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“It was just a constant swarm of people,” the Chaseburg teen said. “I was kind of the envy of everyone, I guess.”
And he earned that envy. He completely rebuilt the car, tearing it all apart before reassembling it to be like new. He figures there were only four bolts that didn’t get loosened in the process.
It took him three years to build and he had some major league help — his grandfather, Rodney Peterson.
Peterson, a retired metal fabricator and lifelong Onalaska resident, bought the Mustang, originally from Oklahoma, back in 1985. “I drove it home and that’s as far as I ever drove it,” Peterson said. “It just sat around and sat around, and I said, ‘Well, someday when I retire it’ll be a project.”
Peterson, who had already built a few hot rods for himself over the years as well as working on projects for other people, got the car bug when he was about 13 and he had always been partial to Fords. He didn’t think much of the Mustangs when they first came out — thought they were kinda small — but they grew on him.
A few years ago when Rybold was 14, the car bug bit him pretty bad, too, and he was especially smitten by Mustangs. “He’s just nuts for them things,” Peterson said.
So Peterson made his grandson a deal: “You help me and it’s yours when it’s done.”
Before he got his license, Rybold pretty much spent the summer with his grandparents, working all summer on the car. He and Peterson rebuilt a 302 motor and installed it in place of the six-cylinder that originally came with it. They also put in a new interior, installed a custom front suspension and created a custom instrument panel and dashboard that has a passenger-side panel signed by automotive legend Carroll Shelby.
The Mustang also got a new paint job, replacing the burgundy with a fire engine red. Unlike all the other car projects Peterson has done, though, he didn’t paint it himself. He had his friend “Bondo Bob” Johnson in Holmen do the work. “He said, ‘You’re too old to eat all those fumes,’” Peterson said with a laugh.
Rybold proved to be an adept pupil. “He didn’t have any experience but he was willing to learn. You tell him once and he don’t forget,” Peterson said. “He did everything I told him to. Now I gotta teach him to weld.”
Rybold enjoyed the experience of working on a car restoration with his grandfather so much that they’ve already started on a new project, a Model A hot rod.
Meanwhile, Rybold drives the Mustang whenever he gets the chance, although he doesn’t keep it at home in Chaseburg because there’s no place he can park it where it’s protected from the elements.
When he does drive it, he gets a lot of heads turning. “It’s fun to watch people’s reaction when you’re out driving,” Rybold said.
Probably the next time he drives it will be up to the Holmen Kornfest car show on Aug. 17. Peterson figures it might be in the running for an award.
“It’s really a nice presentable little car, I think,” Peterson said. “I don’t know what else I can do to it, other than going radical with it.”
Contact Randy Erickson at randy.erickson@lee.net.
AT A GLANCE
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Cars made in 1958
$5: Display-only show vehicle and driver
$10: Trophy-judged show vehicle and driver
$10: Swap meet space (two spaces for $15)
$20: Car Corral spot
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