It was a 1969 Mustang Mach 1, Daniel Allen would tell his boys; the best car he’d ever owned. And he traded it away to make room for his growing family.
Every time Mr. Allen told the story, one of his six sons was listening intently. Shane Allen recently traded his own restored Mustang for one just like that which his father had sacrificed, and surprised the old motorhead on Father’s Day.
After returning from several tours of war in Vietnam, Daniel Allen bought a white Mustang Mach 1 with a black hood and red stripes. It was a four-speed manual transmission, and it colored his youth with joy. He took his future wife Diana out on their first date in the pony, and even drove it right onboard the ferry where he proposed to her.
Yet as their first child soon made way for a second, third, and so on, Daniel traded the Mach 1 away for something more practical. Shane Allen, the youngest of Daniel’s sons, happened to grow up with a fondness for classic cars as well, and the two bonded over their shared interest.
It became routine for the pair to attend Father’s Day car shows together, where they’d look at Mustangs and reminisce about the one that got away.
“I knew the car he had dreamed about was that 1969 Mach 1,” Shane told PEOPLE. “My dad and I have talked about this car since I was a kid.”
As it would happen, earlier this year Shane spotted a white Mach 1 from 1969 just like how his father had always described it. He jumped at the opportunity to fulfill his dad’s dream of climbing back behind that same wheel, now that his sons were all grown up.
Trading his own restored Mustang GT away, there was a lot to do if Shane—as he envisioned it—wanted to surprise his dad with this mother-of-all Father’s Day presents. The upholstery needed changing and the paint needed a re-finish.
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It wasn’t too much though, and soon, on their customary father-son visit to a Father’s Day car show, Daniel saw a white Mach 1 sitting in the lot. It had a name tag dangling from the review mirror marked “Daniel” which the man thought was just a coincidence.
Joking, he said “where are my keys?” A moment later, recorded in a priceless family video, Shane handed him the keys and told him to fire it up.
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“I shut the camera off but wish I had continued filming,” Shane says. “When he got out of the car, he asked me how [I had made it happen]. I told him I traded my custom GT for this Mach 1 and he broke down and hugged me.”
He told PEOPLE that as a man he recognizes the incredible sacrifices Daniel made to serve his family, and was only too happy to have the opportunity to make some sort of repayment of that debt.
WATCH the video below…
@ohdeeznutz ♬ original sound - Shane Allen
SHARE This Beautiful Father’s Day Moment With Your Friends, Or Maybe Your Dad…