A Blacktop Book Review
I had a Mustang. I imagine many of you have had one too. Or two. Actually, I had a couple of Mustangs in my lifetime. My wife had a Mustang. A green on green “Charlies Angels'” Mustang. And now I roll a ’56 Fairlane that sports a 390cid with GT heads from a ’68 Mustang. I helped my nephew buy his first car. A ’66 Mustang. Oh, I also wrecked my sister’s Mustang. That’s a fun story I will have to get to later in this article because today I want to tell you about this book published by Motorbooks and is an actual Ford Licensed product.
Ford Mustang 60 Years – by Donald Farr
Donald Farr is the Editor of the Mustang Club of America’s Mustang Times magazine and has been researching and writing about Mustangs for nearly as long as he has owned Mustangs. This book, this hardbound cool little tome is much more of a STORY book than a HISTORY book. You can jump into any chapter and learn something new. A cool little nugget of info that only a guy who shares his 40 years of study on the subject.
You wouldn’t be wrong to think this is a history book with the chapters laid out as each generation of ponycar, but within these chapters are neat stories about the people and the passion of this quite unique and first of its kind vehicle. It starts off with Gale Halderman’s original cocktail napkin sketch of a smaller car with a long hood and short deck lid. Then it jumps into one of my favorite stories; The Very First Mustang SOLD. This historic vehicle was sold by accident two days before the official sale date and this young girl was the first person in the world to be driving a Mustang on the roads before anyone else. And she STILL OWNS THE CAR. Making Gail Wise, is the longest single owner of any Mustang in the World!
Then it gets into racing history, the movie industry, and even the custom pair for some crazy singing duo of a Palm Springs mayor and fashion model :). As you can see this book features a lot of FIRSTS. First Shelby GT350, First Eleanor, First Saleen, First Roush Car, and sadly, the first electric Mustang.
My sister had a Mustang. I had just got my license and she was driving a ’66 Fastback GT. The clutch was slipping and the brakes were weak, so one night when she wanted to go out, she stopped by my work to swap cars. Knowing I was just going to go home after the shift, she said be careful with the car. Now come on. You don’t give the keys to a 16 year old and not think he’s gonna fishtail it on the way home. And that is exactly what I did. Then the red and blue lights lit up the dew covered rear window. Instead of pulling over to the right, I got scared and crossed four lanes of traffic into the Taco Bell parking lot on the left and slammed the brakes that were non-existent. I centered the pole holding up a billboard, the car reared back and hit it again! The cop swung open the door, ordered me out of the car and started interrogating me about what I am doing and if I was drinking. My Pizza Hut uniform was a give-away that I was a kid and after trying to stand on one foot, he finally said, he was out of his jurisdiction and he could call Orange PD, or my parents. I immediately said: “My mother would love to hear from you.” She picked me up and my dad put me on restriction for two weeks.
Another favorite story of course is the original Bullitt Mustang. A car that passed three hands in as many years right after the movie was released. Then it was used as a daily driver for a school teacher and when the clutch got worn it sat in a barn for nearly 40 years. Father and son Bob and Sean Kieran decided to restore the vehicle using as much of the original equipment and keeping the patina before presenting the lost car to the public. Bob fell sick with Parkinson’s and Sean continued the construction where in 2019 during the 50th anniversary of the movie it was revealed in every important venue including a 5 day stint under a glass box in the Washington DC Mall. It was auctioned off to an anonymous caller for $3.4 Million.
I could go on, but I know, if you are a fan of Mustangs or heck even an auto enthusiast, this is your book. The stories are so heartfelt with incredible photos (many by Farr himself) and just a joy to read. Get it here.
