Steve Magnante's 1001 Mustang Facts. Steve Magnante
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to rumors Bill Clinton frequently took late night, solo rides around the capitol in his prized Mustang to ponder world affairs. In reality, Bill’s 1967 convertible was loaned to a Morrilton, Arkansas, area classic car museum during his two terms in office. It was never stored at the White House nor was it ever part of the official White House motorcade.
128 Did you hear the one about the mid-engine Boss 429 Mustang program? It’s true! In 1969, Ford Special Vehicles and Ford prototype contractor Kar-Kraft teamed up to build at least one Boss 429 LID Mustang. An acronym for Low Investment Drivetrain, the stated goal was to improve the stock Boss 429 Mustang’s 60/40 (front/rear) static weight distribution by relocating the engine and transmission rearward in the chassis. It worked and the LID Mustang’s front tires carried only 40 percent of the total load; the rears were tasked with the remaining 60 percent.
129 The story of the LID Mustang first appeared in the December 1970 edition of Motor Trend and was accompanied by several photos showing a Candy Apple Red 1969 Mach 1 with a Boss 429 mounted in the rear seat area. Lifting the Sport Slats revealed a chromed passenger car–style (single snorkel) enclosed air cleaner and those massive “Boss Nine” rocker covers. The Motor Trend story included pictures of the special engine cradle, one-off transfer case that re-directed power 180 degrees toward the rear of the car to meet a rigidly mounted 9-inch rear axle center section. From there, power was delivered to the rear tires through stub axles. Teamed with a C6 automatic transmission, the LID Mustang broke with the regular 1969–1970 Boss 429’s 4-speed-only recipe. Blending the gearshift and clutch release linkage into the project would have certainly complicated things.
130 The Motor Trend LID Mustang story raises as many questions as answers. First, there was nothing inexpensive about the Boss 429 engine. After the 427 SOHC, the “Boss Nine” was Ford’s most expensive semi-mass-produced engine of the day. A true low-investment powerplant choice would have been the 200-ci inline-6 or 302 Windsor V-8. More likely, the low investment terminology stems from the cost effective means of installing the engine, transmission, transfer case, differential, axle half-shafts and rear suspension aboard a self-contained, modular unit. Photos show that, after the Mustang’s rear seat and trunk floors were sliced away, the modular engine cradle could be rolled under the body and welded in place with minimal changes to the host vehicle.
131 So how many LID Mustangs were built? A close look at the December 1970 Motor Trend story includes photos of complete mid-engine Boss 429 Mustangs with (both) 1969 and 1970 taillamp treatments. Does this mean two were built? Or could the initial 1969 LID have been “tail-lifted” (the opposite of a face lift) to 1970 appearance for the car show circuit? The case remains open for research. What is puzzling is that the LID Mustang wore Mach 1 body graphics and not the more specific Boss 429 fender callouts and upsized hood scoop.
132 Like many things in the realm of factory engineering research prototype vehicles, the LID Mustang may not have been what it seemed. Rather than a mid-engine specialty Mustang, it is plausible that the program was a means of exploring potential Boss 429 power for the upcoming DeTomaso Pantera. Remember, the LID Mustang was constructed in 1969 (or perhaps even 1968). The Pantera didn’t arrive until 1971. Could it be the that LID was a cover for a dead-end Boss 429-driven Pantera? The compact LID engine cradle depicted in the Motor Trend story looked tight enough for Pantera use. Research continues.
133 Jay Leno isn’t the only late-night legend with a thing for Mustangs. Conan O’Brien is an avowed Ford man with a collection that includes everything from a Taurus SHO to a real-deal aluminum-skin 427 AC Cobra. Conan’s car-guy status was confirmed by his June 1996 decision to pose for the cover of TV Guide with his Wimbledon White 1969 GT350.
134 Detroit automakers call it benchmarking. It’s the practice of securing a competitor’s model and comparing it to your offerings. In the case of the 1970 Plymouth AAR ’Cuda (Plymouth’s bid for SCCA supremacy), Chrysler Corporation purchased a Bright Yellow 1969 Mustang Boss 302 for evaluation. The car survived whatever tests and scrutiny Chrysler put it through and exists today in fully restored condition. The Boss warranty sticker indicates it was sold new to Chrysler Corp., 341 Massachusetts Ave., Highland Park, Michigan, on May 7, 1969. One can only imagine the influence the car had on the final rendering of the AAR ’Cuda of 1970.
The door sticker on this 1969 Mustang Boss 302 says it was purchased new by Chrysler Corporation! Fact No. 134 tells why.
135 One of the best movie car chases of all time is seen in the 1968 action-adventure flick Bullitt. Lasting 10 minutes and 53 seconds, Frank Bullitt (played by Steve McQueen) piloted a Dark Highland Green 1968 Mustang GT in a thrilling road battle against a pair of hit men aboard a 1968 Dodge Charger R/T. Both cars were 4-speed equipped. The Mustang packed a 325-hp 390 (S code), the Charger was motivated by a 375-hp 440 Magnum (L code). Initial plans called for the duel to be an all-Ford affair. Production parent Warner Brothers Studios, had a promotion agreement with Ford Motor Company that called for the hit men to drive a full-size Galaxie sedan. Two Galaxies were supplied for shooting, but the rough landings and extreme maneuvers quickly damaged them, so Chargers were chosen to replace them.
136 Continuing with the Bullitt chase scene, the failure of the Galaxies (two were supplied to the movie’s San Francisco set) is odd because Galaxie-based police cruisers had an excellent reputation for durability and strength in taxi and police fleet service. But as body-on-frame cars, you can assume that the jumps likely bent their frames at the firewall that led to badly misaligned front fenders and hoods. This sort of stress likely also caused overload to the transmission tailshaft, which then led to instant immobilization. The Dodge Charger shared the Mustang’s unitized body and frame construction, which is likely why these cars surpassed the Galaxie’s suitability/survivability for the jump scenes. Regardless, two Mustangs and two Chargers were “used up” during filming.
137 With all of the violent treatment absorbed by the two Bullitt Mustang movie cars, it is difficult to imagine that one of them survived and is in private hands today. But it is true. Thought to be garaged in Tennessee, it has purportedly been repainted (in the same Dark Highland Green it wore during filming) but otherwise appears the way it did when filming ended. The other Bullitt Mustang suffered a bent body shell and was scrapped in 1968 or 1969 (accounts vary).
138 Sometimes it is better to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission. When the producers of Bullitt met with the city leaders of San Francisco, the unstated agreement was that cars wouldn’t exceed 35 mph on public roads. So when shooting commenced in May 1968, outraged citizens along the route of the chase scene are reported to have called City Hall and police authorities with news that the cars were traveling as fast as 110 mph. The resulting action stands as one of the most exciting filmed car chases of all time, and none of it was “faked” with computerized graphics or other trickery. Bullitt film editor Frank P. Keller earned an Academy Award for film editing.
139 Luckily, the Bullitt stunt vehicle coordinator elected to customize Frank Bullitt’s Mustang GT390 with American Racing Torq-Thrust wheels before shooting began. That helped it avoid the embarrassing continuity lapses that plagued its Dodge Charger R/T partner car. As the sinister black Dodge careened about, the standard 14×6JJ steel wheels flexed enough to repeatedly dislodge the full wheel covers. Because the chase scene took nearly two weeks to film, there were plenty of opportunities for well-intentioned production assistants to reinstall the lost wheel covers. As a result, the Charger suffered repeated “now you see them, now you don’t” continuity lapses. No fewer than eight wheel covers were jettisoned in action, only to reappear in the next sequence. This error would have been avoided if the Chargers had been equipped with mag-type wheels similar to the Mustang’s, or the optional ($67.30) 14×5.5 chromed Magnum 500 road wheels.
140 Speaking of Magnum 500 wheels, the 1969 Boss 429 and Boss 302 Mustangs stand as the first Ford muscle cars fitted with these popular chrome wheels. Exclusivity was added by the fact the Boss-spec Magnums employed massive (for the time) 15 × 7–inch hoops to allow fitment of the latest low profile rubber. All previous 1967–1968 Chrysler and GM assembly line installations