Mustang – Pulpaddict

’25 MUSTANG GTD SUPERCAR

Ford’s ’25 MUSTANG GTD SUPERCAR is the fastest, most powerful production Mustang in history!

The all-new ‘25 Mustang GTD – the apex of any Mustang ever engineered by Ford – sets a new performance bar with 815 horsepower, 664 pound-feet of torque and a top speed of 202 miles per hour, the most of any street-legal Mustang ever.

Its certified horsepower and torque, along with the Mustang GTD’s cutting-edge active aerodynamics, carbon-ceramic brakes, and inboard-rear suspension with semi-active dampers are key elements as Ford prepares to deliver on the promise of an official sub-seven-minute lap of the Nürburgring.

“We’ve been laser focused since Day 1 to make the Mustang GTD the first-ever Supercar with world-class performance and the soul of a Mustang,” said Mustang GTD Chief Program Engineer Greg Goodall. “GTD’s heart is its supercharged 5.2-liter V8, packing more horsepower per liter than the Porsche 911 GT3 RS.”The supercharged 5.2-liter V8 improves on previous Mustang engines, benefiting from Mustang’s first-ever dry-sump oil system that can help keep the engine lubricated through sustained and demanding cornering. That dry-sump oil system also enables a slightly elevated maximum engine speed of 7,650 rpm, up 100 rpm from the previous 5.2-liter V8 maximum. Revised intake and exhaust, a standard Titanium exhaust, and a smaller supercharger pulley help achieve the engine output ratings.

Beyond the power needed to achieve its 202-mph top speed, the ’25 MUSTANG GTD SUPERCAR also features a Drag Reduction System that can change the angle of the rear wing and activate flaps under the front of the car to find exactly the right balance between airflow for speed and downforce for grip, depending on performance conditions.“We’ve combined the work of talented engineers and designers, as well as an extremely capable driver, with Mustang GTD technology, power and aerodynamics,” said Goodall. “We can’t wait to deliver on our sub-7-minute promise to GTD customers.”

For more information about the ’25 MUSTANG GTD SUPERCAR, please visit https://www.ford.com/performance/mustang-gtd/

1964 FORD MAGIC SKYWAY RIDE MUSTANG

Ted Ryan, Ford Heritage Brand Manager and Archivist, revisits the Ford-Walt Disney Company connection and showcases the 1964 FORD MAGIC SKYWAY RIDE MUSTANG.

Well, that was fun! The Ford Motor Company Archives arranged the loan of one of the original “Skyway Mustangs” to the Walt Disney Company D23 Ultimate Fan Event, held in Anaheim, California. I was invited to talk about the Magic Skyway ride, which used twelve all-new Mustang convertibles to take visitors on a nearly half-mile, 12-minute ride through millions of years of history at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

The Ford Mustang was introduced to the media and public in April 1964 at the New York World’s Fair. But what you may not know is that the Walt Disney Company created the Ford Pavilion and the ride that showcased the cars. Officially under development since 1961, the Mustang was introduced through billboards, television specials, commercials, and in-person contact but the official unveiling took place in April 1964 at the Fair’s largest exhibit, the Ford Pavilion.

The Ford Pavilion, also known as the Wonder Rotunda, had Mustangs on display and visitors could ride in a Mustang convertible on display and as part of the Magic Skyway ride. This ride was designed by Walt Disney and his staff to be “a fantasyland of the past, present and future” depicting “millions of years of life on Earth.” The almost 15 million visitors who took the ride were thus able to inspect the Mustang’s interiors and familiarize themselves with its many available options and accessories while traveling through time.

The pavilion and ride took three years to build. Ford Galaxies, Lincoln Continentals and Fairlanes were all expected to be in the ride, but the surprise was the all-new 1964 FORD MAGIC SKYWAY RIDE MUSTANG.The location is known for four of the twelve original Magic Skyway Mustangs and our archives team worked to have one on display at the D23 Ultimate Fan Event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the World’s Fair. D23 is the Walt Disney Fan Club, and it holds biannual events to celebrate all things Disney with its fans. This year’s Ultimate Fan Event attracted more than 75,000 attendees over three days.

The 1964 FORD MAGIC SKYWAY RIDE MUSTANG on display was part of a larger Disney Archives exhibit focusing on cars in their collection that had been used in films. The “Great Big Beautiful Car Show” included more than 30 incredible automobiles displayed over 24,000 square feet for D23’s 75,000 attendees. While there were several other movie Fords from their collection, the Skyway Mustang was the literal center of attention. The Disney Archives exhibit team re-created the archway that was at the original 1964 World’s Fair.

I was part of a panel discussion titled “A Beautiful Tomorrow – Just a Dream Away: Disney at the 1964-‘65 World’s Fair.” The lineup was impressive. Legendary film critic Leonard Maltin was the moderator, with Disney archivist Becky Cline, “Monsters Inc.” director Pete Docter, Imagineer Tom Fitzgerald, “Tomorrowland” production designer Ramsey Avery, and special surprise guests: composer Michael Giacchino, director/actor Jon Favreau, and Marvel president Kevin Feige. I would have felt like the odd man out, but I was there to tell the amazing story of the role of the Mustang at the Fair, which evened the playing field.

For me, the panel discussion was easy — the World’s Fair and the Mustang introduction created the first chapter in the lore of the Mustang as the car for every generation. The styling was so perfect for that place and time that the car cemented the public’s imagination of what a sporty car should be, just as it has for each subsequent generation. The chatter in the Green Room backstage felt like many Mustang meets I’ve been to. Everyone had their Mustang story, and Leonard Maltin even spoke on stage about his regret in selling his 1968 Mustang!

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, the day after D23 ended we took the Skyway Mustang to Jay Leno’s Garage to film a segment on the car for a future video. The crew who filmed the episodes for Leno’s Garage are amazingly professional, and after 1,100 episodes, know exactly how to make the car look beautiful and bring the story to life. This one was a bit different, as the main connection to the Fair was showing the weld marks on the undercarriage of the car! That was a bit tricky to capture on camera.

Jay was as nice as you would expect and had personal memories of the Ford Pavilion and dragging his father there to ride the ride and see the new Mustang. Our segment talking about the car was easy. We took the car for a spin to film it in action. The crew had attached GoPro cameras on the windshield to film us and we followed a customized Ford Expedition that Jay has outfitted with cameras to get the wide-angle shots of the drive. I can’t tell you how many people honked and waved at Jay as we drove the Mustang, but I was not surprised, because two icons together attract attention.

There are few cars in the world that would generate the type of reaction the Mustang did in 1964, and I was struck by the fact that as we celebrate the 60th anniversary, the Mustang is still the sporty car for the newest generation. It was an honor to work with the Archives team at the Walt Disney Company to celebrate this car with all their fans.

Feeling nostalgic? Take a stroll down memory lane at the World’s Fair Magic Skyway: https://youtu.be/12EEFoqUrlE

This film takes a close look at Ford’s pavilion at the 1965 New York World’s Fair. Visitors are treated to a look at Ford vehicles through the ages, starting with the Quadricycle and ending with experimental futuristic prototypes such as the Aurora, Allegro and Cougar. All the current models are on show including the recently launched Mustang. The highlight however is the Magic Skyway, a Disney creation in which visitors sit in cars being pulled along a track or “turnpike of tomorrow”. They slowly move past a variety of dioramas populated by Disney “audio animatronics” depicting such scenes as battling dinosaurs and Stone Age families.

To learn more about the first Mustang – 1964 FORD MAGIC SKYWAY RIDE MUSTANG – please visit https://over-drive-magazine.com/2022/09/15/1964-ford-mustang-fact-sheet/

’64 PLYMOUTH BARRACUDA: FIRST PONYCAR

Contrary to popular belief, the first Ponycar was not a Mustang. Plymouth beat Ford, introducing its compact sporty car – ’64 PLYMOUTH BARRACUDA: FIRST PONYCAR – a couple of weeks earlier!

Plymouth introduced its Valiant-based, fastback ’64 PLYMOUTH BARRACUDA: FIRST PONYCAR on April 1^st, 1964, edging out Ford’s Mustang reveal on April 17^th.A few months later in August, Ford showed its competitive 2 2 fastback. Plymouth may have beaten Ford to the marketplace, but it barely dented Ford’s ownership of the Ponycar market segment. The first model year is often referenced as 1964 ½, and the Barracuda barely dented Mustang’s appeal and sales success: 23,443 compared with 126, 538!

Even with its Formula S model with 273/235 powertrain, too many enthusiasts viewed the Barracuda as simply a fastback Valiant. Plymouth was, unquestionably, the underdog, constantly playing catch-up with Ford. The Mustang had established the market segment and offered a proven solid-lifter 289/271 engine option. But Plymouth had a not-so-secret weapon: The Golden Commandos’ Goldfish. Plymouth’s in-house drag-racing engineers – members of the Golden Commandos club – were tasked with building a racecar to raise the performance profile of the Barracuda. With the 273/235 engine, the Barracuda fit right into NHRA’s F/Stock class. Ray Kobe, lubricants engineer and president of the club, assigned engine-building chores to dyno and tuning specialist, Forrest Pitcock.

In June 1965 I spent a couple of hours with Golden Commandos’ John Dallafiore and the Goldfish at the Chelsea Proving Ground drag strip. He was evaluating engine modifications and I was working on a story for the November issue of Hi-Performance CARS. He graciously loaned me his helmet so I could make a few passes in the four-speed Goldfish. With its small-displacement, single-four-barrel engine and 4.89 gears, I shifted at a tick under 6,000 rpm. It felt like a strong mid-14-second car. Three months later, driver and transmission engineer, John Dallafior, won F/Stock at the 1965 NHRA Indy Nationals. He was a considerably quicker and faster than me – 103.68 mph in 13.47 seconds!

After winning Indy, the Goldfish was modified to run in C/Modified Production, including boosting output to 375 horsepower. At the 1965 CARS Magazine S/S and FX Championships at Cecil County Dragoway, Dallafior posted some incredible times in the Goldfish. His best time was an impressive 111 mph in 12.56 seconds! While the Goldfish was originally scheduled for crushing in 1966, it escaped destruction. In 1999 it was discovered by Bruce Lindstrom rotting away in a cow pasture in Kearney, NE. It’s been restored to its former glory, and Lindstrom was inducted into the Mopar Hall of Fame in 2013!

For everything you’ve always wanted to know about the ’64 PLYMOUTH BARRACUDA: FIRST PONYCAR please visit https://over-drive-magazine.com/2024/07/09/1964-plymouth-barracuda-fact-sheet/

Check out 1965 Barracuda details @ https://over-drive-magazine.com/2024/07/10/1965-plymouth-barracuda-fact-sheet/

ELECTRIFYING MUSTANG

Alan Mann Racing’s ELECTRIFYING MUSTANG is the first ePower Legacy model from the UK-based classic racing team and its U.S.-based partner.

ELECTRIFYING MUSTANG

Alan Mann Racing (AMR) is building on its global reputation for classic car restoration and racecar preparation, with the launch of a classic 1960s Ford Mustang – but with a powerful new cutting-edge electric powertrain and modern chassis. Made famous by its race and championship-winning cars in the 1960s, AMR is expanding its existing business with a move into a new generation of engineering, beginning with the development and integration of electric powertrains into the familiar shape of the 1960s Ford Mustang – in either hardtop coupe or fastback styles.

“We have been watching the incredible growth of so-called resto-mods with interest,” said Henry Mann, son of founder Alan Mann, and director of AMR. “We’ve seen cherished cars that owners want to improve, and we’ve seen those that owners want to future-proof, and we believe our new 1960s Mustang Coupe meets both needs.

“This particular model played a large part in the history of our company and is close to our hearts,” he added. “It was the first racing Mustang to achieve international success for Ford, and, back in 1964, it was all prepared in-house by my father’s operation.”

The base car, any 1960s Mustang can be sourced by AMR or provided by the owner, and is carefully stripped and the powertrain removed. Body and remaining mechanicals are either replaced or refurbished to a very high standard, and the whole vehicle is then rebuilt around a state-of-the-art compact electric motor driving the rear wheels, and a modern, racing-standard chassis.

“We are tremendously excited to be growing our core expertise,” said Henry Mann, “as this effectively future-proofs our own business as legislation continues to tighten around the use of classic cars and combustion engines. We will always love the sight, sound and smell of a finely-tuned internal combustion engine, but we recognize there may come a time when they are no longer viable. We believe electrification is a good way to keep these fabulous cherished classics on the road.”

Each ELECTRIFYING MUSTANG (depending on the condition of the donor car) takes around 1,000 hours to complete. Customers outside the UK will receive their cars from AMR’s new business partner, Mann ePower Cars, based near Philadelphia, USA, with the quality, engineering and mechanical specification mirroring the standards set in Surrey – with many key components shipped from AMR in the UK.

“We not only share an automotive passion with our business partners, but we also share a name!” said Alan Mann Racing’s Henry Mann.

“Mann ePower Cars is owned by another Mann family, but based in Hatboro, Pennsylvania, USA. Coincidentally the CEO is also called Henry Mann, but we are not related. Henry and his family have a 50-year history of manufacture, sales and service in the precision electronics and hi-tech lighting sector and have independently curated an extraordinary collection of modern and classic automobiles”, he added.

The two Henrys first met at the launch of the Alan Mann Heritage Edition Ford GT at the 2022 Chicago Auto Show. Friendship quickly turned to partnership, driven by shared passion and ambition – and complementary skill sets.

The ePower Mustang conversion process does not just involve the removal of the old powertrain and the addition of a compact electric motor, control electronics and batteries, as the entire shell is stripped and restored. The chassis is upgraded with high quality racing-standard componentry, developed by experienced Formula One designers, with independent double wishbone suspension with billet aluminum uprights replacing the original’s front struts and rear leaf springs. The 1960s braking system is replaced with a powerful cutting-edge regenerative system featuring ventilated front and rear discs with six-piston calipers in front and four-piston calipers behind. Helping transmit the Mustang’s 300nM of torque to the road is a Torsen limited-slip differential.

The design and feel of the original 1960s interior are retained as much as possible, although every element is either restored, replaced or substituted, with the emphasis on a period-correct aesthetic. The only modern additions being more comfortable and supportive racing seats, climate control, Bluetooth connectivity and a carefully integrated video display.

AMR has worked hard to balance the need for a useable range, exceeding the 200 miles of the 1960s car, with an acceptable overall weight, which allows a genuine dynamic personality fully in keeping with a modern, fast, and fun GT car. Charging too has been optimized, using either AC or DC chargers, with a 20 percent to 80 percent recharge taking just 40 minutes.

“The original engine and gearbox accounts for around 630 pounds,” explained Mann, “and that’s almost the weight of the installed battery pack – it’s a little heavier, but not massively so.”

AMR and Mann ePower Cars expect strong interest from existing owners who wish to ‘electro-mod’ their classic Mustangs, but equally, Ford built over a million Mustangs of this type, and there remains a robust supply of suitable donor vehicles for those preferring to purchase a finished vehicle.

The ePower ELECTRIFYING MUSTANG becomes the first in a series of exciting Alan Mann Legacy Edition cars to be produced, with others to follow soon. For more information about Alan Mann Racing and its ELECTRIFYING MUSTANG, please visit https://alanmann.co.uk/

FOX-BODY MUSTANG ‘CHASSIS’ UPGRADE

Racer Stephen Cox shows how you can improve your 1979-1993 Mustang’s ride, handling and performance with this FOX-BODY MUSTANG ‘CHASSIS’ UPGRADE.

Fox body Mustangs (1979-93) have torque boxes for a reason. Ford’s sloppy Fox platform literally twists under acceleration and with every turn the driver makes. This “chassis flex” (technically the Fox Mustang is a unit body platform but you get the idea) robs the classic Fox Mustang of cornering power and good handling characteristics.

For the uninitiated, torque boxes on the Fox are located just ahead of the rear wheel wells. They are square, as opposed to the tubular torque systems on some others vehicles, and are frequently found cracked on 40-something year old Mustangs. This results in even worse handling, an age-old problem with Fox bodies.

My initial solution was to outfit my ‘80 Mustang – known as “Blue Thunder” – with standard subframe connectors. I’m thankful that Matt Laszaic (a friend who happens to be the Fox specialist at National Parts Depot) stepped in to recommend an even better solution. The FIT System from Stiffler’s Engineering enhances subframe connectors with side rails and a web brace to lock the unit body into position. It essentially builds a frame under the unit body. Better still, we didn’t need to reroute any lines or cut through the floorboard to install this product.

The results have been astonishing, but for the sake of brevity I’ll focus on three main areas of improvement, two of which really surprised me:

Many of the rattles and noises I once heard have simply vanished. The entire car functions more quietly than it has in years. This is especially noticeable at highway speeds and when driving over minor bumps and potholes. I really didn’t anticipate this improvement, but it was obvious and instant. I can hear the exhaust note better. The audio system is clearer. Everything is quieter.
Blue Thunder’s handling is vastly improved, as anticipated. Turn-in is quicker with less body roll. Power under acceleration transfers to the rear wheels better and can be clearly felt by the driver. The car rolls straighter with less pull and wandering at interstate speeds. My Mustang drives and feels like a car of a more modern vintage.
It is infinitely easier to work on the car in my garage (another unanticipated benefit). Four stiffening rails run the length of the unit body and I no longer need to grope around for the jack points in order to raise the car. I can easily place jacks anywhere along the length of the car using the outer rails. Jacking up the car is a breeze and saves far more time in the garage than I expected.

Has the FOX-BODY MUSTANG ‘CHASSIS’ UPGRADE met expectations? Absolutely. Other than a new McGunegill racing engine, the chassis bracing has transformed my car to a greater degree than any other single change that’s been made.

Does the car accelerate faster? Yes. My 0-60 times dropped by nearly a second after installation. I’m obviously transferring power to the rear wheels far better than before.

Would I do it again? Yes, I would. The inherently flexible Fox platform needs this improvement desperately. Go beyond single rail subframe connectors if you can. Get the best system you can afford to bring real rigidity to your classic Ponycar. You’ll be glad you did.

Stephen Cox competes in the World Racing League, Historic Sportscar Racing, and is Co-host, Mecum Auctions on Motor Trend. His blog is presented by National Parts Depot, https://www.npdlink.com/