You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

[Lee Stewart]

[Lee Stewart]

[Lee Stewart]

A prototype of the 1968 XR7-G Cougar with a production unit below it. Notice the differences in the side marker lights and how the Fog Lights are mounted along with the added rocker molding trim, engine callout emblems and Cougar emblem on the right headlamp door.

[Lee Stewart]

Ad men with a sense of humor

[Lee Stewart]

Did you know . . .

As a publicity stunt Ford cut a 1966 Mustang convertible into 4 parts so it would fit in the elevators then reassembled it at the top of the Empire State Building's 86th floor observation deck. Ford repeated this stunt with a 2015 Mustang.

[Lee Stewart]

In April of 1967 there were few rock stars in America bigger than The Doors’ singer and songwriter, Jim Morrison. Seemingly appearing out of nowhere, Jim and his band mates were riding the crest of a mighty wave as their debut album, The Doors, had gone gold and its second single, the contagious Light My Fire, was the number one song in America.

Owing to the fact that this was his record label’s first chart-topper, Elektra Records founder and President, Jac Holzman, decided to offer each band member any gift they wanted as a reward. Keyboardist Ray Manzerak and guitarist Robbie Krieger opted for state-of-the-art reel-to-reel tape recorders, and drummer John Densmore chose a horse.

What did Morrison want? He knew he wanted a car, but didn’t know what kind. That is, until he saw the Shelby Mustang GT350 owned by his hair stylist (and future Manson Family murder victim), Jay Sebring. Jim thought the car looked both classy and brutal, and asked Holzman for one. Holzman agreed and did one better, buying Jim a brand new, Nightmist Blue 1967 Shelby GT500.

The car was christened “The Blue Lady” by Morrison’s friend, Babe Hill; it was named after a character in a screenplay Morrison had been working on.

[Lee Stewart]

In the 1968 Ford brochures for the Mustang and Torino, both were offered with a W code single 4 BBL 427/390HP engine option for $700. This included PFDB, F70x14 WSW radial ply wide oval tires and a 3.23 9" HD rear. It was only to be available with the C6 automatic trans.

So did Ford actually build any? Kevin Marti who is the "keeper" of Ford's production data base says there is not a single W code VIN for either a Mustang or a Tornio. Ford officially dropped the 427 from it's engine lineup in December 1967.

So the answer is no. The 1968 427 Mustang GT and 1968 427 Torino GT are nothing more than urban legends.

[Lee Stewart]

Ford had moved production of the 1968 Shelby GTs from California to Michigan where A. O. Smith would be responsible for assembly. At the same time Ford had bought out Shelby, including his trademarks. The famous race-inspired 'Cobra' trademark was inserted into the equally famous 'Shelby GT' model designation resulting in "Shelby Cobra GT 350" and "Shelby Cobra GT 500". The only thing "Shelby" in a 1968-1970 Shelby GT was the use of his name.

[Lee Stewart]

Does this car look vaguely familiar?




It's a 1963 Ferrari Lusso 250 GT and was used to influence the styling of the second generation Camaro

[Lee Stewart]

UH OH