American Muscle 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1

American Muscle 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 428 Cobra Jet engine, Auto World has replicated the Raven Black 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 featured on the cover of the May 2007 issue of Hemmings Muscle Machines. The Mustang Mach 1 is compared head-to-head with a black 1969 Plymouth Road Runner 426 HEMI. Each car is paralleled in vivid detail, from the overarching horsepower, handling, and speed down to the minute details like the sound of the engine, cabin space and the style of the gauges. This actual Mach 1 Mustang was built in July of 1969 and shipped to Biggio Ford Lincoln-Mercury in Steubenville, Ohio for its sale to the public. 4,079.51. The current owner, Earl Mann, bought this car at a Hot August Nights auction in Reno in 2002. Even then, it was still 99% original. Caution: Adult collectible designed for use by persons 14 years of age and older.

The winning design was a fastback, but two body styles would be offered. How the notchback version of the 1974 Ford Mustang came into being is in fact an interesting lesson in corporate decision-making, and in the challenges facing those who have to execute those decisions. The trim Anaheim prototype convinced Ford president Lee Iacocca to offer a notchback body style as well as a fastback. The notchback concept shown at a November 1971 executive review of design concepts, submitted by Advanced Design chief Don DeLaRossa's troops, had been nicknamed "Anaheim" after it bombed at a September consumer clinic in Disneyland's hometown. But Iacocca liked the idea of a notchback better than he liked the Anaheim concept, and that specific model was turned down. DeLaRossa long maintained the Anaheim should have been chosen as the theme model. He could have added that the notchback had always outsold the fastback, something that may have occurred to Iacocca too.

In any case, Iacocca certainly knew the sales necessity of having two body types, and he'd liked the Anaheim from the first, though maybe not as much as the Mueller fastback. Interestingly, Ford also investigated a cut-down two-seat fastback in February '72, but it was never seriously in the running. When Lee saw the Anaheim," DeLaRossa continued, "he said to me, 'It's terrific, but it doesn't have enough 'Mustang' in it. It's almost like it's too modern, too much of a departure.' And much to my chagrin, there was a young designer, Fritz Mayhew, who embarks on doing a fastback. And damned if Lee didn't buy it. A 180 degrees from what we had talked about. So then all hell broke loose trying to make a notchback out of that car. There was no way, and that accounts for the strange look of the Mustang II notchback. It never looked right. The C-pillar looked like a tree trunk growing out of the quarter panel.

When it hit showrooms, the 1974 Mustang was noticeably smaller than its predecessor. Though it retained the signature long-hood/short-deck proportions, Mustang II was visibly smaller than the original. The real target was sporty import coupes. A "mouthy" grille, C-shaped side sculpturing, and other elements linked the new Mustang II fastback to the '65 original. To prepare the public for Mustang II, Ford ran up a lightly disguised concept version as a 1973 auto-show attraction. Called Sportiva II, it was essentially the production car recast as a "targa" convertible, with a fixed rollover bar between removable roof sections. It would have been a great showroom lure, but the ragtop market had collapsed and Iacocca had ruled out a new open Mustang -- another break with the past. Note the new "cantering" horse logo alongside the Ghia notchback in this Mustang II brochure. This left a base-trim notchback and fastback, a sportier Mach 1 fastback, and a vinyl-topped Ghia coupe, replacing Grande as the luxury model. All were fixed-pillar styles, not pillarless designs.

At announcement time, some observers suggested Mustang II was just a sportier Pinto. Of course, that was how it started. And sure enough, a good many components were shared. Even wheelbase was the same. But the Pinto was actually upgraded for '74 to take advantage of components and features designed for Mustang II. For example, both models employed unit construction -- another first for the pony car -- and shared a basic coil-spring front suspension with unequal-length upper and lower arms. For the Mustang, however, the lower arms as well as the drivetrain were cradled by a U-shaped rubber-mounted subframe; the Pinto's front suspension bolted directly to the main structure. The subframe, a brainstorm from program engineers Bob Negstad and Jim Kennedy, greatly reduced road shock and driveline vibration reaching the cabin. It also contributed to more precise steering and a smoother ride versus the Pinto. Stingy company accountants approved the added expense in light of the Mustang's planned higher selling price. The Sportiva II concept previewed the Mustang II at 1973 auto shows, but in a "targa" convertible style that would not see production. There were other differences, too.