DEARBORN, Mich. - It’s been said that everyone has a Mustang moment. It could be when they saw a Mustang in a dealer showroom window for the first time, the time they took their girlfriend to the prom, or when their father asked them to help change-out a spark plug. Whatever the moment, everyone has a story.

Like a prized possession or that sentimental necklace your grandmother gave you on your 16^th birthday, Mustang is a car that is more a treasure than one that is used-up – it is passed from one generation to the next. Millions of people have experienced Mustang moments in the 55 years that Ford’s famed pony car has ruled America’s hearts -- and the Mason family is no exception. In fact, they have multiple moments to share as their 1966 Ford Mustang has been passed down from generation to generation to generation.

The original owners, Jack and Helen, bought the Mustang brand new (and the family still has the sales receipt). This 1966 Hardtop, which was Ivy Green when new, cost about $2,700 and was Helen’s daily driver. When her daughter Linda turned 16, the family gave her the car on the condition that she take good care of it.

“My father taught me how to do everything, even though I was a girl!” Linda chuckled. If she did not complete the maintenance, the keys went back to them. Help arrived when Linda met her future husband, David.

“Linda’s father was working on the Mustang, and I told him I could help because I worked at a gas station and had been around cars,” David said. “That did not go over very well, and he scolded her because we were kissing outside where the neighbors could see us!” From that day forward, the Mustang would be referred to as Linda’s “Courting Car.”

When David and Linda married, the Mustang went everywhere with them and they drove it in all weather conditions. It was a part of the family for the newlyweds, who even built a special garage in which to keep it. And when David Jr. was born, David Sr. knew the car would be a special project in which the two of them could bond while doing.

In the late 1980's, David Sr. started planning for his son to have something to drive when he turned 16. But in order to do that, the family would have to make a decision: sell their also-loved 1976 Mustang II Cobra II, or the old 1966.

“The racing stripes on the 1976 Mustang were nice, but I loved the 1966 bodystyle more,” David Jr. explained. So they decided to keep the ‘66 and sold the ‘76 to help pay for the restoration project. 

“We rebuilt the original 200-cubic-inch inline 6-cylinder engine as well as the transmission, stripped the body down to bare metal, replaced the driver’s-side floor pan, painted it a new color and re-upholstered the interior in black.” David Sr. remembers.

“I drove the car in high school, took my girlfriend (and now wife of 20 years) to prom, then to college,” David Jr. recalled. “Her shoes even left little ruby-red sparkles on the floorboard that my son, Tyler, vacuumed out over two decades later!”

“Tyler loved sitting in the car and pretending to drive it in my parents’ garage.” David Jr. continued. “As Tyler grew up, he began asking, ‘Papa Car?’ (a name given to David Sr. by Tyler and his sister, Katie) about playing in the Mustang.

On visits when he got older, the two of them began working on small things to get the Mustang roadworthy again (cleaning spark plugs, replacing rubber seals, and reworking the drum brakes).

“Then one weekend, my dad surprised us by having the car ready to drive around the yard,” David Jr. said. “My son Tyler drove it around an acre-sized oval garden, grinning ear to ear. By June of 2018, our son finally got to drive it home, with me riding shotgun. We took a little longer getting home by traveling the back roads, but what a great three-hour ride as a passenger, reflecting on how many people in our family have enjoyed this car!”

“The Mustang takes me to a different time,” Tyler said. “Driving that car is driving something special. It’s an experience that can’t be replaced.” And there are no plans for it ever leaving the Mason family.

But the now fourth-generation owner has big plans for his turn with the Mustang.

“I want to walk the line between restoration and modification.” Tyler said. “I don’t want to take away from the feel and classiness of the car, but I’d like to give it some performance upgrades, like a V-8 and maybe a new coat of paint.

“The Ford Mustang is an American icon and I’m so lucky I’m able to experience something that is beloved by millions of people. I hope I’m able to pass it on to my kids someday, so that they can feel the same way I feel every time I drive this car.”

Perhaps Linda Mason said it best: “The Mustang IS family,” she explained. “We never dreamed it would eventually make its way to Tyler, the fourth generation, but we’re glad it has. We know it’s in good hands.”

FORD PERFORMANCE PHOTOS / COURTESY THE MASON FAMILY