Picture: OnAllCylinders

This is an incredible true story documenting a beat up ’68 Ford Mustang and Mike Ondish, the driver that used to raised hell up in the New York state, pushing fate and boundaries in the backroads of the Catskill Mountains. This special Mustang was dubbed “The Demon” for a reason and it has got two bullet holes to prove it.

One of Ford’s workers, Jim Ryan, who had great inside connections took a liking to Mike back in the day and they put a Mustang to the side of a Ford plant and came up with some mods for the 390 FE engine. They modified it with a Shelby dual quad intake, 428 Police Interceptor heads, an Isky 505 cam, and last but not least, popup pistons with a 14:1 compression ratio.

Back in the late 60’s and early 70’s this car tore up the mountains like nobody’s business – running around with a bunch of fellow street racers. At one point Mike was a wanted man in two New York counties for running rum. Not only did he run rum, but he cheated death with that monster Mustang tearing through the hills. However, you can only be so lucky, so Mike settled down and put the Demon to rest where it hasn’t moved since.

Mike is now a restoration shop owner and mechanic in Margaretville, New York, that specializes in restoring old Fords. In his shop, The Demon sat for almost four decades, reminding Mike of his glory days running moonshine from the cops and tearing up the roads with his buddies. After sitting on his past for this long, Mike has decided to bring her back to life and documenting every step of it in his documentary, Demon on Wheels, which should be released in the Spring of 2013. Even Mike’s friends and neighbors have been more than willing to help, even his old rival State Trooper Glen George, although retired now, decided it would be good to have her back and running.

However it’s not an easy task as the 428 hasn’t ran in almost forty years, the body is a bit beat up, and the interior definitely has seen better days. Mike’s determined to make her run again and even better than when she was straight out of the plant. This story shows pure determination to relive a life that was once buried under heavy dust.

The documentary filmmakers Christina Eliopoulos, George Wieser, and Josh Levin are responsible for putting this whole thing together, not only to show an old classic being restored and back to life, but a car and its owner that have had history, a relationship beyond pretty looks. A story of badassery.

Can’t wait to see The Demon roar to life once again!