1967 Ford Mustang Looks Ratty, but Sounds Like a NASCAR Racer
The young man that built this 1967 Ford Mustang wanted something cool, simple, and mechanical, and he certainly hit all those marks.
While things like rat rods and patina’d pickups have been popular for some time now, recently, we’ve begun seeing more and more older Mustangs that have been fixed up in pretty much every area but their bodywork – one even riddled with rust. The reasoning behind this madness is pretty simple, however, as it’s obviously not only incredibly expensive to do extensive body and paintwork, but also, then you have to worry about things like parking lot dings and inattentive folks. Thus, cars like this 1967 Ford Mustang are becoming more and more appealing to concours-quality builds.
This 1967 Ford Mustang – featured in a recent video from AutotopiaLA – belongs to a fellow named Ethan, who just so happens to be an engine builder by trade. Ethan started with a fastback that originally came equipped with the 225 horsepower 289 V8 and C4 automatic gearbox, a car that had been sitting outside for around 15 years as a half-completed project. The original paint is amazingly still intact – save for the front fenders – because they had mismatched flames there that Ethan didn’t like.
Underhood, Ethan kept the 289, but did quite a bit of work to it, adding shot peened and polished rods and ARP hardware, but he left the crank alone because he believes this particular engine is the “best high RPM small block” out there, thanks to its ultra-short stroke. Regardless, this is no ordinary 289, as it cranks out 455 horsepower on the dyno thanks to a bevy of upgrades including a hydraulic roller cam. It’s mated to a four-speed manual gearbox with a McLeod clutch, along with 4.11 gears out back.
Of course, this 1967 Ford Mustang was incredibly rusty when Ethan brought it home – he could “Flintstone” it with his feet through the floorboard – so he at least had to address that. A lot of patchwork had to be done in addition to installing a new floor, and as Ethan points out, he and his friends basically helped save the old pony car from “returning to the earth.”
That was certainly a noble effort, and this 1967 Ford Mustang would be cool enough as it stands there, but perhaps the most special thing about it is the way it sounds. Ethan added a set of JBA headers to the 289, feeding into a three-inch collector and 2.5-inch pipes and an X-pipe. There are removable caps in front of the mufflers, however, which leads out to side pipes and creates a literal NASCAR-like sound. Simple, mechanical, and downright badass, it’s easy to love this first-generation Mustang – and be impressed by the 23-year-old that built it.
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