Ford Mustang Mach 1

Ford Mustang Mach 1

The late 1960s was one of the most turbulent periods in modern American history. A world away, the Vietnam War was sending shockwaves to our shores, causing abundant social unrest and change. Who can forget 1968? Two civil rights pioneers, Dr. Martin Luther King and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, were gunned down in cold blood within a few months of one another on the road to human equality. Car enthusiasts, however, remember the period for different reasons. We remember The War--the war staged at traffic lights and dragstrips from coast to coast. Call it a civil war of sorts. Chevy versus Ford versus Chrysler across the land. In the Chevy camp--Camaro, Chevelle, and Corvette. At Chrysler--Plymouth 'Cuda, Roadrunner, GTX--and Dodge Dart, Challenger, and Charger. Chevrolet hit hard with its 396ci fat-block Camaro, causing Ford's pony to skip a beat in an otherwise perfect stride. Plymouth/Dodge thrust strong counterpunches too, stuffing 383ci and 440ci High Performance mills in its compact and intermediate musclecars. Ford answered the Bow Tie and Pentastar spankings of 1967 and early 1968 with a one-two punch of its own--the 428 Cobra Jet of mid-1968.

The Blue Oval badly punished its competition at the '68 Winternationals in Pomona, California, shocking nearly everyone who turned out expecting less from those mysterious white Mustang fastbacks. Strong performance on the dragstrip helped the Mustang's sagging image. But declining Mustang sales figures weren't rooted just in performance figures and wounded egos. The Mustang was losing its sizzle in the marketplace with people who had never been to a dragstrip. There were competing nameplates out there with Mustang-like qualities. They were called pony cars. Chevy loyalists who purchased Mustangs in 1965-'66 were turning up in Chevrolet showrooms to trade their Mustangs in for Camaros. The same could be said for Plymouth and Dodge. American Motors also took a bite out of the market with its all-new Javelin and AMX ponies that year. The Mustang no longer owned the sporty compact market. It was now forced to share. During 1967-'68, Ford introduced a short-lived concept Mustang called the Mach 1. It was a slippery '67 fastback-based styling exercise shown around the country at new car shows, in car magazines, and at National Council of Mustang Club round-ups. The '69 Mach 1 also debuted with raging success. The Mustang fastback had evolved into a super slippery flatback body. Some say that there has never been a better looking Mustang fastback in the marque's history. Ford splashed striking graphics on the Mach 1--color-keyed side stripes, matte-black hood striping, hood pins, sidescoops, chin and deck lid spoilers, sports slats to keep the sun out and the cool in, and twin-set headlamps.

ABS was optional and four-wheel disc brakes were now used throughout the line. The new convertible featured the drop top, and this was the first Mustang convertible since 1973 that was actually conceived as a convertible and not a conversion. The structure was much stiffer and the car now handled than the previous year's model. Only two engine options were available for 1994, Base Mustangs received a fuel-injected development of the 3.8-liter Essex V6 rated at 145 horsepower. The GT received an updated version of 5.0-liter V8 with a flatter intake manifold that was rated at 215 horsepower. Both of these engines could be joined to either five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions. The 1994 Mustang GT could be purchased with either 16-inch or 17-inch wheels and tires, and it was found to be the most dependable and best handling Mustang. The Mustang was picked to pace the Indianapolis 500 for the third time in its history.

Ford used its SVT; Special Vehicle Team to create another Cobra version of the Mustang. The end result of the teams effort was a slightly modified GT that featured 17-inch wheels, and due to a set of Ford's 'GT40' cylinder heads and a different intake, a 5.0-liter V8 that produced 240 horsepower. The Cobra was easily recognized by its blistered hood, front fascia with round foglamps, rear spoiler and snake logos on the fenders and in their grilles. The Cobra used to pace the 500 was a convertible, while the Cobra coupe was much more common. In 1994 alone 1,000 Cobra convertibles were sold, while 5,009 Cobra coupes were sold this year. A big hit, the new Mustang was sold into a market that wasn't the same as it had been in 1965. A total of 123,198 Mustangs were sold during the 1994 model year. Not many changes were made in 1995 as the concept was basically very fresh and quite popular. A new GTS model was introduced this year, and was basically the Mustang GT's drivetrain in a very plain Mustang shell.

Sales were increased to 190,994 units for this year and that included 48,264 convertibles along with another 5,006 SVT Cobras. For 1996 the 5.0-liter V8 was replaced with Ford's 4.6 liter, SOHC V8 in the Mustang GT. This engine was rated at the same 215 horsepower as the outgoing 5.0. The 4.6 started a whole new trend in Mustang history as the old small-block Ford V8 engine was deleted after 31 years of faithful service. The 3.8-liter V6 was re-rated to 150 horsepower and transmission choices remained the five-speed manual or four-speed automatic. For 1995 several 250 Cobra R models were introduced, powered by a 5.8-liter version of the Ford small-block V8 that achieved 300 horsepower. Unfortunately they weren't very popular due to the lack of creature comforts like AC, radio and a rear seat. The following year Ford added new taillights for the Mustang that were divided vertically into three segments.