50 yrs of ford mustangs

[cfz2882]

mustang turns 50 now-closest I came to owning one was in 1985 when I test drove a 1965 fastback 289 2v/4 spd-this one had the base falcon style instruments.they wanted $2500 for this one in decent shape,but I bought a $250 '74 nova instead.My favorite mustangs are the 71-73 fastbacks-more a GT type car instead of the "ponycar"early models.
-I misplaced a similar post in the '64 GE fridge threadlease remove that post as it has nothing to do with the fridge besides era...

 

[frigilux]

My friend Dave had a 1973 like this one but in a light/powder blue color. Spent many nights cruising around in it listening to T.Rex, Led Zeppelin, and the first album by a brand new band called Queen on 8-tracks. Those were the days...

 

[whirlcool]

I preferred the larger 71-73 Mustang's too. A friend in college had a 70' Boss 302. It was split pea green inside and out. He ordered it from the factory. The only option it had on it was the Boss 302 option and air conditioning. That's all. No radio, no power steering even though it did have power disc brakes. Not even an AM radio. It was a bit of a brute to drive too. My friend said "If you don't drive The Boss, it'll drive you!"
And he was right.

Another friend had a 71 Mustang Grande. Fully loaded. Now that car was more to my liking. There is just something about a mostly stripped car that always feels BOL.
Anyway, during my college years (69-73) there were always Mustangs around and they always outnumbered the Camaros of the time.

 

[rp2813]

My '65 Mustang still holds the title of favorite car I've ever owned.  It was purchased in 1978 (I think I paid $1,100) and I wasn't looking for a muscle car.  This one had a 289, AT but no PS or PB.  It was clean!  White with blue interior.  It replaced a stripped down '64 Galaxie and handled like a sports car in comparison.  Super responsive with barely any pressure on the gas pedal.

 

I was amazed at how it was unfazed by any incline.  Be it a single overpass here in town, or a long hill in San Francisco, the car never labored and almost seemed to accelerate itself up and over. 

 

By 1985 even though it ran well, it was generating a lot of blow-by and was going to need a rebuild.  I jumped on my deceased uncle's low mileage '68 Cougar and sold the Mustang.  Several years later I saw it on the freeway.  I recognized the license plate.  It had been re-painted the same color, but otherwise hadn't been restored and was still a daily driver.  I was happy to see it was still going, and barring any serious accidents, would likely be among the survivors.

 

I'm still wondering why Ford chose not to provide directional arrows on the Mustang instrument panel for turn signal indicators.  The single green light seemed ridiculous.

 

[goatfarmer]

First car I owned was a 66 Mustang Coupe'. Black, 289 auto, with red interior. My dad bought it for my sister, then next year, bought her a  71 Dodge Charger, and I got the 'Stang.

Great car!

 

[cfz2882]

'73 mach 1

a friend bought a '73 mach 1 for $1500 in 1985:302 2v/C4 automatic-don't know what ratio axle it had,but it was actually fairly quick for a ~3600 lb GT with a smallish smog era 302. A couple little touches I liked were the little clock at the front of the console and the "pony"high beam indicator in the speedo or tach face-lit red as I recall. Seems the 71-73s were fords response to GMs new 1970.5 camaro/firebirds where GM made their f-bodies into larger,more GT like cars.I went to the GM cars:69 Camaro and '82 z28-will start a separate thread for those.

 

[washman]

Amazing accomplishment

Even more so when you consider the original chassis was the humble Ford Falcon.

 

[wayupnorth]

I bought a 66 Mustang convertible in 1974 for $100. Had the HP 289, 4 speed, no back window, trunk was what was left of the gas tank, rusted all out and 126K. Ran it for almost a year and it wouldnt pass state inspection. Sold it for $75. Got my moneys worth out of it but wished I knew then what I know now. In 84, I bought an 81 Corvette which I still have and have no intentions of selling.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

I wish I could have bought the 1986 light blue 5.0 Mustang tiny trunk 2 door coupe w/ the blue cloth int., fancy cassette stereo, power locks, but crank windows, air cond. & pop up sunroof that I saw in 1988 when I was getting my first car...! I got a 1984 Escort instead...

One of my friends had a white 1992 'Stang 5.0 hatchback, that he bought in 1996...!

-- Dave

 

[pulsator-power]

I used to have a '79 notchback Mustang that was Charcoal Grey with a red interior. How I miss that car. My brother had a '67 Midnight Blue, Black vinyl roof and spoked wheels.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

I have been a Mustang fan since February 1982 when I got my first car, a 1979 Mustang. Also a notchback, my car helped start a hobby for me as deep as my interest in washers.

Here is my 1986 Mustang 5.0 sedan that I rescued from a Los Angeles scrapyard in 2004. It took 4 years a lot of patience, but we got the car rebuilt. Here it is in 2009 on a Friday when I drove it to work as a treat to myself.

 

[cfz2882]

foxbodies

nice save on that '86 GT!.Back when I was around 10-12 years old,i used to build plastic model cars-one car was a '79 mustang turbo,liked that model kit because it came with real rubber tires-found a little twin shaft DC motor and mounted it in the mustang kit;wheel directly on each shaft,wire leading from the car to a battery pack-model was really fast and would leave real rubber skidmarks LOL.Locally,Ca.1991-95,there was a 1984 "GT350":it went through several teen/early 20s owners during that period who thrashed on it,but couldn't kill it until the last owner wrecked it

 

[petek]

Neat story

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/ford-mustang-00001-bought-in-st-john-s-50-years-ago-1.2613981

 

[hydralique]

kenmoreguy64 . . .

That's a very nice '86 there! I really like the color, it looks fantastic on the car. I'm not a fan of bright reds but really like darker reds and maroons, is it a stock color?

 

Ford got a lot of basic stuff right when they introduced the Fox platform Mustangs in '79 and did a good job of developing them through the years. I know some state highway patrols used the notchback Mustangs back in the '80s; they were fast, reliable and fairly inexpensive given the performance.

 

[kenmoreguy64]

Hydralique -

Thanks for the nice compliments! I am very much a purest in things like this, so I kept the factory color, which is called "Medium Canyon Red". The car has been clearcoated by necessity after the body work, but the original paint was not clearcoated. I had hoped to keep the original paint, but because the car was at the body shop for so long, the weather shield plastic sheets fused to the car, not to mention some paint fading, thus the shop gave me a below-cost total paint job.

I went far enough to find a replacement fender and door from a car of the same color, made on the same day (the VIN number from the donor car was only a few hundred units after mine), hoping that we could avoid any painting. At least the inside of the fender, the inner door, etc are all the right color. The donor car was a GT, so we had to remove the chrome trim from the windor area of the door and transplant it onto the GT's door.

Now that I think about it, we had major work to do on the rocker panel, so since it would have been painted anyway, keeping the rest original was probably an unachievable wish.

The car has been in storage the last two years, I need to get it out and limbered up a bit - this summer maybe! It has 46k miles on it.

Gordon