CHAPTER 2:

FORD & MERCURY

FORD HAS ALWAYS BEEN A LEADER in automobiles since Henry Ford perfected the assembly line and revolutionized the entire car industry. Ford dropped another bomb on the world when it introduced the Ford Mustang. While in some circles Mustangs are considered pony cars, I’ve always considered them muscle cars—even with one of the craziest engines produced shoved between the fenders, the Boss 429. Ford has a long history of offering cool cars with hot engines. In muscle car discussions, Ford should not be known only for the Mustang, but that’s the model most people remember.

There were a few cars before the Mustang that could be considered muscle cars. In 1963, there was the Falcon Sprint and Mercury Comet S-22 that had the 260-cubic-inch V-8 out of the larger Ford Fairlane. Just a year later, the Mustang debuted on the Falcon platform, and with the Fairlane engine lineup. It was a huge success, while the Falcon Sprint and Comet S-22 are footnotes to history.

Most people will say that the typical muscle car started with the 1964 Pontiac GTO, and for a while at least, Ford really didn’t have anything in that same category. The Mustang was still selling extremely well, better than the niche muscle cars. Its market share was growing, and its base was young drivers whom Ford wanted to nurture as brand-loyalist customers. Ford had the Ford Galaxie, a full-size model in line with the Chevrolet Impala and Dodge Monaco, but it wasn’t a muscle car. It had quite a history, though, as a cool car with a large selection of high-powered engines stuck between the front fenders. So Ford developed the midsized Fairlane and, at Mercury, the new-for-1966 Comet on the Fairlane platform as its muscle car fighters.

Not something you find much anymore, this 1966 Mustang Fastback was missing the entire floor. It looked like someone had started a restoration, then just gave up. It sits rusting in the junkyard.

The Fairlane was in its fifth generation by 1966, and it looked the muscle car part: midsized and it could be equipped with just about every engine Ford had to offer, which Ford did. The Fairlanes and Comets had the GT, GTA, Cyclone, Cyclone GT, and Caliente models as their go-to muscle cars, and you could get them with every engine. Many were outfitted with the 390-cubic-inch V-8 that was standard in many of the models. It produced 335 base horsepower and had a four-barrel carburetor. If you understood the order sheet, though, you could order up something bigger: a 427!

It was not very well known you could get the 427 in the Fairlanes and Comets, but customers who ordered them had little rocket ships on their hands that could fight the Chevelle SS 454 and Hemi Road Runners on the street. The R-Code (as it was coded on the VIN) 427 was an engine with 425 brake horsepower, dual four-barrel carburetors, and Ford’s “Top Loader” four-speed transmission as the only option for that engine.

In 1967, the Mustang got a facelift. It still was the same underneath, but it had a larger body. It carried over into 1968 basically unchanged, and in 1969 it received another body update that really made it look the part of a muscle car. And it had the different lineups to fight in every corner of the market. If you wanted a handling car, you could get the Boss 302 to compete with Camaro Z/28 or Challenger T/A. For all-out drag racing, the Mustang Boss 429 was a monster, and for everything in between there was the Mach 1.

Not to be outdone by the Mustang, Mercury developed its own muscle car, the Cougar. It was based on the same platform as the Fairlane and Mustang, but was intended to be the “upscale” muscle car for the masses. A bit larger than the Mustang, its first generation ran from 1967 through 1970 with a wide variety of makes and models, some with the 427 and 428s. One of the most memorable was the introduction of the Cougar Eliminator in 1969 with wild colors and wilder equipment combinations, the rarest being two Cougar Eliminators produced for racing with Boss 429 engines.

Sitting for decades behind a house in rural Illinois, this poor 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 was owned by the property owner’s son, who had left it there decades before.

The Mustang was very well-optioned. Having rear window louvers on a 1969 Mach 1 is pretty rare, as is the shaker hood. But we were pretty sure the shaker was added on later.

What better way to stash a 1972 Mustang Sportroof in a junkyard, then putting it on top of another Mustang? Sadly, the lower 1969 Mustang Sportroof is the more desirable of the two.

By 1970, the Mustang had gotten a little bigger, and the fastback was now called the SportsRoof. This 1970 Mustang SportsRoof sits rusting in a Wisconsin junkyard, along with about 30 Tri-Five Chevrolets.

What was thought to be an original Shelby Mustang was actually a 1967 Mustang GT with a 390. This car was later campaigned by Manhattan Ford at numerous racetracks throughout the Northeast.

The 1967 Mustang was made to resemble a Shelby Mustang of the same years. It was purchased by the newest owner in 1971 at King Ford in Brooklyn, New York. He raced it on the street for a short time, then moved it out to his garage, where it has sat for about 30 years while the owner works on his other passion, racing.

Owned by a gentleman in Detroit, this super low-mileage 1969 Mach 1 Mustang was loaded to the hilt with options, especially to go drag racing. It had sat in a garage in Detroit for a few decades. Now owned by the second owner, still in Detroit, it waits its turn to get freshened up and brought back to life.

A sad sight all the way around, these 1965 Mustang Fastbacks were in line for the crusher. They sat in a junkyard that had closed and was crushing out. The yard had opened the doors for a few months and allowed people to buy parts off of anything they could, while they could. So thankfully nothing of real value was lost.

The Fairlane and Comets got updates as well. In 1968, they went to a new, more Coke bottle shape in line with other muscle cars on the market. In addition to the redesign, there were different body styles within the same lineup. They now had a notchback, SportRoof (fastback), truck, and convertibles that had already been around for a few generations. The SportsRoofs did well and were able to carry almost the entire range of engines that Ford produced. The 427 was no longer available, however, while the 428-cubic-inch V-8 Cobra Jet engine was an new option.

In 1969, to compete with the success of the low-buck Plymouth Road Runner, Ford produced the Cobra on the Ford platform. It could use any of the engines, and with a wide variety of options. This was the same platform developed by Ford and Mercury for NASCAR that evolved into the Ford Talladega and Mercury Cyclone Spoiler.

Another original Detroit Mustang, this time a 1967 Mustang GT Fastback in its original silver paint. It had been sitting for decades with a bad engine and transmission the new owner discovered.

As the muscle car era peaked, so did the offerings from Ford. The Mustang underwent a major design change in 1971, and in 1970, you had all the great engines available. The Fairlane and Comet were gone, replaced with the Torino and, for a short while, the Falcon. The Cyclone still existed, but gone was the Cyclone CJ, as only the Spoiler and GT were available in 1970. These were available with just about every engine except the Boss 429, and they had their own unique engines, the 429 Cobra Jet and 429 Super Cobra Jet.

I would be remiss to not mention the Shelby Mustangs in muscle car history. They always had more horsepower then the regular Mustangs as well as better suspensions. It had been and always will be something special to have a Shelby, either from the early 1966 style to the more widely known 1967–1968 style with the big air scoops and other Shelby equipment, or the more commonly forgotten 1969 and 1970 Shelby Mustangs. Sadly, unsold 1969 Shelby Mustangs were given new VINs legally as 1970 models. Still to this day, if you have a Shelby Mustang, it doesn’t get much better than that!

This is something you will probably see nowhere else: twin green 1969 Mach 1 Mustangs stacked on top of each other. These were both very badly wrecked at some point, and sadly sit rusting away in a junkyard in Michigan.

This is not just a regular Mercury Cougar, this is a full-blown 1970 Cougar Eliminator, just about the top of the tree when it comes to Cougars. This one even has the large 428 Cobra Jet and a 4-speed transmission. It has been sitting in the yard next to the tobacco barn and corn field for decades on end. It isn’t in terrible shape, though.

Things started winding down after 1971 and the Mustang was redesigned again, this time looking longer. Most people are not fond of the 1971–1973 model years even though this span included one of the best all-around muscle cars ever, the 1971 Boss 351 Mustang. The Torino and Cyclone were basically unchanged into 1971, and by 1972 that all changed, as the Torino had a redesign and the Cyclone was an option on the Mercury Montego. Unfortunately, after 1971 the government and insurance companies came down hard on muscle cars. Pollution controls on engines and sky-high insurance rates for muscle cars basically killed them off.

They didn’t die completely, though. The Torino would go on a few more years, getting fame with the TV series Starsky & Hutch. But the one that made it through everything was the Mustang. It adapted with the times and eventually led the resurgence in performance with the Fox Body Mustang platform starting in 1979. That platform lasted in some form until 2004 and helped kick off the modern muscle car wars, where Ford had a front-line seat with its imposing new Mustangs.

This poor Cougar has had a rough life and is now wasting away in a Michigan junkyard. Sadly, someone stuck Mustang GT badges on it.

The back half of a Cougar sticks out of the weeds. Hopefully, the front half went to save another car or two.

Saved from the scrapper, this Cougar now resides in a cow pasture until the owner is able to find a home for it.

SWEET HOME ALABAMA FORDS

WHILE HEADING TO THE WELLBORN MUSEUM to assist in the 2015 Aero Warriors Reunion, I had a few free days to explore the area. I got a few leads from people online, and a guy name Eddie informed me that he had a field full of cars! That piqued my interest, and we planned to meet.

As I pulled up to Eddie’s place, he released his three “vicious attack” dachshunds, each of whom jumped off the porch, ran directly to my car, and within seconds claimed a tire and were relieving themselves on it. Eddie and I laughed, then headed to the metal storage barn where some of the nicer cars were stashed.

The building was filled with cool Fords. Immediately in front of us was an extremely rare, first-generation Ford Lightning that toured the country with the auto shows. Along the wall was a 1970 Mach 1 Mustang, and there was also a pair of blue Mustangs: a new 2008 Shelby Mustang and a 1968 Mustang Fastback. A 1992 GMC Syclone sport truck was tucked away in the corner, and probably the coolest car in the building was a 1970 Ford Torino. It was an export car with several options that weren’t available in the United States, including electric rear window defrost and kilometer dashboard. You wouldn’t expect to find it sitting in a barn in Alabama!

This cherry 1969 Mach 1 Mustang drew my eye as we entered the garage. Black car with red stripes. Kind of an odd combination that it came with the 390-cubic-inch V-8. Very few were made with that option. This one only really needed to be cleaned up and gone through to be a real thoroughbred again.

Driving to a friend’s house in Alabama, I encountered something bizarre—a wall-less Alabama barn full of Ford muscle cars, including a bevy of Mustangs.

Just about my favorite Ford out there, this 1970 Mach 1 Mustang with shaker in blue is right up there. This has been sitting, buried in this storage building for many years. But what a better way to keep it safe than building a wall between the car and everything else?!

A 1968 Mustang coupe sits in the corner of a dirt floor storage building. This is a nice, nearly complete car that is in really nice shape. It is just dirty from sitting in storage for so long.

In their friend’s garage was a few neat pieces of Ford muscle. This is a bigger offering that Ford had in 1970, a Ford Torino Cobra. In bright orange even. This had been sitting for a while neglected, but the owner is a serious Ford guy, so the car, even while sitting, is protected from the elements. This one was equipped with the big Ford engine, the 429.

Another small storage shed housed a 1966 Mustang notchback and a really nice first-generation Bronco that matched the 1968 and 2008 Mustangs in the first barn. Elsewhere on the property were a 1969 Chevelle, a 1956 Ford two-door, and a few Jeeps. In the main shop, where bodywork and general maintenance were handled, were some nice Ford Mavericks and a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air. Along one wall was a 1970 Mustang SportsRoof that I was told was one of two produced for a Ford executive. Yet Eddie said the VIN was one off from a car that had gone through an auction on TV and was nearly identical, so you never know.

In the fields behind the shop were several first-generation Mustangs, most of them notchbacks. There was also a smattering of Mavericks of many model years, and an oddball such as a rear-ended 1969 Road Runner and a Chevelle.

At Eddie’s dad’s place, just across the road, were more buildings full of cars, as well as a few dozen outside or in lean-tos. A grouping of 1955–1957 Chevrolets were out back, keeping the company of Ford Fairlanes and Mercury Comets, first-gen Mustangs, and a few Yugos! In a lean-to were my favorite vehicles: a nice, mostly original 1966 Mustang Fastback and a 1970 Ford Torino station wagon that was so untouched, when you opened the doors, it still smelled like a new car. That’s how low-mileage and mint the car was.

Inside the storage barn was another first-generation Ford Lighting, one that had been in an accident and was totaled before it was even sold; it was parted out and Eddie bought it and put it away with single-digit mileage. He has another worn-out Lighting he intends to part out to fix the low-mileage one. Other vehicles on site include a 1967 Mustang Notchback, a 1970 four-door Plymouth Belvedere, and a 1970 AMC Javelin.

This was the complete opposite of the rest. This is another 1969 Mach 1 Mustang, this one had a very hard life. This was rescued from a guy who was going to crush all the cars in his yard, and the owner and his friends couldn’t see that happen. So here the car sits, in better shape than what it was heading for.

We headed to Eddie’s friend Randy’s place, and it turned out Randy’s shop was a Ford lover’s dream. There were Ford engine treasures everywhere, such as a smattering of SOHC engine parts, Tunnel Ram small-block and big-block Ford pieces. Mounted to the wall was something I had never heard of before: the top of a “Cross Boss” intake manifold, a very rare intake sold over the counter at Ford dealerships mainly for Boss Mustangs.

In an attached garage was a surprising quartet of Ford products, including a very nice daily driver 1967 Mustang Fastback. There was also a sinister, black-and-red 1969 Mustang Mach 1, a very rare 390-cubic-inch V-8 car; a 1970 Ford Torino Cobra that was dirty from sitting for such a long period of time; and a 1970 Mustang convertible.

I thought we had seen everything, but we headed across the cow pasture in an off-road vehicle to access rows of muscle cars of all varieties. A junkyard owner was going to crush them all, but Eddie and his friends bought them all and put them in the pasture while they thought about what to do with them. The cows sure didn’t mind!

The field revealed everything from a 1964 Chevrolet Impala SS to a 1972 Dodge Challenger Rallye, and a variety of Ford products, including a few Ford Torinos, Rancheros, and even another 1969 Mustang Mach 1 or two. There were at least 25 to 30 cars in the field when I visited, and to my knowledge, they all have since been sold. It’s hard to forget talking in the field near a 1966 Plymouth Fury when along came a huge cow to the other side of the car. It was one of those moments I’ll never forget. A 1969 Mustang Sportsroof, 1970 Mustang convertible, 1971 Torino convertible, 1963 Falcon Sprint, and 1967 Mustang Fastback sat in some other buildings on the property as well.

Out in the open barn was another collection of Ford Torinos of the late ’60s and early ’70s style that are so popular, a 1970 Mustang Grande, and even an early 1960s Ford Fairlane. It was incredible to see such a collection of cars just sitting out, mostly in the open, with very little rust on them. If anything, they had a green algae, moss, or mold on many surfaces, but thankfully there’s not much harm in that. The dry summers, mild winters, and no salt on the roads keep them pretty safe.

It was an absolutely mind-blowing experience seeing these collections of Fords. My world usually centers around Mopars, but to come across such a good group of guys with such cool collections of Fords, it gives me hope I’ll get to see more like this in the future.

In all my travels, I don’t see very many 1971 Ford Ranchero GTs to say the least. And this one was in bright green. Another rescued car, this one was actually in pretty decent shape for sitting for so long.

This 1971 Ford Torino has not been sitting that much, just enough to get a light coating of dust on the car. What makes this rare is the car was built for export. Had a bunch of unique export only options, such as electric window defroster, kilometer speedometer, and unique power window setup.

Rescued from the yard along with the rest, this 1967 Mustang Fastback was quite the hot rod in its day, with yellow paint job and pink stripes. Not my cup of tea, but it was for someone. This was tucked all the way in the back of the farm field, far from the cows.

In the last stall in the garage we were shown this clean 1970 Mustang Convertible. It currently had a 351 between the fender wells. It did not need a lot of work to get out on the road, just as many people know, things get in the way and put on the back burner.

Model year 1970 was the last year of this Mustang in the SportsRoof style. This one without side scoops could have been a Boss Mustang, but nothing showed it as being one. Just a cool Mustang that a yard owner got at some point and was going to crush before the current owners saved it.

The midsize at the time 1971 Ford Torino Convertible. This one is another car put away for a rainy day in the peanut factory. Was not in bad shape, it has just been sitting for a while. It has the famous laser stripe down the side.

Not something you see very often, a 1969 Fairlane Fastback, the same car that was changed into the Talladegas for NASCAR. This one isn’t a race version or even a GT, but is a standard version sitting in the open barn.

This poor Torino has seen better days, and while it does look rough, it isn’t really that rusty, even when sitting in an open barn. The shaker hood means it was something special like the GT or Cobra.

A very rare offering from Ford, the 1963 Ford Falcon Futura. This was a great combo with the 260-cubic-inch V-8 with a black exterior and red interior. This is was—a running and driving car and was just stuck in the factory while the owner works on other projects. It needed a going-through and wash to make it a great car.

A 1970 Torino quietly waits its turn in the barn. With a few projects ahead of it, this bare-bones Torino might be sitting a little while.

Another unique Ford muscle product, a 1966 Fairlane. These are few and far between, as they were not as popular as other midsized offerings such as the Chevelle or Charger. This was someone’s hot rod, with yellow and black paint on what remained of the body.

Can’t miss the bright blue on this 1971 Torino. This blue stands out among all the other Ford products under the barn.

This 1966 Mustang Fastback sat partially outside of a lean-to for many years, and in the Alabama environment the mold and mildew ran rampant on the bright orange paint. Thankfully the body was solid, however, and only really needed a good wash to return it to a presentable state.

SHOW ME WHERE IT HERTZ

A FRIEND EMAILED ME, asking if I knew anything about a Mustang he had found online. I checked the link and learned this was not an ordinary Ford Mustang, but it was an extremely rare 1966 Ford Shelby Mustang GT350H, with the H standing for Hertz Rent-a-Car.

In 1966, Hertz Rent-a-Car and Shelby collaborated on a unique vehicle and rental package. Shelby produced a 1966 Shelby GT350H exclusively for Hertz that had the upgraded 289-cubic-inch V-8 of the regular Mustang, stiffer suspension, race tachometer, unique stripes just above the rocker panels, and more. This was no slouch, and it was just what Hertz wanted.

Hertz had this car for its Sports Car Club. You could rent this car from your local Hertz agency, go racing all weekend, and then return it Sunday night. Some people took these rent-a-racers, pulled the special parts, and swapped in regular Mustang parts, so many of these cars today don’t have their original drivelines.

I arranged to meet with the car’s owner, a widow who had owned it with her late husband and had decided to sell the car. As I pulled in the driveway, the Shelby sat just off to the side of the driveway underneath a car cover. The car was originally from California and was rented at a Hertz location in Los Angeles—but not for long, as Judy and her husband bought the car in St. Louis in 1967, a year before they got married. They drove the car everywhere, including on family vacations and adventures all over the country. They rolled up over 100,000 miles on it over the years.

You can see by the back third that the car is definitely well patina’d from years of being outdoors. It even looks as though the original spare tire is on the passenger side rear! You can’t mistake that black and gold stripes though.

Unfortunately, time took its toll on the car, and Judy’s husband put it away with hopes they would restore it later in life and enjoy it once again. That time did not come, and her husband passed away in January 2015. It was his forethought that saved the car, though. As rare as these Shelby models were, many, especially the rental car variety, were beaten and abused and tossed away. But not this car. Judy’s husband had been a pack rat and had saved everything from the car.

Sadly, the car had endured many years of Chicago weather, but the vehicle beneath the tattered old cover was treasure for sure: a real, complete 1966 Shelby GT350H Mustang. The most recent tabs on the license plate were from 1982. I had only seen restored examples of the car, never one in such condition. While it was complete, it wasn’t perfect. Everything was there, but the elements had taken their toll. The bumpers were rusting, every panel had rust or rot, and the passenger-side quarter panel looked as though something heavy had fallen on it, crushing it a few inches.

This shot was taken while standing atop a retaining wall, looking down at the poor 1966 Shelby GT350H. The “H” stands for Hertz Rent-a-Car. It doesn’t really look that bad from this angle. You can see it is a little rusty, a bit crusty, but it is all there for someone to build upon.

This gives you a better idea of what the car had been through, with a snow tire on the driver side rear. This car was a daily driver after being bought from Hertz as a used car. The husband and wife would travel all around the country in this car.

I noticed the missing bottoms of the quarters, the holes in the rockers, and dents in the roof and body panels. Surprisingly, the rear wheel and tire on the passenger side looked like they were original. We guessed there was the full-size spare tire and that at some point, it had been put on—and left on. On the other side was a regular steel wheel with a snow tire.

Under the hood, things were much better. It looked like it had the right engine, and the correct pieces were all there, but I didn’t have the ability to check numbers at the time. It had sat for some time without an air cleaner assembly, so the engine no doubt would need a rebuild. Other than an aftermarket alarm system, and various wear parts, the car looked mostly stock, and even had the original Shelby VIN tag affixed to the driver’s-side inner fender.

Inside the car, the seats looked good, and the dash was intact and had the correct gauges. The extremely rare woodgrain Shelby steering wheel was there, and the Shelby tachometer was still affixed to the dashboard. A closer look revealed the downside, such as the door rusting away on both sides and the floors you could see through. At one point I noticed how sunny it was inside the car, but it wasn’t sunny inside the car. The floor was gone and I was seeing the sun beneath it!

Still safely mounted to the dash of the Shelby, the tach was unique to the Shelby’s at the time with custom emblem. This tach went all the way up to 9,000 rpm, but someone set the orange needle at just under 6,500 rpm to be safe.

It sure did look like the original 289 under the hood. I couldn’t tell because of the dirt and leaves. But it had all the correct parts to be the original 289 that the car was born with. Usually people would rent the car, take the engine out, and swap in a regular 289. This looks to be the exception.

Looking over the interior, it is complete from front to back, but well worn. The original Shelby Steering Wheel and Tachometer are still attached where they should be.

The car was an incredible time capsule. Judy told me some time later that someone had purchased the car and it was going to be fully restored on the West Coast. You never know what might happen with these cars that sit so long!

MITTEN-STATE MUSCLE

SOMEONE HAD GIVEN ME THE TIP that there was a junkyard in the Michigan woods still full of vintage cars. Sadly, yards like this don’t exist much anymore. I know of a handful that in recent years have crushed everything, and many of the Michigan yards had gone away, so I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.

While in Detroit, I had some time and took a drive to see what I could find. Dejected by my early stops, I headed to the last one I could reach before it started getting dark, and it ended up being the mother lode of the month.

As soon as I saw vintage vehicles scattered near the main gate, I knew I was in the right spot. This was going to be good. After hearing what I do, a gentleman offered to show me around personally. He asked if the new Challenger I was driving was fast, and said that nothing was as quick as his old Fox Body Mustang. Oh boy, I thought!

The place had everything I could have hoped for in a junkyard. There were old motorcycles, snowmobiles, and all sorts of hot rods and muscle cars. There was a 1967 Mustang Fastback GT with its rear end sitting in the pond—a real 390-cubic-inch V-8 car. The Mustang was complete, but in bad shape. When I lifted the hood, the hood hinges stayed in place. They had completely rusted off of the hood, it was that bad.

I walked right past this car the first time because it is so buried. But a real 1967 Mustang GT Fastback—390 car that is sitting on the edge of a pond. And that’s only when I saw it, the water level gets any higher and it would be IN the pond.

I saw one of my favorite cars overall, a 1969 Mustang Mach 1. The car on its own is cool, but this blue Mach 1 was perched atop an old school bus! The engine was gone, as was most of the running gear, but it was a real Mach 1. After climbing on top of a conveniently parked tow truck, I could see the car more clearly, and it was bad. I thought having it on top of the bus would protect it and let it survive, but that was not the case. There was no glass in the vehicle, so everything had rotted—frame rails, body supports, you name it. I could see right through the frame.

Nearby was a neat oddity: a 1972 Dodge Travco motor home. An old motor home in a junkyard isn’t odd, but this was the original, Class A-style motor home, and Travco units were built an hour or so from where the yard was located. They aren’t common today, so finding one was interesting, to say the least.

There were numerous General Motors products in the yard, including quite a few GTOs and Chevelle SS models (which you’ll see elsewhere in this book). We next came across another 1969 Mustang Mach 1, this one in even worse shape than the first, and it didn’t have the luxury of being stored off the ground. It was badly rusted, but at least it still had parts of its interior and an engine, transmission, and rear axle assembly. It sat next to a 1970 Chevrolet Malibu that at some point been fitted with a factory 1970 Chevelle SS cowl induction hood!

The yard’s owner knew the history of every car. He told me about how he had driven this car to go racing, or that car for adventuring. Everyone had an interesting story, at least to me. Around a corner were not one, but two 1966 Ford Mustang Fastbacks. Finding one these days is hard enough, but here were two fairly complete examples parked next to each other, both with the side window slats still in place. These are some of my favorite Mustangs, and here were two of them! Sadly, they had suffered like all the others, heavily rusted from sitting outside too long. They could be saved, I have no doubt, but it would take more money than they were worth.

This is a 1969 Mach 1 Mustang, sitting on top of a bus. Not only is it sitting on top of a bus, but the door has been hanging open so long, a tree has grown up in the gap between. This was a bare-bones 351-cubic-inch V-8 2v car. But it was one of the first things you see walking in this yard.

This once-great 1967 Mustang Fastback has seen better days. The hood (unseen) had rotted completely off the hinges, but the aging beauty was complete

Just another 1969 Mach 1 Mustang lounging around in the yard in Michigan. This was another basic 351 cubic-inch V-8 car. This time not sitting on top of a bus, but that didn’t help. The windows had been open for who knows how long and the engine was long gone. Still cool to see in a salvage yard though.

A really neat 1970 Ford Torino GT and a 1969 Mercury Cougar were also on the property. Inside the shop were pallet racks full of engines, some the owner said were 428 Cobra Jet engines and Police Interceptors. Considering the owner’s vast knowledge of Fords, and his ability to remember intricate details on so many vehicles, I did not doubt him.

After touring the grounds, the owner and I talked about our adventures and the places we have been, as well as cars we have owned and beat on. After leaving, I made my way to a gas station to get cleaned up because I hadn’t been junkyarding like that in a very long time! Then again, there aren’t many yards like that around.

Something a little bit different, this time a 1970 Mustang Mach 1. Another one with the smaller engine. But this one had nothing as it sat, rusting in the yard. This one had been beat up pretty good and was rusty throughout.

The yard had a few other Mercury products in it, but this 1969 Cougar was just about the best one around. It actually didn’t look that bad from the outside, but when you look inside you could see that the car had almost nothing underneath, including no floor boards.

Now this is something you don’t see very often, two 1966 Mustang Fastbacks sitting next to each other in a junkyard. And both of them were really rough, but not beyond help. But the fact that the yard had two and placed them together just makes for a really interesting scene.

A bit further into the yard sits this 1971 Torino GT with rear window louvers. It’s rare to find a Torino GT at all, but one with window louvers is crazy. They might not have come from this car; you never know in a salvage yard.

OF COMETS AND CYCLONES

I WAS IN FOR ANOTHER SURPRISE not far from where I live after I saw a car junkie named Lance posting some cool finds on his Instagram account, and I inquired about them. He said they were his family’s collection and I was welcome to see it with his dad.

Eventually, Lance and I met up at the Fall Jefferson Car Show & Swap Meet in Jefferson, Wisconsin, and I arranged to see the dad’s collection. I had no idea he was less than an hour drive from where I lived in Wisconsin, but fall is a very busy time for me, so it took time to connect.

Lance, his father, and some friends were trying to consolidate some of his vehicles in a barn they had. It wasn’t one of those steel buildings, or a new-age barn. It was a true, old wooden barn in Wisconsin. When Lance and his dad bought the barn, they cut out every other support beam so they could fit more cars inside.

Who would need so much room, you ask? Well, a family of gearheads, that’s who. On Sundays after church, Lance’s father and his father would buy a Penny Saver at the local gas station, then go pick up a $50 car. They preferred cars from Ford and its divisions, but not exclusively, so for years they went around the state, picking up cars and dragging them home. (I grew up in the wrong era!) Eventually, their passion grew into the Wisconsin Dells Auto Museum.

Not something you see very often, not only is this a Mercury Cyclone Spoiler GT, but a convertible as well. While being stashed in a barn for a few decades didn’t do great things for it, it didn’t make the car any worse. This is one of a handful painted Indy Red, like the Comet GT Convertible Indy Pace Car of that year.

It took a double take when walking into the barn to see what this 1969 Cougar really was, an Eliminator model. As Cougars go, you can’t get more much more rare or desirable then a Cougar Eliminator. And while this car was a multitude of colors, it was actually pretty solid all the way around.

Relegated to the back corner of the barn, this poor 1964 Mustang convertible is in pretty rough shape, with rust throughout the body. Thankfully so much of Mustang sheet metal is reproduced, this car can come back from this without much issue. This one sported the rare 260-cubic-inch V-8, which was dropped quickly from the Mustang lineup, in favor of the 289.

The museum showcased a wide variety of cars that they owned, and they had plenty to rotate through the small location. They really loved factory pace cars, the cars that ran ahead of race cars at major races such as the Indianapolis 500. Unfortunately, a fire in one of the storage buildings damaged about 55 cars, some beyond help. In 2005, with the father’s business keeping him busy, they closed the museum for good.

This was epic, with not just one or two cars, but barns—barns!—full of cars. It blew me away. As I pulled up, I came upon a 1965 Ford Falcon Futura convertible, white with a red interior—-it was sure a looker. I said I was sad to see this neat car outside, and Lance said not to worry, there was a nice one in the other building!

The first barn was full of cars from wall to wall. I hadn’t seen anything like that in a long time. There was a Studebaker pace car that had been damaged in the fire and was nothing but a husk, although you could just make out the lettering on the doors. Behind that was a 1963 Chevrolet Impala SS convertible with its 409 W-head V-8 engine sitting in the dirt directly in front of the car! (You’ll see that elsewhere in the book.)

And then there was a car that is one of my personal favorites, a Mercury Comet. This wasn’t just any Mercury Comet, but a Comet Cyclone GT convertible, the same model used as the official pace car of the 1966 Indianapolis 500. This was one of the factory cars prepped like the one used at the track. This one wasn’t quite as nice as some of the others, but after being relegated to a barn, likely for decades, it was in good shape.

Just sitting outside a large storage barn is a 1965 Falcon Futura convertible. This was the sportier version of the Falcon. Unfortunately the years sitting outside have destroyed the top and rusted out much of the understructure. Thankfully it shares much with the Mustang so it is not beyond saving.

Just beyond a wall was something kind of odd, a very early 1964 Mustang convertible. What made it odd was it had a 260-cubic-inch V-8, which was available for only a short time before Ford started dropping the 289-cubic-inch V-8 into the Mustang. And it was a convertible, making it even rarer.

Directly across the barn from the Mustang was a really cool piece of history, a 1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator with the very desirable 302-cubic-inch V-8 that is more commonly associated with its Mustang brethren, the Boss 302 Mustang. While it looked rough, this was Lance’s car, and he has his entire life ahead of him to put the car together. Or drive it as is! You never know.

The building also held several GM and Ford big-body cars from the ’70s, a limo, a convertible, and a few more cool muscle cars, including a 1971 Ford Torino GT convertible. That was cool in its own right, but it also had the shaker hood option, which elevated the coolness factor. I cannot imagine cruising down the street with the top down and the shaker shaking as you drove. The car was rusty, but not beyond help, and with the cool combo of color and options, it should be saved.

Another, less complete, 1966 Comet Cyclone GT convertible. This one has not had as good a life as the one further forward in the barn. But even with it being in a bit rougher shape, it still is a very rare car with it being another one painted like the Indy Pace Car Cyclone of that year.

Standing out in the barn is hard in this group of cars, but a bright blue 1971 Torino GT convertible with a shaker hood sure does check all the boxes in my book. Definitely rotted pretty well though, it was rescued and safely stashed away in the barn, until the time it can be worked on.

There was also another Indy Pace Car, a 1966 Mercury Comet Cyclone GT convertible. This one was in a bit worse shape than the first, but not terrible, and it looked complete other than missing a few odds and ends. Nearby was another convertible, this one a 1965 Ford Galaxie 500, and there was another Mustang convertible, this one with the newer 289-cubic-inch V-8 under the hood.

More cars, most of them very nice, were packed in another storage building, including a 1968 Shelby GT500KR convertible and a 1970 Ford Torino Cobra with the shaker hood. This latter car was cool, with a black-out hood, shaker hood scoop, red paint, and a black interior. It was likely quite the looker when new, but now had rust everywhere; it could be saved, and probably will, but will require a lot of cash. Close by was another 1966 Mercury Comet Cyclone GT convertible, this one light blue and not a pace car. Even when buried among all these cars, it looked good!

To top off the day, the father took us to a garage of his that had a few beautifully restored cars. But buried in the corner—and I do mean buried—was another 1968 Shelby GT500KR convertible. He had blasted it apart to fix it, but life gets busy and the car got put on the back burner, especially since he had another one that runs. So this one sits, waiting to be put back together, with everything right there: engine, transmission, NOS (new old stock) trim, original wheels—everything!

With the sun setting, I headed home. It took me a while to digest everything I had seen in just a few short hours. It was so kind of them to take their time and let me ogle their collection. But I also believe they enjoyed seeing me get so excited about the cars, so everyone wins in the end!

In another barn was a few more Ford products, including this little worse for wear 1970 Torino Cobra with shaker hood. This one definitely needed a good amount of work to be nice. It had been sitting for a long time, and now finally is safely in a nice and dry garage.

Tucked all the way in the very back corner of the barn, this 1965 Ford Galaxie 500 convertible was basically stock. Still having the original hubcaps and everything. These were the cars that you wanted to cruise around in. And this one looked as though a good wash and some new tires and you could probably do just that.

R-CODE ’SCONNY STOCK

ON ONE OF THE WEB PAGES I FOLLOW, a guy named Matt posted photos of a cool car in his barn, a 1967 Mercury Comet. What really blew me away was it was a very rare Comet, so I commented on his post; we quickly learned that he lived less than an hour from my house, so away I went!

As I pulled onto his farmstead, I immediately saw the tail end of the Comet in the barn! I was surprised that the car had sat here for decades, and I had literally passed this area numerous times on my travels, and I somehow missed it every time.

It was an old barn, with river stones as the foundation, and large, hand-cut wooden beams and slats. It was a classic old red barn. The lower level had been used to house animals (and there were still a few chickens and cats running around), but you could also see the remains of decades of farm use.

And there, in the doorway, was a different sort of animal: an R-Code 1967 Mercury Comet. Most people didn’t know that there was a Mercury Comet in 1967, including me, before I saw this one. But they were produced right along with the Cougar. The 1967 options let you equip them in a variety of ways, from the bare- bones 202 model with a post and inline six, to the top of the top: the R-Code that included the 427-cubic-inch V-8 with two four-barrel carburetors. Not many people got the R-Code Comet when they could get a Mustang or Cougar, each of which was a much sportier option. Even the Comet lineup had a sporty option, the Cyclone. The car I was viewing wasn’t any of those. It was rarer then all of them.

This car had been special ordered by Dick Garbo of Garbo Motors in Racine, Wisconsin, for use in racing. But it had a weird set of options. It had the big 427 with the two four-barrels, and a four-speed to go through the gears. But most R-Code Comets were built as stripped-down 202 models—the lighter, the better. This one went the opposite direction. It was optioned with the Caliente body, which got the courtesy light group, a rear-seat speaker, tinted glass, disc brakes, a black vinyl top and black interior, and onyx black paint.

With the restoration of the 1967 Fairlane not needing a bunch, but still needing some parts, this parts car was acquired to fulfill the need when it arises. Still not much was needed, so while it is in rough shape, it probably isn’t beyond help for someone.

I did not know that such a vehicle existed until my friend showed me this one. I thought that the Comet brand ended around 1965. But since it was basically an upscale version of the Ford Falcon, it continued right along with it. This 427 Comet came with the dual scoop hood normally seen on the Cyclone model.

This poor old 1963 Ford Galaxie was not as lucky, sitting in the dirt in the side yard in Wisconsin. This poor car probably will live again, but it would need a bit of work.

The rear end of this 1967 Comet has been open to the elements for years, with no barn door existing anymore to keep the weather out. But even with it sitting like it is, the car is extremely solid, and just has great patina now. The chickens don’t help though.

Dick raced the car like that for some time, then sold it. It eventually made its way into the hands of Matt’s father-in-law, a die-hard Ford/Mercury guy. He raced it for a few years, and then the car was put away, with the engine and transmission pulled for proper storage. The license plate on the car had a 1981 tab.

They submitted the car’s information to Marti Auto Works for a Marti Report on the car. Marti Auto Works has access to Ford’s info database and can tell you the makeup and rarity of your car. The report on this car said this was one of only two R-Code Comets built in this configuration.

This wasn’t the only rare car the father-in-law owned. He came over while we were inspecting the Comet and invited us to see what he had at his farm nearby. I didn’t know what to expect, and when we arrived, I saw the farm was littered with Ford and Mercury products of all shapes and sizes. Our first stop was his main workshop, which was filled with all sorts of high-performance goodness, such as several 427 engines, spare parts and pieces, even the valve cover to a rare SOHC (single overhead cam) Ford 427 engine hanging on the wall. If you were a Ford guy, this shop was your happy place.

Out back on the property in Wisconsin, this 1963 Ford Fairlane 500 sits in pretty good shape for sitting. This one coming with the fairly desirable 260 cubic-inch V-8. It looks rough with all the assortment of parts and junk on it, but it really wasn’t too bad for sitting.

One of the coolest cars out on the property in Wisconsin was this Ford Galaxie, that was used as a drag car. The original painted on lettering is still visible on the car. Sadly, the car is nothing but a shell, but the patina of the car is unmatched. You can’t buy that look, no matter how hard you try.

One of my personal favorites was this 1969 Ford Fairlane. It had a 1970’s paint job on it with branding and such. But wasn’t very “race car-ish.” It was definitely someone’s hot rod at some point. Might have even been a Cobra Fairlane, but the Cobra painted on the passenger side of the trunk lid. Right next to the saying, “Going through the motions.”

Not to be outdone, the father-in-law, who lives nearby, has a collection of cool Ford and Mercury products hanging around. This is another rare one, a 1967 Ford Fairlane R-Code car. So it has the same 427 cubic-inch V-8 with dual four barrel carburetors. The production number shows that this car and the Comet were not far off from each other on the production line back in 1967.

There was a really neat 1967 Ford Fairlane R-Code with the same engine combination as the Comet we saw earlier. The production numbers on both cars were pretty close, meaning they were probably built on the same line at roughly the same time. This Fairlane was in the midst of a restoration even though it only had 277 miles on the odometer.

The shop held a few other cool vehicles such as a nice ’60s Ford Galaxie, a low-mile 1993 Mustang Cobra, and a sharp 1966 Mercury Marauder. Outside were the vehicles with more patina, and they were more in my wheelhouse, such as the variety of Ford Galaxies and Fairlanes. Some were old race cars, parts cars, or future projects. These vehicles might not be as desirable as other cars, but finding parts is hard, so you get every parts car you can, just to make one or two good ones.

The yard also held more project and parts cars, including a 1967 Mercury Comet 202 that had endured a hard life and was rotted in half. But it had everything the R-Code car might need, so it was still of value. The coolest car was the old circle-track Ford Torino that was still in its “as raced” condition. It had been parted out over the years, but the original signage was still there, including hand-painted lettering and vintage stickers. Most cars like this had been sent to the crusher, but this one was “saved” and would end its days in a Ford guy’s front yard.

I had an absolute blast hanging out with Matt and his family, seeing not only the Comet, but his father-in-law’s collection as well. It blew my mind that all this was here, but you would never have known if you didn’t know the family. And I’m lucky enough now to consider them my friends.

In my many travels, I cannot remember seeing a 1964 Mercury Marauder. The “hot rod” of the larger Mercury lineup. These things usually had the biggest engine and heavy-duty suspension and transmission. The one is missing a few parts for another Marauder sadly.

Just about the complete opposite of the 427 Comet in the barn, this is a parts car for that one. This is a 1967 Comet 202, the base model. It still looks good, but if you look closer, you can see that the nose of the vehicle is at a different angle than the main body of the car sadly.

Another 1964 Marurader stashed away at the farm in Wisconsin. This one in worse shape than the previous one, but still a hard to find vehicle. The owner collected them through the years, knowing how hard parts were to attain, for when the time came to restore the few that he has.

Another high-performance offering at the farm in Wisconsin, this time a 1962 Ford Galaxie 500 with the big 390 cubic-inch V-8 under the hood, or at least it did. This one looked too high in the nose still have that large powerplant under the hood. But even for sitting, the car looked to be extremely clean.

An outlier in the group was this 1964 Galaxie 500XL, as there were no other vehicles like this around. But since the owner saw a derelict Ford product, he couldn’t let that be, so he dragged it home and left it in the field for a time when he might use it or part with it sadly.

This poor Ford Torino Fastback had a hard life of racing. Heavily modified for probably circle-track work. There isn’t much left to the old car now after so many years. The original painted-on advertising and decals are neat to see, since most cars of the period are either restored or destroyed!