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Car of the Year heat winner AACUK Summer Nats

It’s easy to find plenty of cars in superb condition at every Car of the Year heat, but some just astonish with incredible attention to detail. Barry Craven’s Mustang is such a car.

Restored from a wreck by Barry over the last five years, the rare 351W-powered GT now has flawless paint, a factory perfect interior and the mirrors underneath show that the underside is just as immaculate. But it’s when Barry pops the hood and shows you the engine bay you know this is one serious contender to win the top spot later this year at the NEC. The battery is the correct Autolite model. It’s not a repro but an original but knackered battery Barry managed to track down in the States and ended up paying £150 for. Once it was shipped to Britain he had it rebuilt and now, in the car, it even sports the correct paper tag that it would have had new.

"I’ve been going to the NEC Classic Car show for years," says Barry, "and for as long as I remember it’s been my dream to have a car there under the lights. Okay, so I managed it last year with the Mustang Owners’ Club but it was just after I’d had an operation so I was in a wheelchair. This year I’ll finally be there walking!"