Mustang Maniacs gather in Lima
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May 17—LIMA — When the Ford Motor Company rolled out the Mustang in 1964, it introduced people to an affordable two-door sports car that anyone could buy.
The Mustang has endured throughout the years, and car enthusiasts share a love for the pony car.
On Sundays between May and October, you might find a wide variety of Mustangs and their owners hanging out in the Clock Tower Plaza parking lot, right behind McDonald's on North Cable Road.
The Mustang Maniacs of Northwest Ohio Car Club hosts "The Gathering of the Mustangs" every Sunday, beginning at 6 p.m.
John Flanagan has a red 2008 Mustang GT that he brought out Sunday. Flanagan says he loves the look of this era of Mustangs.
"My wife passed away 10 years ago, and I was always a car guy," Flanagan said. "So when she passed away, I thought, 'Well, I need to get me another car.' So I went out looking, and old cars were just extremely expensive to try to fix them up.
"So I found these retro cars, the Mustangs, and I really liked the body shapes, and you can change them in so many different ways and customize them. And so I bought two of them, I got an '05 and an '08 plus I got an '88 Fox."
Flanagan appreciates meeting with other like-minded people at these Sunday get-togethers.
"They're a good group of guys. We're all basically car guys, and we all like Mustangs," Flanagan said.
The Mustang made its debut on April 17, 1964, with a list price of $2,368.
More than 303,000 Mustangs were built that first year. Through 1966, Ford sold more than 1.4 million Mustangs.
Clinton Sybert showed up Sunday with his red 1967 Mustang Fastback. He bought it in 1976 for $350.
"It was torn apart. The guy was going to race it, and he had the fenders off and everything, and I put it back together," Sybert said.
It's powered by a 390 cubic inch engine, and he recently changed the transmission to a five-speed.
He says he enjoys coming out to these events.
"I enjoy just driving up here to visit a little bit and look at the cars," Sybert said.
Sybert was asked if he thought he would have held on to his Mustang for so long.
"I have people ask me that — why I still got it. But it does just about anything that I want it to do so I still got it, I guess," Sybert said.
Reach Sam Shriver at 567-242-0409.
