Bakersfield Life

Mustang Ben

larger view

      There are fewer than 13,000 Shelby Mustangs in existence in the world today.  Four of those rare muscle cars are safeguarded at the northwest Bakersfield home of businessman Ben Wagoner who has been restoring the automotive treasure for the past nine years.  “I’ve always liked the Mustang.  My first car was a Mustang,” Wagoner said.  “When I began collecting and repairing the four-speeds, the Shelby was the Mustang of Mustangs.”

           The high-performance modified Ford Mustang, built by Shelby American from 1965 to 1970, was the car of his high school dreams, and many other 40-something males. 

      “They didn’t make a lot of them, and half of those made were probably totaled, which 

   makes them so rare.”

            Inside his 3600-square-foot industrial-sized garage, Wagoner, with the help of two other car enthusiasts, has meticulously dismantled, repaired and restored a ’67 and ’68 GT 500, a ’68 GT 500 KR and a 1970 GT350.  In car jargon, those are mighty nice sets of wheels.

       The only part of the process he isn’t involved with is the painting of the cars. “I’ve always enjoyed cars and taking one that looks like a basket-case and putting detail into it to make it concourse-correct,” said the 46-year-old owner of Air Control Services.

    His passion is part hobbyist, part curator of a collection of Americana – the elite of the muscle car family.  Three of his four projects sit outside the garage of his walled and gated compound, gleaming in the sunlight. “These are investment-grade cars,” Wagoner added.  He points to his current restoration, a shell of a car parked underneath the covered patio outside the sacristy that is his garage. “You do get a lot of satisfaction taking a car that looks like that and turning it into a gold class car.”

    For many car collectors, the thrill is in the flip.  “I don’t do it for profit,” Wagoner said.  Although he’s been offered ‘substantial’ amounts of money to sell his Shelbys, he rehabilitates them so as to add to the value of his collection. It is an experience that at times is both a stress-reliever and a stress-inducer, he says.  Nor will he say exactly how much he has spent fine-tuning his cars. “A lot,” he adds with a firm nod.

    These days, his money and manpower are dedicated to concourse judging.  “The car has to be like it was when it rolled out of the factory. The restoration has to be followed down to the correct numbered and colored bolt and screws, and the proper silicone must be used to seal fiberglass to the metal. Now you are going against cars like yours, but with correct date-coded parts,” adding that he once flew a judge in from back east for help and advice.

    And Wagoner has the hardware inside his home to show for all the tender loving care he’s given the American classic. Trophies, plaques and other Shelby memorabilia are displayed in his office. One of his cars took Silver at the Sears Point Shelby competition in Northern California and a ‘Best of Show’ at the Pismo Beach event a few years ago.  Because of their rarity, the cars are driven little, if at all.  They are transported to major Shelby events across the country in an enclosed trailer.  “We enjoy doing it, and I have a wonderful wife who lets me do what I need to do but also lets me know when I need to be doing other things,” he laughs. “It is a lot of fun taking something that looks like a disgrace and making it look nice.”