Try to imagine something decidedly annoying that doesn't get much of your attention. That would be a good way to sum up automatic transmission shifters in classic Mustangs. We use them whenever we drive our Mustangs, and they get really sloppy through time and use. They get so sloppy that it's sometimes hard to know what gear they're in.

Little did Donald know when he wrote this edtiorial that it would be stirring up the Mustang world the way it has. To alleviate any questions people may have about the editorial, we now post it as it appears in the June 2006 issue of Mustang Monthly.

By now, everyone knows of the havoc caused by Hurricane Katrina. Never before in our country's history has such an enormous number of Americans suffered so greatly from a single-or even series of-natural disasters. There's nothing we can say about the devastation and tragedy that hasn't been said a million times already. To help the victims as best we can, Year One has started the Hot Rodders' Relief Fund to collect donations for the Red Cross relief efforts. Every penny collected will go to the Red Cross.

Jim Klok was quick with his one request: "Please don't use 'The Boss is Back' because we've been building Boss Shinoda Mustangs for the past 10 years."

Editor's note: The author is the only child of Phil Clark, the man who sketched the Mustang's original running-horse emblem. She, like the Mustang, celebrated her 40th birthday in 2004. Holly can be reached at kidofponymaker@aol.com.

"Mustang prices are cheap!" Boston Bob, on the other end of the phone, paused as he gauged our surprise. Cobra Jets, Bosses, and especially Shelbys have been escalating, some in an almost vertical fashion, over the last year and a half. How can they be termed cheap?

What's The Bore?In the Nov. '04 issue, the In Search of Mustangs column indicates that a 289 engine bored .040 should be considered a "throwaway" when rebuilding. What is the maximum bore you recommend?Birl AdamsWhitefish, MT

For nearly four decades, the name Bud Moore was synonymous with Ford racing, as he built and campaigned cars for some of the best NASCAR drivers in the history of the sport. By the time he sold Bud Moore Engineering in 1999, Bud Moore cars had won 63 NASCAR and Winston Cup races (seventh all-time) and 43 poles (ninth all-time).

There are many ways to enjoy a vintage Mustang these days. Some owners prefer to take the restomod route and maintain the vintage appearance while improving comfort and performance with modern components. Others are fanatical about originality; they go to great lengths to obtain new-old-stock parts in the quest for Mustang Club of America recognition. The more adventurous among us drive our older Mustangs every day, while the majority tend to save their prides and joys for weekend cruises and shows.

In the overall scheme of things, the Shelby Mustang should be but a mere footnote in the annals of Mustang history. Looking at the numbers, Shelby Mustangs represented barely over one half of one percent of the total Mustang production from 1965 to 1970. Yet, with racing success, high-performance engines, handling suspensions, and highly visible racing stripes and scoops, the Shelby Mustangs arguably generated more press than all other '65-'70 Mustangs combined. While the Shelby Mustangs were by no stretch of the imagination a sales success, their very aura contributed heavily to the Mustang's overall 2,568,633 sales during the last five years of the '60s.

For as long as there have been Mustangs, there has been Ford's Dearborn, Michigan, assembly plant. The Dearborn Assembly Plant-or D.A.P., as it is affectionately known at Ford-has been building Mustangs ever since production began in early 1964. Few nameplates survive 40 years, much less continue production in the same plant for just as long.

* 40 Years of Mustang Milestones* 2005 Mustang* 10 Rarest Saleens* Iacocca Speaks Out* 40 Years of Performance* Mustang No. 1 Rides Again* Supercharged Shelby GT350S* Mach1 Racer

In our February issue, we put out the call to Mustang Monthly readers to send us photographs of the Mustangs they owned back in the '60s and early '70s. We were overwhelmed with vintage pictures and digital copies, many with their then-much-younger owners alongside with beehive hairdos, leisure suits, and bellbottoms. We dressed differently back then, and we obviously treated our Mustangs much differently as well. Today, we baby them. In the '60s and '70s, we drove them, mainly as our everyday transportation, and modified them with side pipes, mag wheels, and everything else available at the local speed shop. Few of us ever gave a thought to preserving our Mustangs for the future. They were merely transportation, albeit much cooler than the average Galaxie station wagon.

When the Mustangs Northwest annual Mustang Round-Up takes place every July in the Seattle area, we're treated to a good mix of cool vintage and late-model Mustangs that have been restored, preserved, and enjoyed by our fellow Canadian enthusiasts. Doug Hansen is no exception; he brought his quite original '72 convertible to the 2003 festivities from his home base in Delta, British Columbia.

The explosion took place from 1964 to 1971, right in the Mustang's prime time. Although 427 Galaxies and Hemi Chryslers had previously roamed the streets, it was Pontiac that took the initiative to drop a performance big-block into an intermediate-sized car. The resulting GTO, with a 389, four-speed, and available Tri-power, launched a youthful revolution for fast cars. The Mustang, with sporty lines and seats for at least four, and often five, provided an ideal platform for performance cruising on the Woodward Avenues of America. For eight years, the Mustang ran fender to fender with the best of the American musclecars. Starting with the 289 High Performance option in 1964, the Mustang quickly evolved into Shelbys, Cobra Jets, Bosses, and Mach 1s. Bench-racing lore, no doubt fueled by hot rodders at the dragstrips popping up in nearly every town, created legends about 12-second--even 11-second--Mustangs straight from the dealership.

For Bob Tasca, enough was enough. As the owner of performance-oriented Tasca Ford in Providence, Rhode Island, Bob was tired of trying to sell 390 Mustangs and Fairlanes as "performance" cars when down the street the competition's showrooms were loaded with SS396 Chevelles and Camaros, Hemi Mopars, and Ram Air GTOs. Even staid old Buick offered a Gran Sport with a 400ci engine rated at 340 hp.

Most of us have a passionate desire to tour the Mustang assembly plant at Dearborn, Michigan. But wanting it and getting it are two different things these days. Call Ford today for a tour, and the best you'll get is the occasional Wayne assembly-plant tour where it builds the world-beater Focus four-door sedan and wagon. Because Wayne is a state-of-the-art assembly plant, Ford is happy to show it off to tour-seekers and potential stockholders. Wayne combines the stamping and assembly processes into one facility for great efficiency and quality control.

Seasoned Mustangers have heard this tale dozens of times in the last 38 years, but we can't resist telling it again before the Mustang's 40th Anniversary in 2004. Have you heard the story about 5F08F100001, Captain Stanley Tucker, and the One Millionth Mustang? It's hard to believe that even in 1964, a major automaker could have let something like this happen, but it did. There's a lot we don't know about 5F08F100001, but here's what we do know:

December 2002 Volume 25, Number 12

SHELBY
An overview of the legendary cars that Carroll built.

Hot Holiday Gift Guide
What do you get the enthusiast who has everything?

Pony Trails 2002

Looking Back
Growth is a good thing, right?

Fever
Bill Neely’s ’70 Mach 1.

Still in Good Hands
Jim Chism’s ’65 GT350.

High Country Original
John Howard ’66 High Country Special hardtop.

Clearwater Cool
Roy and Peggy Newman’s ’67 GTA hardtop.

The One That Started It All
Bob Richards’ ’82 GT hatchback.

How-To: Replace a ‘65-’66 Taillight Panel
A weekend project you can do yourself.

Tool Time
What you need to keep your Mustang galloping.

Pony Trails 2003

Head East
For the 25th Anniversary Trail, we will head to Daytona and a little rolling history.

T5 Tips, Tricks, and Troublespots
Five-speed expert Alan Shepley shows how to avoid the pitfalls of T5 swaps and rebuilds.

The stir the Shelby Mustangs have made in the hobby over the years has been huge. Of all Mustangs, these heady beasts have the greatest impact on the marketplace and the show field—even greater than the Boss cars we peeked at last month.

What drives this desire by most—if not all—Mustang enthusiasts to lust after these sometimes hairy-chested beasts that Carroll cranked out of his Los Angeles and finally the Ionia, Michigan, plants? The answer is as varied as it would be for any Mustang, but surely it just boils down to a couple of things: first, is value. The Shelby GT350 and GT500 hold their value well. Even when the old-car market goes soft, the Shelby does well. The second reason is jazz. The Shelby has that “certain something” that stops people in their tracks at a show and makes them want to take a closer look. This is especially true where the average joe is concerned in regard to the ’67-and-up GT350 and GT500. To the typical car guy, these Shelbys are markedly different from the Mustang herd.

So we are going to delve into the things that make a Shelby “Shelby,” and we’ll even give some values and tips on where to go if you are interested in these cars.

If you've read the Mustang Production Guide, Volume 1, you know about the three '6411/42 Mustang convertibles specially prepared by Holman & Moody to pace the Greatest Spectacle In Racing-the Indianapolis 500. To refresh your memory, Ford produced three consecutively numbered Wimbledon White (not Pace Car White) Mustang convertibles for this purpose-5F08F100240, 5F08F100241, and 5F08F100242. Only one of them is known to have survived, 5F08F100241, belonging to Bruce Weiss of Florida. It is a beautifully restored showpiece with all of the original appointments, including the two-way radio and chrome hand holds. Bruce showed this car quite a bit during the '90s. It hasn't been seen much since.

The Boss cars have always held a place of awe and respect. We have grown to love that solid lifter sound from the Boss 351 and the Boss 302, as well as the mighty power that the Boss 429 can deliver under the right massaging. If there is one car that can turn heads while idling down the show field, it is the Boss-any Boss.

Five years have netted us some wild times and some neat shows. But we’ve never had such a showing as we did in the fifth year of Pony Trails. It’s still hard for us to believe that so many gave up their time and finances via missed work, gas, and food to spend a sometimes-eventful day with the likes of us.

What we’ve discovered is that folks in Washington state, Indiana, and Michigan like to drive their Mustangs (seemingly) more than those folks on the Eastern seaboard. All the people on our trails in the North Central and Western reaches just seem to be willing to go that extra mile to make a trail special—that, or they just don’t get out much. In any case, the top two trails are here to be talked about. Can anyone beat Mustangs Northwest, the Kings of Cruise based in Seattle? Well, there’s always next (err) this year.

November 2002 Volume 25, Number 11

BOSS!
The car that Shinoda built and Ford pushed is still a performance icon.

How Engines Work
Basic information for beginning enthusiasts and people who just plain want to learn about cars.

Carlisle Mustang Update
The Carlisle Mustang gets closer to completion.

Silver Mine
Jerry Goodman’s ’66 convertible.

Requiem for a Throughbred
Tom Mynes’ ’68 GT fastback.

From Sea To Shining Sea
Fran Cosentino’s ’69 Mustang convertible.

Mach and Roll
Available on ’02-’03 Mustangs, the optional Mach 1000 stereo system takes original-equipment high-fidelity car audio to unprecedented heights in sound quality and output.

Green Meany
Marv Heath’s ’69 GT500 Shelby SportsRoof.

Snake Bite
Bob Shumaker’s ’94 Cobra.

How To: Diagnose Cowl Leaks
Sometimes a leak may not be what you think.

How To: Install a
Turn-Signal Switch in a ’65-’66 Mustang
Though not the most glamorous thing to think about, properly functioning turn signals are important on any car—vintage Mustangs included.

How To: Replace Fox-Body Door Lock Actuators
Eliminate the negative by replacing your door lock actuators to regain a sense of vehicle security.

Pony Trails 2002

Surprise Trail!
Viva Las Vegas!
No, there won’t be an Elvis impersonator there, but you will get a southerner and some good ole-fashioned fun.

How To: Install an Auto Meter Gauge Cluster
Auto Meter’s new Lunar Series gauge cluster is virtually a plug-in and play affair for ’99 and newer Mustang GTs.