, the hobbyist in him doesn’t stop at just owning and driving his Mustangs. For the last handful of years, Frank has been one of the 188 members of the Garden State Region Mustang Club and is also one of the founders of a 25-member, close-knit crew called The Dog Pound Cruisers, who hold weekly cruise-ins, in Flanders, N.J., throughout the months of May through September.

Frank says that he enjoys going to car shows, in addition to his regular cruise nights.  And, despite the fact that his home holds between 50 to 60 awards, he claims to not be a ‘trophy guy.’

“I’d rather have the young guy who is doing his best and working hard on his car get a trophy,” says Frank.

“For me, it’s more about the cars and the camaraderie,” he adds. 

Story by: Becky McLaughlin, with excerpts from the story “Co-Worker Coincidence,” by Mike DeLiberto (from the Garden State Region Mustang Club’s newsletter)

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