Written by independent automotive journalist Steve Magnante
Barrett-Jackson Showroom Division Manager Jeff Catlin
In the minds of most car enthusiasts, certain collector cars should never be restored. It’s not that they lack historical significance or monetary value, but rather these beasts are to be left alone simply because they are too far damaged to be revived without breaking the bank. Sadly, because the cost-benefit analysis doesn’t point to profits, these cars are junked forever. But don’t tell that to Barrett-Jackson Showroom Division Manager Jeff Catlin when it comes to his 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 428 Super Cobra Jet 4-speed known as “Cinderella.”
According to research performed by Jeff and consulting with a Ford expert, this pony was part of a 50-car run of stripped-down 428 Super Cobra Jet Mach 1s built in 1969 to help perpetuate the NHRA’s acceptance of the 428 SCJ package for competition in Stock and Super Stock drag racing at the national level. Being a SCJ booster car, there was no way Jeff could turn his back on this wanting pony. So he dug in and gave it a proper, cost-no-object resurrection.
“The detail that triggered my suspicion this was an above-average Cobra Jet was the presence of four-wheel drum brakes,” says Jeff. “By contrast, virtually every other 428 Mustang I’ve seen came with optional power front disc brakes, a must for such a powerful and nose-heavy car.”
Beyond the drum brakes and a steeper “Drag Pack” rear-axle ratio, the 50-car run was built nearly identically except for exterior color. After rolling off Ford’s San Jose, California, assembly line, it was shipped to a Ford dealer in Washington state, where its drag-racing life got started. Though Jeff hasn’t been able to determine who campaigned the car, what is known is that at some point the left rear slick blew and sent the car into the guardrail at speed. This crumpled much of the body. “I was able to keep the original roof, firewall, floor boards and trunk lid,” says Jeff, “but the rest of the body panels were replaced with either new old stock or top-grade reproduction panels.”
Jeff Catlin at 18 with another prized Mustang.
A similar fate befell the original driveline. The original 428 and close-ratio 4-speed transmission were long gone when the car was discovered by Richard Rawlings and Dennis Collins of the hit Discovery Channel TV show “Fast N’ Loud.” In March 2014 Jeff bought the project from the Gas Monkey team, who had decided not to tackle the restoration. “I’ve always been a sucker for the color Gulfstream Aqua,” says Jeff. “I simply couldn’t let this car die.”
“When I brought the hulk home, my wife Kristen told me I had lost my mind,” Jeff laughs. “And she’s from a car family; her father was a lifelong engineering employee at Ford Motor Company.” But after its role as part of the Super Cobra Jet Drag Pack booster promotion came to light, attitudes shifted and the revitalization project began. At first Jeff handled the task on his own, with the help of his friend and co-worker Randy Thomas (now the Barrett-Jackson Garage Service Manager). But as Barrett-Jackson fans know, Jeff is an integral part of the auction team. Not only does he prevail at each auction to manage the drivers and repair the occasional stubborn vintage car so it can drive onstage under its own power, he also runs the service and sales departments of the Barrett-Jackson Showroom in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Cinderella – before.
So when the Mach 1 restoration began to bog down due to time scarcity in June 2017, Jeff moved the project over to Thoroughbred Restorations in Oklahoma City. There, proprietor John Brown, a nationally recognized restoration specialist on 1965-66 Mustang Shelby GT350s, kept the project moving. “It was a rolling shell in need of final assembly, which Brown handled.” says Jeff. “It was there that we gave the car its Cinderella nickname. There was much to do before the clock struck midnight and the car turned back into a pumpkin!”
Everything eventually came together perfectly, and today the sleek, Shaker-equipped Super Cobra Jet looks the way it did back in the summer of 1969. The potent 335-horsepower 428 SCJ engine was rebuilt back to factory specs by Ford FE engine expert Keith Craft with the correct carburetor, distributor, exhaust manifolds and cast-iron intake manifold.
Cinderella – after.
So what is in store for Jeff and Cinderella? “I plan to drive it and enjoy it for a while,” he says. “But since this was the 49th Mustang I’ve owned, I think I’ll probably place it in the Barrett-Jackson Showroom Collection in early 2019. I can use the funds from its sale to begin another project.”
That’s the way it goes for hard-core automobile enthusiasts like Jeff Catlin. The love for vintage metal runs so deep there’s a constant hunger for more. And Jeff isn’t alone. His two sons Dillon (25) and Jake (21) are into cars as well. Dillon works as a GMC salesman, and Jake is building an LSX V8-powered 1989 Nissan 240SX “tuner car” while attending film and acting school. The story of Cinderella reminds us that true car enthusiasts like Jeff Catlin appreciate vintage and collector cars for much more than their worth in dollars. As part of Ford’s Super Cobra Jet promotion program in the summer of 1969, Cinderella is a key piece of Ford’s racing legacy. To lose her would have been a shame.