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Community Corner

Mustang Lovers Converge on Port Jeff Car Show

Mustang car show at Village Center brought car enthusiasts from far and wide to Port Jefferson.

Nearly forty Mustangs of different years and models converged on the on . It was the fourth annual Mustang and Shelby club of Long Island Mustang event.

"The car has a high interest level," said Rich Carlsen the show’s coordinator and a board member of the club. "It’s a great event for car owners to park their cars and enjoys the day."

He said that Port Jefferson is a destination that attracts people from all over to the show.

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"They come from Connecticut, all over Long Island and the boroughs of New York City," said Carlsen. "It’s a nice walking village with nice restaurants and shops."

He explained that the Mustang is one of only a few cars that has been built continuously since its inception 47 years ago.

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People showing off their cars love Mustangs for different reasons.

John Mattia, of Bayshore had a 1966 two-door coup. It’s a Sprint 200 limited edition, he said.

“I bought the car in 2009, I was the third owner," he said. "It only had 34,000 original miles on it."

The interior is the same as when he bought it and it still has the original paint. There's also another reason why the car is so special to him.

"My mother passed away right after I bought the car so I named it after her," Mattia said. "It’s called Grace 66."

But that’s not the only family connection the car has for him. Mattia got his love for Mustangs from his son Jonathon, 23. Jonathon explained that when he was young he watched a movie called “Gone in 60 Seconds” which featured a 1967 Shelby GT 500.

"That car caught my eye," Jonathon said. "Since then I’ve been all about Mustangs. Every chance I get to see Mustangs I jump at it. I graduated college and bought a 2005 Mustang. It was metallic red with a racing strip. I made it look like ‘Eleanor’ (the car from the movie.)"

A year after he bought the car he wrecked it. He hopes to be able to buy another one. In the meantime if his dad has any questions about Mustangs he can come to Jonathon for the answers.

For John Ringold of South Setauket who has a 1966 Fastback 2 plus 2, restoring his car has been a family affair. His boys Taylor and Jake are now 16 and 14. They were 8 and 6 when the project began.

"Growing up everybody had some kind of car like this except me," Ringold said. "So when the opportunity came up I bought this car from the original owner from a non-winter state. My boys were already into cars. It became an at-home project that took five years between the three of us to complete. It’s been a great connection between the three of us."

That connection shows in Ringold’s license plate which reads "LVMYSONS"

Each owner at the show had his own story to tell and people from the community came and enjoyed the cars.

John Healy of Port Jefferson Station was surprised the show was down here.

"I have a 2006 Mustang GT," he said. "I’m obsessed with Mustangs. I wasn’t aware this (the event) existed. This is awesome."

Linda Beecroft also of Port Jefferson Station used to have a red Mustang Fastback.

"It was red with black interior," she said. "I loved it. It was a '65 or '66. It was the first year it came out. My dad bought it. It was stolen from where I work. I love this car show. The cars are gorgeous."

Anthony Perrotta of Port Jefferson took a walk to see the cars.

"I live around the corner. I came out to take a look at the cars," he said.

It’s events like these that make him love his home town.

"I love everything about Port Jefferson," he said. "I love the village, the restaurants and the community events."

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