I have a cousin who has either 4 or 5 of those early models. They are just sitting on his property and will probably just rust away eventually.
I noticed a year or so ago, he put a sign on them which read “Not For Sale”. He is now approaching 70 and he obviously in never going to restore them.
I just don’t understand why he doesn’t sell them while they are still in fairly good shape.
We are restoring a 67; looks just like that picture. Well it will hopefully look like that one.
No, it’s not a ‘64 Stang. 1964 was almost a half century ago. Not that the original Mustang was anything to write home about. I had one, and it handled like a pig and had brakes that were a joke, albeit a scary one. Basically, the Mustang formula was to take cheapo Falcon parts and cover them up better looking sheet metal. It was not until Ol’ Shel tweaked the dang thing and gave us the first GT350 that the Mustang started getting good.
Truth be told, the 2012 Boss 302 is a better car in every way than the original was in 1969-70. It is quicker, faster, stops better, handles MUCH better and even gets better gas mileage to boot. It’s arguably the best Mustang ever, and it will blow many much more expensive Shelbys with much higher horsepower ratings right off the track. Nostalgia is a wonderful thing, but given the choice of Steve McQueen’s Green ‘68 for the movie or it namesake Ford offered up 40 years later, I’d take the ‘08. I love the 390, but it was basically a truck engine.
It’s 2012, and Pontiac is gone, taking with it the Firebird and GTO. Plymouth is also gone, but it had been a long time since anything like the Road Runner or ‘Cuda had been built with a Plymouth nameplate anyway. Same goes for Olds and the mighty 4-4-2 which was finally reduced to a Cutlass trim package on models that had the 260 Olds V8. Getting rid of it was a mercy killing.
If the Mustang ever dies, it won’t be Ford that kills it this time. It will be Congress, CARB, the EPA and politicians like Obama who believe that all cars should be badge-engineered Chevy Volts. The 2005 and newer Mustangs are good cars in spite of these leftists, not because of them. No matter what kind of Mustang Ford builds, Shelby, Roush, Saleen (he’s bought his company back) and others will offer all sorts of interesting variants on it.
What’s going away is the manual transmission. Each year, more and more models (except for smaller cars) are not being offered with a true manual gearbox. On many models which do offer a stick shift, it’s usually on available with the weakest engine in the lineup and on the lowest trim level. On sportier models, paddle shifters for auto trannys are all the rage these days. Heck, you can’t even get a manual in a full-size truck anymore unless you opt for a heavy duty with a diesel engine.
I’ve owned two Mustangs, a ‘66 that was built on a Falcon chassis and a Mustang II hatchback that was built on a Pinto chassis. At least the II had the Cologne V6 with a four speed manual. Not exactly a bat out of hell, but it drove better than the wheezy 2.3 liter four banger. Funny thing was that the Mercury Capri II with the same engine was quicker and handled better mainly because it wasn’t as heavy as the Mustang.
Someday I hope to come across an ‘08 Bullit that hasn’t been trashed too badly. I’ll jump all over it. My dream car is a ‘12 Boss 302, but I don’t think I’ll be able to afford one, even used.
That’s a ‘66. I had one just like it. Baby blue. The first car I ever drove by myself was a ‘64 baby blue.