“Susie the Blue Mustang” Was Project That Connected Grandfather and Grandson
“This story is about a 1968 Ford Mustang, but it’s really about my grandfather. Ronald Hoak, whom I call Papa, lives in Rochester, New York, and was an engineer for Kodak. He has always enjoyed collecting and tinkering with cars.
Around the turn of the millennium (when I was just a toddler), Papa stumbled across this Mustang. It was a pathetic shell that had not been on the road since 1984. He offered $2000, and the seller agreed. Growing up, I visited my grandparents — and thus the Mustang — every summer. By 2008, when I was 10, the car was on a giant rotisserie so Papa could sandblast the old paint and rust. He grabbed the driver’s seat, and we bolted it into the chassis so I could sit and pretend to race. This sparked my interest, and I think it motivated my grandfather to turn it into a grandfather/grandson project … “
(photo credit: Richard Harris)
