Essence of American muscle in the manual transmission
The Ford Mustang Mach 1 with its bright blue color and glossy body. Along with its beautiful appearance that you can’t help but admire, we noted that it is a manual car, which is rather rare in Japan. Why did he fall in love with the American car and how did he come to acquire this unit? We asked the owner, Mr. Osame (納), to tell us more about it.
The inspiration for car action movies
Mr. Osame (納), whom we met at the 8th Old Car Festival in Misumi 2023, participated in the event with his 1972 Ford Mustang Mach 1. The gap between the condition and content of the car and the still-young-looking owner was what sparked our interest in this interview. There are many beautifully polished American car drivers, but he drives a stick car (in the US, a manual transmission is called a stick) in this condition. He says his interest in such vehicles was first sparked by the influence of American films.
“I became interested in American muscle cars through the ‘Fast & Furious’ series, which I watched in my early 20s, and then ‘Gone in 60 Seconds’, which made me fall in love with this Ford Mustang Mach 1. At first, I drove a Mitsubishi GTO, then I went to a 1997 Ford Mustang. And then I got to this current car that I love.”
What makes him so thorough is that his entire car history, starting with the Mitsubishi GTO, has a connection to the US and his choice of vehicles symbolizes even more speed The GTO was sold in the US under the name “3000GT”. Moreover, Mitsubishi and Chrysler had a partnership at the time, and the exterior design was changed under the Dodge brand, there is also a sibling called the Stealth.
The next 1997 Mustang he acquired was the SVT Cobra. The vehicle was involved with Ford’s in-house ‘Special Vehicle Team’, and this year’s model was already equipped with a V8 DOHC engine with a displacement of 4600 cc instead of OHV, producing 309 hp. And of course, it was a five-speed manual.
Tried personal importation using an agent
His absolute requirement is that the stick car = a manual car. In other words, there was a high possibility that it would be difficult to find a car circulating in Japan, so he experienced extraordinary efforts and hardships to find a car directly on American used car websites and eBay himself, and to have it sent to Japan using an agent to obtain it as his car.
“I couldn’t miss the fact that it was a manual transmission. After a long search, I found this unit in Michigan, which had been externally restored and was a genuine four-speed manual. Then, after taking the time to transport it within the USA and then ship it to Japan, it became my car about five years ago.”
Mr. Osame, who got the Mustang Mach 1 of his dreams, also has his way of enjoying the vehicle. Rather than keeping the car in stock condition, he focuses on how much he can enjoy the car here in Japan. For this reason, the seats were changed to Sparco and the steering wheel to OMP to achieve the ideal driving position. In addition, an external power steering system has been fitted. To improve interior comfort, the interior under the seats was removed sound-absorbing, muffling materials were laid down, and a new carpet was fitted.
Other changes include an overhaul of the differential and transmission, and a change in the transmission gear ratio from 3.5 to 3.25; as there are only four gears, the RPMs are too high at high speeds, so the gear ratio was reduced to allow cruising at lower RPMs. And a rear-view camera and a camera for right-hand side forward vision were added to the cabin. The camera supplements the points where the blind field increases due to the design of the vehicle and the left-hand drive characteristics.
“I’m not overly concerned with originality, but am conscious of using modern technology to make it easier to drive in Japan.”
He says he does the above modifications and overhauls himself, making full use of the experience he gained from his day job as a helicopter mechanic. As a DIY person, he enjoys living in a Mustang.
