The Exhilarating Narrative of the Classic Mustangs, How the Tradition Started

by Eric Buck

For many automotive lovers, the Mustang is deemed to be one of the best. But how did this celebrated automobile really come to be? Well, it all began back in spring of 1964. Lee Iacocca, the General Manager of Ford Motor Company, always thought of making a medium sized sports car and proclaiming it as the next big thing in street wars. But Ford decided to go all the way and conceive a brand new brand of automobile. What was born of Iacocca’s initial thought is the “Pony Car”. It was planned, at first, as a two-seater modeled after the European-style, but a business-minded Iacocca realized that the future of this new model depended on volume sales. Thus the design was enhanced further and the Ford Mustang was modeled after the Falcon, which was compact in design, so that assembly overhead could be lowered. This new vehicle was first named P-51, the namesake of the infamous fighter plane. However, many comparisons were made to the Mustang, a breed of equine and it ultimately became both logo and theme to the cars. True to its namesake, the Mustang sold 22,000 units on the very first day of it's introduction and went on to sell a million more within the next few years thus gaining the attention of both the industry and car fanatics during that time.

By the time 1966 rolled around, the Mustang got tweaked a bit. They modified the design of the instrument panel to differentiate the Mustang from the Falcon. The 260 cubic inch displacement V8 was also replaced with 2 and 4 barrel types of the 289 cid V8. The next year, a 100 % face lift took place in the design of the Mustang, these changes include a bulkier sheet metal below its midsection, a meaner grille, a hollow tail panel, and a fastback roof line for the fastback design of the vehicle’s body. These 1967 Shelby’s were more refined in terms of design. There was a greater focus on luxury equipment options. The 1967 Shelby’s were the last to be designed by the Shelby-American Company. Every model subsequent were manufactured by Ford with minimal involvement for Shelby. In 1968, the Mustang underwent some more modifications. The grille was changed into something simpler and its 427 engines were scaled back but even still, they were more than able to get people’s attention when motoring down the avenues. Also in the same year Ford introduced what was to be their greatest engine ever. The 428 Cobra Jet, as it was called, was rumored to have an output of 410 bhp. The Shelby’s were still in production and a new design, a convertible, was also made available. This convertible design was called the Shelby Cobra.

Through the following years of 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973 more modifications were done to the first Mustang blueprint. In 1969, the Shelby’s that were available became more oriented to being a luxury car. The Boss Mustangs were also introduced the same year. These Boss Mustangs were made to qualify for the NASCAR races. By 1970, people still preferred the Cobra engine to the other engines that were coming out during that time. By 1971, Ford’s decades of being a complete performance vehicle were drawing to a close. This would also be the only year that Ford’s performance was considered to be declining. In 1973, several blunders and changes in the rules required changes to the design of the Mustang as well. This time, what used to be a vehicle oriented for performance introduced a new model, the Mustang II, with no claims to anything as wonderful as what its predecessors had done.

About the Author

Eric Buck has been an avid automotive fanatic all his life, being raised having direct participation with his father's car franchises. People have said that motor oil pumps through his veins! He has developed a website for you to find the lowest prices and best selection of classic Mustangs for sale on the internet. Check it out at =>http://www.MustangsForSale.info