1964 – 1973
Cobra Mustangs in the 60's - The Legend is Born
What better place to reveal the legend we now know as the Ford Mustang, than the Worlds Fair, on April 17, 1964!
theMustangSource.com
Lee Iacocca brought the vision of the Mustang to the Ford Motor Company in 1961. His idea was to build an affordable 4-seat family type car, that could easily appeal to the sport car buyers of the time as well. Little did he know... his vision launched a legend!
Not long after the Mustangs were introduced to the public, Carroll Shelby, a man known for his race inspired Cobra series of SCCA rally cars, decided to build onto the mustang and create a new race-ready version to compete in the SCCA Class B series against the Corvette and several other popular stock bodied cars of the time.
The 60's produced the original Cobra Mustangs, which were known as the Shelby GT350.
In 1967 and 1968, Ford got into NHRA Drag Racing circuit with the Mustang, and developed a new car, the Cobra Jet Mustang! The car came equipped with an all new 428 CobraJet engine, matched to a 4-speed manual transmission and a few other accessories fitting to drag racing.
In 1969, the Kar Kraft assembly plant in Brighton Michigan began modifying stock Cobra Jet Mustangs to the widely popular 429S Boss Mustang. The conversion required heavy modification to the suspension and other areas of the car for both handling and performance, and thus the Super Cobra Jet cars were born. From the works of the Kar Kraft plant, four new models were introduced: The Mach I Mustang, Grande, Boss 302 Mustang, and Boss 429.
The Bigger and Heavier Muscle Car Era
StangBangers.com
1970 brought about the end of the relationship between Carroll Shelby and Ford, and in 1970, the last Shelby of the era was rolled off and was shuttered! The Boss and 429 CobraJet cars were phased out.
In 1971, Ford began building the new Boss 351, which came with either the 351 or the 429 engines. Horsepower capped out around 375 for the 429. Ford stayed the route through 1973, when the Oil Embargo and resulting gas prices pushed for higher efficiency cars, and the next generation of Ford Mustangs evolved!
Sources:
1964 - 1973 Mustang Pictures
Found on Flickr... View all my Flickr favorites
Leave your response!