29th Fabulous Fords Forever

April 29, 2014 was the day, the biggest single manufacturer Auto Show in SoCal.  The Fabulous Fords Forever show and it didn't disappoint.  Over 1000 Mustangs crowded the main viewing area off La Palma in Buena Park.  Nearly that many other Ford, Mercury, Edsel, Lincoln and Thunderbird on the viewing area off of Stanton.  Thats a lot of cars in various states of found to restored to customized to soak in on one visit.

A few of my favorites, for reasons you may or may not ever guess.

The AC Cobra, what a car this was.  Meant to offset the roadsters the Brits were dumping on us in the 60's.  With its light weight and massive Ford 427 Cobra under the hood, it embarrased them and its other contemporary the Corvette.  Still a popular car at shows and among collectors.  This pristine example according to the owner had nearly70K pumped into the restoration.

This "Mercury" custom is anything but a Mercury as its cobbled from a variety old cars, 48-50 Mercury, 49-51 Ford, with bits from Town Car, Mercury Marauder, Mustang, Thunderbird, and Cougar all built on top of the chassis of a Lincoln Mark VIII.  At least they kept it all in the Ford Family.  Oddly it sorta works on a few different levels.

1974 Mustang II.  Every car has a story and this one is no exception.  This un restored, unmolested original with a 2.8l V6 stole my heart.  The current owner fell in love with it when he was 16 but lacked the funds to buy it in total.  His Dad stepped in and fronted the balance and bought it new off a lot in Hawaii.  He worked off the balance and Title reverted to him a few years later.  It served as a daily driver for him until 1999.  He drove the car up from San Diego for the show.  Not perfect, certainly a terrrific example of the car that kept the Mustang alive during the gas crisis of the disco era.

The Ford Consul Corsair.  This gem was imported from the UK back in the 60's.  It is a very rare 2 door, that if you believe the wiki was pretty much reserved for the export market, which would explain its steering wheel on the right side of the car.  This gem was driven by the owner all the way from Louisiana just for the show.

1970 Thunderbird Landau.  What a massive beast this is.  I love it.  From the jet fighter inspired front end protrusion to the nouveay riche interior it has it all.   Nearly bought one, used of course, when I was shopping around for my first car all thoes years ago.  (I turned down the one I drove as it had a funny knock at idle). What a car that would have been, but totally inappropriate for a struggling college student.

What a Pinto??? Yes, and this 1977 reminded me of my own '77 that actually got me through college. Cheap to keep, frugal on gas and ran forever.  127K on the clock when I traded it in '85 and it was running strong.

All pics by me, tons more images in my flickr album "29th Fabulous Fords Forever:"

Dashcam : Bad drivers in So Cal

I've thought about adding the Dashcam to the rear window.  All my wrecks except one have been rearenders, but then again how much evidence is needed when rearended while at a stop sign/light?

This guy sums up the general lack of courtesy by a few drivers.  His running commentary has been edited down but at times the work is NSFW...listen with earbuds and you won't offend those around you.

What's your favorite pet peeve on the roadways?

Mustangs Across America - Los Angeles is the starting point

April 9th the folks over at Saleen Supercars hosted a pre-drive rally for the participants of the Mustangs Across America.  Mustangs Across America is a drive from Los Angeles to Charlotte NC that will take place over the course of April 10-16.

There are 550 registered participants from around the globe.  Quite an accomplishment for a car never officially sold outside the United States.  Among the countries represented were Canada, Australia, UK, France, Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.  One Mustang in the drive across the US is an original Mustang from the UK!

 A few from the Australian Mustang Club

 The tour route and stops on a participants back

 A car from the U.K.

 One of 6 cars from the Slovakia Mustang Club cars

Tour route on the rear quarter of a new 'stang

Of course its appropriate that the kick off for the Rally took place here in So Cal...I mean if stats are correct there are more Mustangs from 1964 to today registered here than anywhere else in the country. Doing it at the Saleen factory in Corona makes sense as that manufacturer does more with the raw Mustang than any tuner could ever hope to achieve.

And while we are on the topic of the Saleen Mustang, they even had tours of their factory that night.  From start to finish there are 8 critical steps in transforming a Mustang into a Saleen Mustang.  first step it taking the raw car, stripping it of suspension and rearend and then putting on the bits and pieces ordered to transform the car.  The last and final step is where they take the car on a test drive to ensure it will perform as a Saleen should.  When it all checks out, Steve Saleen himself signs the car!

Ceiling flags announcing the steps at each station

 Overview of the factory at work

 Car in station 2 

Saleen Mustang in the final station waiting for its signature

I knew that Saleen is a full manufacturer.  I didn't know that they had to crash test and CARB certify their cars.  Even more intriguing is that that have records on every Saleen Mustang ever made and can certify for an owner if the car in the used market is legit or a clone by simply contacting them.

After this evening was over I really wished we still had my wife's old Mustang LX from when we were first married.  I'd love to join all these great old 'stangs in the Mustangs Across America rally.

All pics by me and they get bigger with a click.  If you want to see truly huge images check on the flickr set where I have well over 100 from the night.  FLICKR Mustangs Across America

Wish the Mustang Happy Birthday and help set a world recod

Ford is out to set a Guiness World Record for the number of signatures on an eCard.  The eCard is for the Mustangs 50th birthday which takes place on 4/16/2014.  To sign and help them set the record, click HERE.