Archive for the ‘History’ Category
November 23rd, 2009 | 
Author: I have been a Mustang fanatic for almost as long as I’ve been alive. Here’s a litte Mustang History for you. If you are too young you may not be familiar with the original excitement of the unveiling of the 1964 1/2 Mustang.
This was a big deal in the pony car era. The pony car term was actually around before the Ford Mustang became known as the Ponycar. It referred to a type and size of vehicle popular for racing and performance. The Mustang was name after the P51 Mustang warplane.
We are now actually in the 3rd Mustang Craze. Ford made a hit with the 2005 Mustang. People of all ages, gender, and race fell in love with this machine. And those of the old days appreciate it also. The best thing about the new Mustang so-to-speak is the handling and performance for the base Mustang far surpasses those of yesteryear. The V6 Mustang has 210HP now. Where as to get that before you needed the V8 model.
The mustang history I will start with is the 1964 1/2 and 1965 Ford Mustang. This car started a new performance era. It was sporty, fun, stylish and all around great car. It hit the hearts of many people across the world. You could get an inline 6 cylinder engine with a WHOPPING 101 horsepower. Nowadays we laugh at that. Or you could upgrade to the V8. Here you had two options. A 260 w/164HP or the 289 w/220HP. The latter was the most popular for performance and speed for obvious reasons. You also had a choice of coupe, fastback (in late ‘65) and a convertible.
Now lets go to 1967 through 1969. These Mustangs really started getting some power behind them. In 1967 a beautiful Shelby Mustang was a very popular car. This wasn’t the first year of production but these vehicles were now getting huge publicitiy. One of the favorites is the 1967 GT-350. It came with a 289ci Hi-Po V8 engine. This put out 305HP after Carroll Shelby got his hands on it. These were great years. The cars were affordable. Gas wasn’t over $4 a gallon. And times were easier. Less stress.
Another popular car in mustang history is the 1968 Shelby Gt-500 KR. Which now is in production again for 2008. But more on that later. The production numbers were only 518 for the convertible with a price of $4,594. If only that was the price we paid now!! You can get more detial on the ‘67 and ‘68 mustangs in many books and webpages. These were some very popular Mustangs.
1970 through 1973 we saw some major changes in size. The Mustang grew to be longer, with a huge front end. By 1973 the economy was taking a hit. Gas prices were soaring for the era. ( hmm.. does history really repeat itself?) And the car makers were being forced to build cars with better gas mileage. The Mustang as we knew it was in for a complete makeover. And in my opinion it was a change for the worst.
This brings us to 1974 through 1978. The Mustang II. These were compact cars. Not much power or performance. You could still opt for a V8 but the horsepower had dwindled down to only 140. But in ‘75 we did receive our first 5.0 engine. Now if you’re like me. That is not performance power. And in my opinion this was one of the ugliest Mustangs ever produced in these years. But they do have their following and all-in-all it is a Mustang. It has its place in history as do all Mustangs ever built. And you can’t forget the one great memorable Mustang moment from this era. The appearance of the Mustang II Cobra in the TV show called “Charlies Angels”. If you don’t remember that show you are definitely younger than me.
1979 started bringing us back into the performance era. This began as what is known as the “FOXBODY” Mustang. These are some of my favorites. (obviously I grew up in the ’80s) In ‘79 Ford brought us a turbocharged 4cyl. engine with 132HP. That’s only 8 less than the V8 with 140HP. They were hoping the Turbo 4 cylinder would be a hit. It was good on gas and was close in HP to the 5.0 engine. But it still didn’t make a big hit like they were hoping. Ford did have a pace car from 1979. And now these cars are very rare. You can find clones more than the original. Although it was a low Horsepower year, this Pace Car is a great collector car to have in your collection.
1980 felt like the Mustang was going backwards again. Someone had the great idea of dropping the 5.0 liter engine for a 4.2 liter. This dropped the horsepower another 21 horses. What was Ford thinking at this point? And the price went up about $1000 from 1979.
Ok, finally we move ahead. 1982 came with the 5.0 again and a horsepower boost to 157HP. The most power a Mustang had seen in almost 10 years. From the factory anyways. You could buy a coupe, hatchback, GT, GL, or a McLaren. There was also a special Police Mustang offered for the law enforcement. I guess the police need to be fast also to catch the bad guys.
In 1983 we got our first 5.0HO engine. This was continuing to move in the right direction. Ford got 176HP out if this little engine. The future power and durablity of this engine was still yet to be seen. This little 302ci would soon be a legend and continue to prove worthy until 1995 in the Mustangs. They offered a Turbo GT also with 145HP. But who would consider that performance now that we are looking at a small block V8 pushing 176HP!!
1984 brought us a special SVO Mustang. Which stood for Special Vehicle Operations. They put together a Turbo 4 cyl. Mustang with the same horsepower as the V8. Hmmm.. that gets you thinking. Prices of course by now were raising also. With a top price of $11,840 for the convertible. This year also brought us 5,260 with the GT350 markings as a reference to Carroll Shelby. Unfortunately this was still owned by Shelby and Ford had to discontinue this labeling. We also got our first Saleen Mustang in 1984. The major modifications were suspension and body kits for now.
1985 (my favorite!! maybe cause i drive one)was a turning point in mustang history. This year was the last for carbureted engines. So if you have one completely stock and clean. You may want to think twice about changing it. It’s worth around $13,000 now. That’s not bad considering the top price was $12,237 for the convertible, and $7500 for a Hatchback. Mine wasn’t original unfortunately. It had an’84 trans and an ‘86 5.0 HO engine. So mine became a project and now is a great show car. This year also brought us our first EFI cars. The horsepower was up to 210 for the carbureted car and down to 165 for the EFI cars. 1985 was kind of the testing year for Fords fuel injected Mustangs.
1986 wasn’t much improvement over ‘85. All mustangs were now EFI. This was the last year for the SVO Turbo 4cyl. Mustang. But as you can see now it wasn’t a big loss. Horspower was rated at 200 for the 5.0 liter. Remember you were still able to get a 4cyl or 6cyl but I don’t know why you would want to. They were big sellers though. And now they make great project cars.
1987-1993 were the big years for the Ford Mustang again. These foxbody cars hit it big in everything. Drag racing, road racing, and everyday driving. Horsepower was rated at 225. But most put out around 250 at the crank. It was easy to get more power out of these things with little work. Top price you paid was $8,200 for a convertible in ‘87. By ‘93 they were $18,000. They had various special edition models. Saleen and Mclaren Mustangs were a popular performance model to purchase. Saleen was doing very well with his road racing stangs. There were 160 SCC Saleen Mustangs built in 1989. In 1990 Ford made a 20th anniversary car. (1989 1/2 was the actual anniversary) It was emarald green with white interior. This became known as the 7up car because there was one built for a 7-up promotion but the deal fell through. These cars have kept their value over the years. They are still quite a few available. Most I’ve seen are still in excellent shape also. In ‘91 we seen the price of the coupe Mustang pass the $10,000 mark. And unfortunately it just kept going up from there. 1992 brought us a limited edition vibrant red convertible w/white interior and wheels. 3,333 were built. These cars are harder to find. 1993 brought us the first vehicle from SVT or Special Vehicle Team. It was the Mustang Cobra. 235HP rating. Better suspension. 17″ wheels and performance tires. This is a very popular car. And an all original will bring you some good change. They also offered a Cobra R which was for racing purposes only. You had to prove you would race the car in order to buy it. Saleen built 9 SA-10 edition Saleens for its 10th anniversary. All were hatchbacks with sequential vin numbers. This unfortunately was the end of the foxbody era. Our beloved Mustang would have a styling change in 1994.
1994 to 1995 brought us the sn95 platform. Stlying was a big hit. The 5.0 liter was carried on to these years but the horsepower dropped to 215. But the cobra was up to 240 from 235HP. They brought back the pony emblem grille. The car had smoother corners. A sleek look. But the weight was up just a bit. ‘95 had a Cobra R that was only for sale to racers. Same as in ‘93. They came in white. And none of the luxurys in the regular Cobra. Not many people know of this car. And to find one is even more rare. People will argue over this vehicles existence. I know because it happened with me before. Contact Ford Motorsport or a reputable Ford Performance Dealer and they will confirm this for you. 1995 also gave us the first Jack Roush Mustang.
1996-1998 gave us our first MOD motor Mustangs. If case you’re wondering, MOD is short for modular engine. These Stangs cam with an overhead cam. The engine was now a 4.6 liter. 215HP. And if you ordered an automatic trans you basically bought a SLOWstang!! These cars needed alot of help for power. The powertrain was new. No aftermarket parts to make it quicker. These were not favorable Mustangs for the performance enthusiast. One visual difference from 95-95 cars are the tailights. They were horizontal on those years. They changed to vertical in 1996. The rest of the body was the same. The cobra was now up to 305HP. The Cobra SVT was available in the now very popular Mystic paint. To this day it is a very expensive paint. Reason being is that it changes color depending on the light. (Kind of reminds me of the color changing matchbox cars when I was a kid. But those changed colors with hot and cold water). An interesting fact of this color? The green in it is the same green used to print the U.S. currency! These Mustangs didn’t change much in this time period.
1999 – 2004 was a big event in mustang history. The New Edge Mustang. What a different look these cars were. I personally didn’t like these vehicles for the first two years of production. Almost all Mustang resemblance was gone. The corners were sharp. The wheels looked to small for the wheel wells. But the 4.6L engine was becoming better and better. 260HP in the GT model. 193HP in the V6 model. Talk about changes for the V6!! Thats more than the v8 in the early 80’s. The DOHC (dual overhead cam) Cobra hit 320HP. This model was still based off the Fox platform but as I stated had a completely different look. Prices ranged from $16,500 for a base V6 to $27,500 for the Cobra. As you can see prices are nowheres near of 80’s and early 90’s at this point. Wheels were changed from 16″ to 17″ standard in 2000. This helped fill the wheel wells a bit better. 2000 also gave us another Cobra R at 385HP. This was a sharp looking car. Same story though. This was built for racing. You needing racing papers for this baby. Saleen was still in the picture producing more powerful Mustangs also. Roush had been in the picture since ‘95 and making his mark in the Mustang Industry. In 2001 the new Bullit Mustang. First one since the 60’s. It was sleek. Stock looking. The bullit came with 265HP. The first Mach 1 returned this year also. In 2002 they added the 1000 watt PEAK stereo system. One thing to remember about stereo systems is you never want to go by Peak numbers. In actuallity power was probably more around 200 watts continuous. Sonic Blue was added to line up. Which is one of the colors on my ‘85GT. Not many Cobras made. And the ones that were got shipped to Australia..WHAT? Roush came out with their Roush 360R. This was a supercharged 360HP Mustang. Sean Hyland Motorsports built a 405-hp GT S2 and a 535-hp Cobra S4. Team Shinoda carried on Larry Shinoda’s Boss name with Stage 1 and 2 models. Saleen made 54 Extreme Mustangs with 425 horsepower. So this was a big year for Horsepower Mustangs.
In 2003 we had all kinds of Mustang creations. From Roush, Steeda, Saleen, and Ford’s SVT. The Cobra received a new DOHC V8 with a rated 390HP. But off the showroom floor these things were hitting around 370+ at the rear wheels. That means the 390 rating was conservative. Mainly for insurance purposes. Roush had stages 1,2 and 3 plus the Roush 380R. They also gave us a Roush Classic. Boyd Coddington produced a model called the California Roadster. (as you may know, Boyd Coddington died in early 2008. R.I.P. Boyd… thanks for all the awesome hot rods you have built.) Steeda came out with the Q400 rated at 400HP. But was tested at 425 at the rear wheels! Hmmm… VERY conservative there. When a car is given it’s rating for horsepower, it’s at the crank. Not the rear wheels. So passing the rating at the rear wheels is a huge thing. Saleen offered an SA-20 with only 375HP. Only 10 were built. The Mach 1 also returned for this year. The prices ranged from $18,300 to $39,000 depending on which Mustang you were buying. Not much changed into ‘04 models. But they did carry the 40th anniversary badge. All except the SVT Cobra.
Now this brings us to the 2005 to current Stang. This Mustang was redesigned from the ground up and has made its mark in mustang history. Nothing here is the fox platform. Some aftermarket companies had deals with Ford. So when this model was available the aftermarket already had some performance parts for this car. The ‘05 was designed with a retro style of the 60’s stangs. 300HP for the GT. 210HP for the V6. Now that’s awesome. Who would have thought back in the 90’s, or even the 60’s for that matter that a future V6 Mustang would have the power of the infamous 302 5.0 liter. This model is great for your first mustang. Good power. Good handling. Great styling. And cheaper on the insurance. With just some computer flashes (to the trans also) air intake kit and exhaust the GT models were hitting over 300 at the wheels. It took a little time for tuners to figure out the transmission. This one was all computer controlled. But as usual the genius’ out there figured it out. The engine block is all aluminum which saves 75lbs. It ran 13.5 in the quarter mile at 103mph. The wheels were a 17″ slightly redesigned bullitt style. This car hit home with people of all ages, race, and gender. The NEW Mustang Craze has hit!! 3 times in Mustang history that these cars made it big. They are in popular demand. Handling was awesome in this car. Even the automatics are quick. Normally with an factory automatic you lose huge power. But these are more advanced. Of course a manual trans still gives you more power to the wheels. But I know at my age I’m starting to wish my ‘85GT was an automatic.
2006 Ford offered a grille package for the V6 to give it a 60’s style front grille with the fog lights in it. It also came standard with the ‘05 GT bullitt wheels. Roush came out with another great car. A supercharged stage 3 with 415HP and 385lbs-ft of torque. Saleen upgraded their s281-sc to 435HP. Steeda came up with a Q525s with a 500HP 5.0L supercharged engine. Chip Foose designed the Foose Stallion. Chip Foose is a well known designer in the auto industry. Not many changes to the GT model. In 2007 the California Special was brought back. The original was produced in 1968. This came with a special front grille and fascia package. It is available nationwide.
2008 models new options included HID headlights. 18″ wheels. Interior ambient lighting systems. The V6 package now includes 18″ wheels instead of 17″. The bullitt was brought back again. This time available in green and black. Shelby came out with the Shelby GT500KR which is an awesome car and a continuation so-to-speak from the late 60’s model. A ‘Warriors in Pink’ model was produced for the celebration of Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s 25th Anniversary. Sales will help Susan G. Koman for the Cure. The V6 comes with a smaller grille/foglight package.
So as you can see, there are alot of available Mustangs. Many different styles over the years. And if I were to write about every single one it would be a book with about 5000 pages. But this is just a quick summary to give you an idea of why people love these cars. In short, they look great. They have great performance. And over all are fun to drive for all ages. If you haven’t had the chance to drive one of these great Mustangs, you should soon. I highly recommend it. 2010 is promising more great changes. As of now the 2009 line-up doesn’t have any big changes.
Below are my two stangs. The ‘85gt is my baby. The ‘65 is my new toy. Still stock with an inline 6 cylinder.
