Uncut Fox Mustang Quarter Panel is One of a Kind
We don’t know exactly how it made it out of the factory, but we’re glad it did – this is an incredible piece of history.
If you love Mustangs – and if you’re reading this, you probably do – there’s a good chance that you love collecting Mustang-related automobilia. Thanks in no small part to the model’s immense popularity, there’s no shortage of cool collectibles to, well, collect.
However, this item we spotted on Facebook caught our eye as the coolest Mustang collectible ever. Interestingly enough, it’s not even a collectible per se. In fact, it shouldn’t even exist in the first place.
A Facebook user going by the name Jeff Hershyz recently posted a photo of an Fox Mustang quarter panel on the Facebook group Foxbody Outpost. However, there’s something unique that separates this quarter panel from any other NOS (new old stock) panel you’re likely to find in the wild.
A Mysterious Part
As you probably know, car bodies are made from sheet steel that is stamped into individual panels. Those panels are trimmed, finished, and ultimately welded or bolted together to create what we’d recognize as a car.
However, this particular Fox Body panel – a passenger side rear quarter panel from a coupe – remains in its original raw stamped form. Somehow, it snuck out of the factory without being trimmed or finished.
We aren’t sure how someone managed to sneak something this big out without being noticed. It doesn’t exactly fit is a lunch pail.
Some former auto workers gave more context in the comments. Apparently, panels were struck three times – with three different dies – as part of the stamping process. This panel was only struck once. It’s possible that an imperfection we can’t see from the photo destined this one to the scrap pile. From there, it’s possible that it was later “liberated” by an employee or scrapper.
We don’t know the whole story of how this part survived. However, what we can tell you is that the previous owner of the part got it for free at the Canfield Swap Meet in Canfield, Ohio many years ago. Intending to use it on his race car, the owner recognized the part’s historical value and instead held onto it until selling it this year.
The owner plans to keep it in his personal collection. In fact, his daughter already claimed dibs on it! We’re happy to hear that this unique piece of history will continue to be preserved for years to come.
Photos: Jeff Hershyz via Facebook; Ford
Join the Mustang Source Forums now!
