The Ford Mustang Blog

The Shelby nameplate has changed the lives of countless automotive enthusiasts. Carroll Shelby is now taking the enchantment of the company he founded and passing it on to the young minds at Northeast Texas Community College. Recently, Shelby and the college announced the new Carroll Shelby Automotive Technology Center, a program beginning this fall that will give students access to state-of-the-art technology and invaluable instruction that will teach them skills in automotive and body repair.

“I want to help young people improve their lives through the industry that has been so good to me,” said Mr. Shelby. “By giving them valuable new skills, they can be proud, productive members of society.”

Perks in the new facilities include a climate controlled shop area, lifts, a paint booth, three classrooms with roll-up doors for car entrance. Of course, students will be given top notch instruction, but nothing will prove more valuable than the experience they gain from building an automobile in the facilities during their final semester.

After the vehicles are built, Carroll himself will autograph them and sell them, giving all proceeds back to the program… [Read More]

After two KITTs from the NBC remake of Knight Rider were auctioned off at the Brad Barnett show in Palm Beach, you may have thought the madness was over. Apparently, it has only begun.

The show is scheduled to return in the near future, and with it, some ‘interesting’ additions to the “Attack” mode KITT from the first season. As if the contrived body kit wasn’t enough, the design team went nuts with its production budget and added nearly every modification to this vehicle, lambo doors and ground effects included.

Whether this helps Ford sell more Mustangs is yet to be seen, but this is one show I’ll have to TiVo. Well, given I don’t have TiVo, maybe I’ll grab the DVD? Probably not.

The “Attack” mode was unveiled by the new Knight Rider’s star, Hasselhoff’s replacement, Justin Bruening, at this year’s Comic Con convention in San Diego. The Knight Rider enthusiast blog ShadowyFlight.com was in attendance to take plenty of great photos to allow… [Read More]

Every day, Ford MoCo and the expansive aftermarket industry strive to incorporate the newest technological advances with the spirit of the classic pony car. Saleen’s SpeedLab recently announced a new offering that will allow enthusiasts to bring another classic modification to their S197 Ford Mustangs with the new Supershaker air induction system.

Using the Saleen series VI intercooled supercharger, the Supershaker technology will allow enthusiasts to combine two schools of air induction—both the “ram air” design and functionality of a genuine shaker hood is united with the forced air induction system.

“For the first time ever, consumers do not have to sacrifice muscle car styling to get more power and performance,” says Michael Lingo, Vice President & General Manager of Saleen’s Aftermarket Division. “The SpeedLab SuperShaker puts real muscle under your hood producing power that can be seen and heard.”

The system is designed for all 2005-current Mustang models and will allow for an increased total power output from 500-700 horsepower.

“We are very excited to offer this one of a kind… [Read More]

Classic Mustangs are rarely seen in used car lots, so enthusiasts must venture out to find them in the most unlikely places. Veronica Sczkhlemzikhov’s wasn’t too unlikely—she found her 1964 ½ drop-top Mustang in a barn outside of Dallas, Texas, where it had rested for 25 years.

Upon first impression, she thought it was a white car, but it turned out to be skylight blue. Apparently, the original paint—still intact—had been essentially turned to chalk while sitting in the barn.

She… [Read More]

Ryan Naso was a Mustang nut from the beginning. He claims he collected pictures, posters, movies, and anything else he could get his hands on. “I think I was being a rebel ‘cause my dad was a Corvette guy,” he says. “So, his kid’s rebellious by nature.”

Naso’s passion for the pony car was reignited with the release of the new S197 Mustang body style in 2005. Once he had actually purchased his own 2005 Ford Mustang, he wasn’t sure what the next step was. “I had no idea where I was going to take this car,” he says. “I started… [Read More]

The aftermarket industry has made a point to pay tribute to the aviation industry that built a foundation for innovative American automotive engineering. Now, Ford Racing and the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) are teaming up to produce a similar accolade: the AV8R Ford Mustang.

The one-off Mustang will be presented at this year’s AirVenture meet in OshKosh, Wisconsin, running from July 28 to August 3. Over 2,500 show aircraft and 650,000 visitors are expected at the event.

Despite the show’s large attendance numbers, the one-of-a-kind aviation-themed Mustang will be the one show spectacle that every visitor will be itching to get a peak at. The car will be auctioned off during the show to support the Gathering of Eagles youth aviation initiatives.

So, what’s so special about the AV8R? Ignore the corny acronym (according to Edsel Ford II, AV8R stands for AirVenture V8), and you’ve got a unique aviation-themed Mustang with an aluminum block 4.6-liter that produces 400 horsepower. To do so, the team at Ford Racing… [Read More]

It has been the subject of a plethora of spy photos and spy videos, but on Saturday, the 2010 Ford Mustang made its first public, although camouflaged, appearance. As the staging ground for “Ford Mustang Day,” the Kohler International Challenge in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin was the perfect setting for the public debut of the next model.

The new steed acted as the pace car for the event throughout the weekend. All Mustangs were allowed free entry to the event and took part in a “Mustang Corral” down the straightaway. Other new offerings from Ford paraded the track as well, including the 2009 Ford Mustang Bullitt and a 2009 Ford Fusion.

Ford also allowed attendees to get behind the wheel of their new releases at the Briggs & Stratton track inside the Road America track. Included in this bunch were the 2009 Flex, Escape, Edge, Fusion, and Focus… [Read More]

When people on the boards started asking about Krylon 1613 being discontinued, maybe I over reacted, but I’m one that has just got to know. So I wrote a letter to Krylon to get any insight that may present a solution to Krylon discontinuing 1613 Ford Semi-Gloss Black. To most enthusiasts, the issue isn’t important, and that’s okay, but all hardcore hot-rodders and enthusiasts know that there can be NO substitute to OEM.

So in the quest to find on my own a substitute for 1613, I have done some tests on my own and have come up with more questions than answers. This may seem tedious, but it will be helpful for this board and anyone else that would like to know what is the correct color and reflectivity for Ford Semi-Gloss Black is. Just go look under your hood if you think that this is something that you and other might like to know.

I first searched for the Krylon at all the local auto parts and hardware stores and had no luck finding 1613 but I did pick up a can of Krylon 51613 which is their ‘Satin’ black. Also, I went to Pepboys and no Krylon 1613, but I did find a Dupli-Color… [Read More]

The Ultimate Stang Challenge 3: Classics Edition is officially on. While submissions are still flowing in, the contest kicked-off last week. We will stop accepting submissions once Round 1 ends.

Heat 1 of the contest ended today (results here) and Heat 2 begins today (ends next Monday, July 21).

This is the first contest we’ve held that focuses on one specific Mustang platform, and the results have shown in the first week of voting. Not one matchup was lopsided- all were within several percentage points.

For the next several weeks, we’ll give you eight new Classic Mustang matchups, and hopefully, you’ll vote for your favorite! The winners in each heat will move on to the next round. What are you waiting for? … [Read More]

It’s long been said you can move the world with the power of hydraulics. Large jetliners use hydraulics to control huge surfaces on the wings and tail to steer them in the air as well as on the ground, and bring them to a safe stop, just like Mustangs.

Malcolm Laughead, one of the original founders of Lockheed-Martin, invented hydraulic brakes in 1918. They’ve been in regular use on automobiles since the ‘20s, practicing the simple process of placing fluid under pressure to transfer braking from the brake pedal to the brake shoes or pads.

Fords didn’t get hydraulic brakes until the ‘30s due to cost consideration. At the time, mechanical brakes cost less to produce and were less complicated to manufacture, but they weren’t as safe. As automobiles became faster and more mainstream, more and more were fitted with hydraulic brakes.

Hydraulic braking systems didn’t change much for many years after their inception. Drum brakes were common on Fords until the early ‘60s. Ironically, the Mustang had optional disc brakes right from the start when a lot of other Ford products didn’t.

[Read More]