Photo by Wanda Hanson
Photo by Wanda Hanson
When Jasmine Schuler was trying to think of a Christmas gift last year for her hard-to-buy-for fiancé Danny Marks, she straight out asked him. The only thing he mentioned was that he wanted his dad’s old 1986 Mustang GT so he could drive it himself some day. Danny’s dad, Matt Helgeson, had been known around Rushford for his red Mustang.
At first Jasmine thought that would be impossible, but, knowing how much Danny wanted that car, Jasmine decided to give it a try. She contacted Drew Linder who had been with Matt on his last ride in the Mustang. Drew had heard about Danny’s request for the car and already was negotiating on buying the Mustang back.
The car had been sitting in storage in a shed for over 20 years; a thick layer of “barn dust” and pine needles had built up on it. The man who owned it had bought it as a project for his son and himself and ordered assorted parts to use, but had never gotten around to it. He was willing to sell the Mustang, but only if the buyer also bought all the parts.
When Jasmine heard the price she said she couldn’t afford to buy all that. At that point, Drew cut Jasmine a deal – if she bought the car, he’d buy the parts. With the deal completed, Drew got the Mustang loaded up and hid it in Caleb Gravos’ shed.
On Christmas, the couple visited both of their mothers and then Jasmine had Caleb get Danny to come to his place for the big reveal. Caleb told Danny that he’d gotten a really cool gift from his wife and asked him to come check it out at his shed.
When Danny saw the Mustang all he could say was, “No ‘flipping’ way!” over and over. According to Jasmine, Danny cried. While he denied that, he did admit to having tears in his eyes. Jasmine had left the barn dust on the car, adding huge shiny bows to “wrap” her gift.
Danny has been working on the Mustang since Christmas with the help of friends. Tucker Eide helped Danny replace the engine; Ben Gravos helped put the tranny in. A new fuel tank has been ordered to replace the tank that had disappeared. The radiator needs to be reinstalled as well.
The Mustang will be heading over to Ben Gravos’ place to go up on his lift for some of the next repairs. While Danny doesn’t know if he’ll ever have the car officially completed, his goal is to get the car running so he can drive it this spring. He has no plans to repaint the Mustang, choosing to keep its original “canyon red” color. The paint on the metal has oxidized over the years while the plastic/fiberglass has retained the color.
Matt reminisced about the car when he joined Danny and Jasmine for pictures. Matt had bought the Mustang from Stanley Chiglo. Matt drag raced the car at the Rock Falls Speedway in Rock Falls, Wis., quite a few times. Timing tickets from races are still in the car with the results. The Mustang usually ran in the mid-12s with a top speed of around 123 mph. When he raced, Matt injected nitrous oxide into the engine. That addition gained a second, which was a big gain.
Matt found out that the car had quite a bit of work done on it when he tried to order gaskets for it. He ordered the correct gaskets for a 1986 Mustang 5.0, but the engine had been changed out so the gaskets didn’t work.
He’d installed a new exhaust system and new clutch right before the Mustang blew up.
Matt shared the story of his last drive in the Mustang. After visiting a friend in Virginia, Minn., he and Drew Linder had stopped in Hibbing at a bar. They met a girl who was clearly not enjoying the bachelorette party she was attending. She hung out with the duo for a while and shared that she worked at a daycare in Hibbing.
The next day, Drew and Matt started for home. A loud sound as if they’d hit something came from the engine. Matt tried to restart the car, but only heard a fast, high pitched sound. When they opened the hood, the crankshaft was sticking out and the timing chain was off.
They started walking to Hibbing and got a ride with a passing couple. They knew no one in Hibbing except the girl they’d met the night before. They found the daycare and asked for her. The girl took them home to her father, a retired cop who now did repo. He let the guys borrow a truck to haul the Mustang to Rushford and sent his daughter with them to drive the truck back home!
The Mustang sat around a few years before Drew took some parts that were still good and Matt sold the car to Adam Olson. Olson later sold it to a man nicknamed “Scrap” (how appropriate!) who kept it until Jasmine bought it.
As Matt gazed at the Mustang, he commented that Jasmine got a pretty good deal. Rough shells of cars like this are now selling for $3,000 to $5,000. Matt said he had paid $2,400 for the Mustang when it was five years old.
Danny has no memories of riding in the car. He last rode in it in a car seat when he was about three. Why did he want the car? Danny’s one word answer: “History.” You could tell the car is pretty special to both Matt and Danny! Danny is eagerly anticipating taking the car out for drives and maybe entering it in a car show or two!
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