Mustang III “Shorty” Is The Oldest Road Registered Pony Car Of Its Kind
Starting life as a convertible, this 1963 (yes, 1963) Mustang III Shorty pilot car was made into the shorty fastback you see here.
One of the more unusual tidbits of Mustang History comes from early prototype cars, such as this Mustang III “Shorty” fastback. It’s the earliest known road registered Mustang. Hey, what about the Mustang II Concept? While that was built before the Shorty, it was never intended for road use. So this pilot car gets the nod of a very significant distinction.
Via Ford Performance, we learn that this car car No.9 of 15 initial cars meant for production efficiency. It was followed by 200 additional pre-production Mustangs. Official production began March 9th, 1964.
Those cars made in 1963 were mostly used internally, and rarely saw private owners. Crash testing, and R&D were the main uses, and so most of them ended up being scrapped. But Mustang III Shorty saw a totally different fate.
Ford had hired a non-Ford employee, Vince Gardner, with changing N0.9 to a fastback design. Working on behalf of Dearborn Steel Tubing, Gardner didn’t just craft on a swoopy rear roof line, however. The chassis was stripped down to the floor pan, and shortened the wheelbase a full 18 inches. Shorty earned its nickname through a 90 inch wheelbase and being nearly two feet shorter than the original convertible.
How did it drive? Well long time owner of the car Bill Snyder said it drove very similar to his GT350H. Maybe it just felt faster too, because of the short wheelbase and increased agility. It should be faster, too. Out went the 289 originally in the car and in went Ford’s 302.
Gardner interestingly had tried to save this car from Ford. He rented space in a shop to store it, removed it from Dearborn Steel Tubing some time in 1965, at which time it was reported stolen. Skipping rent meant Gardner’s own creation was off limits to him, and eventually Dearborn Steel Tubing let their unique Mustang go to the insurance agency who covered the stolen Mustang’s loss.
Aetna Life & Casualty was the insurer at the time, and an executive of the company saw fit that the Mustang should be his. Afterward, it was sold through Hemmings to Snyder. He owned it till 2015 when it was sold after an exhaustive restoration.
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Photos courtesy of Ford Performance
