For Nearly 52 Years, the Ford Mustang Has Set the Standard for Sporty American Cars. First out of the Gate
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Let your pony run with the finest top 10 mustangs Mustang parts from Mr. Mustang! or nearly 52 years, the Ford Mustang has set the standard for sporty American cars. First out of the gate Since 1975, Mr. Mustang has been a in what would become known as the “pony car” segment, Mustang’s overnight success in 1964 quickly leading manufacturer & distributor of a F spawned competitors like Barracuda, Camaro, Firebird, Challenger, and even corporate cousin Cougar wide variety of 1964-73 Mustang parts. from Mercury. Although Camaro and Challenger are back, neither can claim over five decades of continuous Our skilled craftsmen manufacture over production like Mustang. 200 items to exact OEM specifications. With so many years of production and more than When quality and originality count, insist on nine million built in a staggering number of models Mr. Mustang parts, the preferred brand and option levels, choosing the Top 10 Mustangs of body shops & restorers nationwide. is a challenging assignment. While Mustang has maintained its long list of standard and optional equipment that has allowed buyers to order everything from economy cars to luxury models, the performance variants have always led the way. Carroll Shelby established the precedence in 1965 with the G.T. 350, a high-revving, great-handling fastback that made way for the big-block Shelby G.T. 500s and luxury-tinged convertibles by the late 1960s. The Shelby tradition has been preserved by Donald Farr autographs the the most recent offerings from Ford’s Special Vehicle limited edition Mustang 50 Team, so it should come as no surprise that Mustangs Year hardback book for Dream Giveaway Garage Chief Gearhead from SVT—including earlier Cobras and later-model Mark Breiner. The signed book Shelbys—make up half of our list. goes home with the winner of the Mustang Dream Giveaway. We hope you enjoy our picks for the Top 10 Mustangs 800-543-9195 of the past 52 years. www.MrMustangParts.com - Donald Farr Mr. Mustang is a member of the Restoration Parts Unlimited, family of automotive companies. WIN DREAM CARS LIKE THESE AT DREAMGIVEAWAY.COM! DOUBLE TICKETS WITH CODE MH1215M TOP 10 MUSTANGS OF ALL TIME // PAGE 3 1965 g.t. 350 1967 SHELBY G.T. 500 BY MARK HOULAHAN // PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF FORD MOTOR CO. AND DAVE FRIEDMAN AND AUSTIN C. CRAIG COLLECTION BY SCOtt A. SCHEEL // PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF DREAM GIVEAWAY GARAGE t the request of Ford’s Lee Iacocca, Carroll Shelby, already a Le Mans winning racecar driver and builder or 1967, Carroll Shelby took his monster Mustang to the next level with significant styling changes in addition of the Shelby Cobra sports cars with Ford drivetrains, was tasked with beefing up the performance image to the drivetrain and suspension modifications that had made the Mustang Shelby G.T. 350 so successful. A of the newly released Ford Mustang. Shelby wanted to make the Mustang a pure racer’s machine, with F Ford designer Chuck McHose conjured up an aggressive front and rear treatment, complete with functional the ability to campaign the car in SCCA events. aerodynamics to keep the powerhouse pony planted at speed while cooling the brakes and feeding air to the Cobra LeMans 428, nomenclature loosely linking the passenger-car mill to the purpose-built 427 found in Shelby’s AC roadsters Shelby’s G.T. 350 Mustang began as a Wimbledon White fastback from the San Jose assembly plant and delivered and his GT40s, which would deprive Enzo Ferrari of a championship in that year’s French classic. to Shelby’s Venice Beach (and later Los Angeles International Airport [LAX] ) shop. There, Shelby’s staff turned the 271hp small-block Mustang into a 306hp screamer Early 1967 G.T. 500s featured auxiliary brake and turn with Tri-Y headers, an aluminum manifold, Holley signals in the sail-panel scoops, high-beam headlamps four-barrel carburetor, and more. The G.T. 350 also set in the center of the grille and a four-point roll bar. benefitted from revised suspension that featured These were deleted or scaled back from production over-rider traction bars in the rear and relocated as a result of escalating costs or regulation, while the upper control arms up front. Braking was improved available inertia-locking shoulder-belt system was a via Kelsey-Hayes discs up front and larger drum feature years ahead of its time. brakes sourced from Ford’s full-size Galaxie at the The 1965 G.T. 350 being put through its paces in testing at Riverside rear. Other options like automatic transmission, air International Raceway, most likely with Shelby test driver Ken Miles conditioning, and real wood trim may seem out of place behind the wheel. This 1967 Shelby Mustang G.T. 500 went home with super-lucky Tim The 1965 G.T. 350 is considered by many the purest of in a street-legal race car, but for its combination of Millard in the 2012 Mustang Dream Giveaway. the original Shelby Mustangs with its lack of creature muscular looks, big-block performance, safety features, comforts, side-exit exhaust, four-speed manual innovation and rarity, the 1967 G.T. 500 makes our transmission, and, of course, its long list of SCCA list. Plus, it was Carroll’s own personal favorite Shelby wins—easily placing the 1965 G.T. 350 into our Top 10 Mustang. list. As the Shelby Mustang production continued into 1966 and beyond the cars were continually “softened” Thanks to Marc Allen and Hunt Palmer-Ball for their by Ford in an effort to reach more customers; assistance in the preparation of this article. those that wanted an automatic transmission, air conditioning, and a quieter and more compliant ride. This constant battle with Ford led Shelby to Shelby got his start in a small shop on Princeton Drive in Venice, CA in 1962. Shelby’s Cobras were built here, but as Mustang production walk away from the program, which in turn saw Ford ramped up and began running out of room, Shelby moved to a new take control of Shelby production, which had moved If the name Cobra LeMans 428 doesn’t instantly garner your attention, location at 6501 West Imperial Highway at Los Angeles International one look under the hood of the 1967 Shelby Mustang G.T. 350 was all it Airport (LAX). Seen here are 1965 R-models being built in the new facility. from California to Michigan’s A.O. Smith in 1968 after took to shift your dreams to own one into high gear. Shelby’s lease expired on his LAX location. WIN DREAM CARS LIKE THESE AT DREAMGIVEAWAY.COM! DOUBLE TICKETS WITH CODE MH1215M WIN DREAM CARS LIKE THESE AT DREAMGIVEAWAY.COM! DOUBLE TICKETS WITH CODE MH1215M TOP 10 MUSTANGS OF ALL TIME // PAGE 4 TOP 10 MUSTANGS OF ALL TIME // PAGE 5 1969 BOSS 302 mustang 1969 BOSS 429 MUSTANG BY DONALD FARR // PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF DREAM GIVEAWAY GARAGE BY DAVID BONASKIEWICH // PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEOFF StUNKARD ar & Driver described it as “the best handling Ford to ever come out of Dearborn.” Lofty words, lthough not all Ford Mustangs are considered muscle cars, the 1969 Boss 429 models possess everything one indeed, but Ford’s new Boss 302 Mustang was much more than a corner-carver as it vaulted Mustang could ask for in a great American performance machine: aggressive styling, high-horsepower engine, and C performance to the next level with an unmatched combination of nifty handling, high-revving A tons of attitude. acceleration, and race-car looks. The Boss 429 Mustang wasn’t born from the desire to dominate the street, or even the dragstrip, but simply to produce The Boss 302 was Ford’s answer to Chevrolet’s Camaro Z/28, not only for street credibility but also to provide at least 500 cars with the new semi-hemi engine to qualify for NASCAR use. a foundation for building a worthy competitor for the SCCA’s popular Trans-Am series. In particular, Ford The engine is instantly recognizable, with large cylinder heads featuring semi-hemispherical combustion chambers. needed to homologate a special under 5-liter V-8 engine Four bolt mains, along with forged-steel crankshaft and to compete in Trans-Am racing. They found it by bolting connecting rods, were selected for durability. Ford rated large-port Cleveland four-barrel heads onto the existing this engine at just 375 horsepower, likely due to insurance 302 Windsor short-block. and liability issues, but most experts estimate it at well For the street, the Boss 302 produced a Z/28-matching over 500. 290 horsepower. Everything was heavy-duty—nine-inch Fitting the mammoth Boss 429 inside the relatively small rear axle, Toploader four-speed, even the shock towers confines of the Mustang’s engine compartment entailed were braced to handle the loads from the new Goodyear modifying the shock towers and inner fenders, relocating F60 tires. Performance was the goal—automatic This 1969 Boss 302 Mustang went home with super-lucky Thomas the suspension mounts, and placing the battery in the Barker in the 2011 Mustang Dream Giveaway. transmission and air-conditioning were not available. trunk. A menacing car, even when coated in Wimbledon White, the 1969 Boss The Boss 302 looked the part with stripes and black- 429 Mustang is all about brute force. The hood scoop is the largest ever out graphics by Ford designer Larry Shinoda, who also Ordering a Boss 429 also meant that you would receive on a production Mustang. coined the “Boss” name. a Toploader four-speed manual transmission and 3.91:1 Traction-Lok rear end.