(Words by JunkyardDigs) We all wish we could have our own GTO Judge, or 426 Hemi powered Mopar, but many of us know that we could never afford one of these cars in good shape, especially one with a numbers matching driveline. The solution for many is to piece together a replica or clone with years of work, but for others, it’s all about being in the right place in the right time. My buddy Mike Bozzelli, and his father Joe, were lucky enough to do just that and created one of the best ‘by chance’ stories I’ve ever heard.

A few years back, the Canadian duo had come across a 1969 Mustang fastback. A fastback alone is already a good score if it can be had at a decent price, but of course it wasn’t any regular Mustang. The ad description was brief and only had a single photo from far away. The Mustang looked decent and appeared to have a shaker hood, deck lid and chin spoilers, and louvers on the rear window. The two quickly got ahold of the owner and as they hoped, and the car turned out to be a ’69 Mach 1 428 Super Cobra Jet, a Drag Pack-equipped four-speed car! The best of the best! The car was in excellent condition with only one repaint, and was still sporting most of the factory equipment, except for one major component…the factory 428SCJ engine.

Being that the car was still under the ownership of its original owner at the time, the car came with an extensive history. When the original owner was 18 he purchased the car and drove it like it was supposed to be driven, yet, took great pride in his machine for every one of the 62,000 miles that were on the clock. Eventually, after a couple years, his right foot began to become needy. Wanting more power he sold the 428SCJ to a local marina and stuffed a 427 ‘side oiler’ under the hood. After seeing the car in person, Mike and his dad decided that they needed to have the car. They agreed to a price where both parties were happy and bought the Mach 1. They took it home and safely stored the car until the day would come to melt tires once again.

Many months had passed and our Canadian friends were on the hunt for another project. An abandoned 1966 Mustang drag car project had recently popped up on Kijiji (read: Canadian Craigslist), and the two set out to look at it. After seeing the mess of a car in person, they decided to pass. While they were getting ready to leave the seller mentioned he was also selling a boat that had a 428 in it. The two gave each other a curious “you don’t think…?” look and asked how much he was asking for the power plant. The owner was unwilling to separate it from the boat, and the price tag was far above what the guys wanted to spend. The group left their contact information just in case, and headed home empty handed.

Fast forward a year and our Canadian duo was mostly likely working in the shop talking about hockey, when the phone rang. When they picked it up, the boat owner was on the other end of the line. It took the two a moment to remember who he was, but after talking to the owner for a while they had worked out a deal for the boat, 428 included. It appeared the owner was pressed for cash, so the two loaded up the truck and headed north. Once they arrived the owner greeted them with an even lower price than they had agreed on. After briefly looking over the engine, the two happy car enthusiast headed south with a new boat in tow. The trip home wasn’t as fun as expected due to three out of the four tires bursting from dry rot, but after limping it home on back roads, they finally made it.

Now, given what the original owner had told them about selling the 428 to a marina in the same area in which the boat was purchased, and the fact that the boat hull was of the same era as the car, the chances of the engine being the numbers matching block to their car was starting to look great! After the motor was pull from the boat, Mike dug a little deeper and spotted the iconic “SUPER” stamped into the block near the oil filter. Further investigation revealed a partial VIN stamped into the back of the head, confirming that their numbers matching 428 Super Cobra Jet engine had been found! Against all odds, the car and engine were reunited once again, and a celebratory round of Tim Hortons was in order!

The upcoming restoration of the Mach 1 can be seen at the classicmustangs429 YouTube channel.