International Pony                             

Mustang, the true America dream car.  Well not quiet, car enthusiast all over the world have a desire to drive and own a Mustang.  So was the quest for one of SAMC’s newest members.  Bernd Heer was born and raised in Germany.  He and his family (wife Andrea, and two daughters, Jessica (12), and Alicia (9) live in a small village outside of Stuttgart.  Bernd, an Engineer by trade has grown up around some of the best cars in the world, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Porsche.  Even though his daily drive is a German product, he has dreamed of some day owning a Mustang.     

In 2008 he and his family planned a vacation trip to Texas, and to search for his dream car.  In early summer he sent out an e-mail to Tom Bader for help in locating a 1965 to 1968 Mustang.  In August they arrived in San Antonio and the search began.  After many hours on the computer and a number of road trips around Texas a Poppy Red 1965 Mustang GT Coupe was located right here in San Antonio.   After talking to the owner and checking the pony’s background Bernd had discovered his new pony.  The car had been built in San Jose, California, shipped and sold in Dallas, Texas and had never been out of the states.  The car was 90% original, rust free, and garage kept.  The VIN and data plate confirmed it was an “A” code 1965 Mustang GT Coupe, poppy red, white interior, with a 289 4V and a 4 speed transmission, with 98000 original miles.  The car did have a repaint in 1984, but everything else was original.  At that point Bernd knew he had found his PONY!  The bad news was Bernd and family had to return to Germany in a few days and would have to leave the pony behind.     The car was taken to Alamo Classic Mustang for a total check out.  After a good report, paperwork and money transferred, Bernd had his pony.  The car was than returned to Alamo Classic to replace some of the original suspension parts and make it safe for Autobahn travel.  Once Alamo Classic completed their work it was stored in Tom Bader’s garage.     

After returning to Germany and having found his pony, the Mustang bug started working on Bernd.  Having gotten his hands on a several Mustang parts catalogs, and before he knew it, he had made a nice long shopping list of upgrades he wanted for the pony before it was shipped to Germany.  Again, another e-mail was sent to Tom, the parts ordered and the upgrades started.  To help with the upgrades and ensure his car was the way he envisioned, Bernd and family planned there Christmas vacation back to San Antonio.  While here Bernd’s pony was fitted with a completely new pony interior, carpet, seat covers, door panels and dash.  Along with a few engine upgrades, the pony was now ready to go.     Then on Jan 8th the Heer family left for Germany.  Later that afternoon so did the pony.  First by truck to Houston, than by ship on to Germany.  Hopefully by the 1st of March Bernd will be cruising the roads in his America dream car.  

FOOTNOTE:  Bernd and his daughter Jessica will be returning in April.  They will fly to Las Vegas, rent a Mustang and drive with the Mustang across America group to Birmingham for the 45th Mustang birthday party.  While there he will be looking for a 1965-1968 Mustang convertible to add to his pony corral.      Bernd and the family will also return to Texas in May for their summer vacation and hopefully will be able to meet the club members.