Success that surprised Ford

Who doesn’t love it when things go better than you planned?  Even better than you imagined in your wildest dreams?

Lee Iacocca started his working career as an engineer at Ford in 1946, but he soon asked to be moved into sales and marketing.  This proved to be a good move and he famously launched the 56 for 56 campaign – buy a Ford in 1956 for just $56 per month!

He quickly rose through the ranks and from 1962-64 headed the group to design the new Ford Mustang.

A ‘small’ (remember we’re talking American cars here) car with five original design goals:

• Seat four people
• Bucket seats and floor mounted gear shifter
• Weigh less than 2,500lb (1,100 kg)
• Cost less than $2,500
• Less than 180″ (5m) long

Speaking of exceeding expectations, here’s what one of the designers Gene Halderman said:

“No one knew the Mustang was going to be as popular as it was, but it created a huge stir in the company. Everybody just loved it.  There was so much enthusiasm right from the beginning. Even the drivers at the test track loved it. We would go there for meetings, and the crowds of people around it were huge. That was totally unusual, so we suspected the Mustang was going to be a hit.”

Although you could get a Mustang with an inline 6 engine, the obvious choice was a V8.  They ranged in size and power from 4.7l to 7l and 195 to 335HP.

By 1969 the car had the distinctive four headlamp design and was increasingly popular.  The Mach 1 design sold 72.5k cars in 1969 with the luxury ‘grande’ selling 22k cars.

Then came the rare homologation specials, the Boss 302 for Trans-Am rules and Boss 429 for Nascar.

Now take a look at this Mustang that came to us in late 2023.

Scroll down to get to the photos for each stage – click to enlarge and then run through.

You can follow the progress through bodywork, new panels through to paint and mechanical.

If you look at the photos in January 2026 you see the painted shell.  We have then been finishing off electrical, mechanical and suspension.

It’s great to see a car coming back to life at 57 years old!

Thanks,
Neil @ Carrosserie
Tel: 01833 630 011

PS. Please contact us to chat about your classic.