30 Nov Collection in action: Ford Mustero
Take a special wild horse then add some snake venom and you create a unique load carrier with a Shelby link. Mike Monk rides a pony cart that somehow did not tame the Wild West…
Ford’s Mustang is currently on another wave of popularity and its history plays a key role in American muscle car history. The Mustang first appeared in April 1964 and some real thoroughbreds have been born along the way – yes, a couple of mules, too – but the breed is without doubt one of the finest. And amongst the herd there is a rare pony that provides a ride on the wild (west) side…
A Mustang pick-up? Yes, and not a one-off back yard cut-and-weld job, but what is seemingly an officially approved, limited edition customised version that made Ford’s traditional pick-up, the Ranchero, look decidedly agricultural by comparison. The pony car pick-up (pony cart?) was named Mustero – MUSTang RanchERO – and the work was carried out by US West Coast custom shop Beverly Hills Mustang, situated on 9280 Alden Drive, Beverly Hills, California. But just how many were made is a matter of debate, the popular belief being that Ford commissioned the custom shop to an initial build of 50 Musteros, all of which were to be based on a base-spec 1966 model year Mustang fastback supplied from Ford’s San Jose plant (the closest to Beverly Hills) and fitted with either a 200ci (3 277 cm3) Thriftpower in-line six or 289ci (4 736 cm3) Windsor V8.
However, in 2003 a former employee of Beverly Hills Mustang, Edward Sherwood, went on record as saying, “We customised these Mustang pick-ups out of completely restored 1965/66 Mustangs. I believe there were three or four of them during my time, and all had 289ci engines. I did not know there were 50 but I left soon after we had done the work on the first batch”. Truth of the matter is that in recent times a lot of adverts have appeared offering examples for sale, so there was definitely more than a handful built. Unfortunately, Sherwood did not state which years he was employed at the company, but it seems unlikely that such a radical conversion would be carried out on “completely restored 1965/66 Mustangs”.
On balance, the 50-off commission appears to be the way it was, and this particular Mustero’s VIN number is 6R07C1197991 – 6 denoting the year of production 1966, R denoting it was built in Ford’s plant in San Jose, 07 denoting a hardtop coupé body style, C denoting a 289ci 200hp (149 kW) engine, and the rest is its production build number. But a lot has changed since then…
The Mustero was not a success, the conversion from coupé to bakkie reportedly costing $6500, more than the price of a brand new Mustang Shelby 350GT at the time. The story goes that of the 50 that were built, 35 were shipped to Europe for sale, and two are known to have reached Australia. But the early history of FMM’s car is not known until it was acquired by Michael Bull of Hampshire, England in 2007, who proceeded to do a complete nut-and-bolt restoration. As part of the process, the engine was upgraded to Shelby GT350 specification and subsequently the powertrain was further modified to include a 331ci ‘Stroker’ motor (a stretched version of Ford’s small-block 302ci – 4 948 cm3 – engine) coupled with a Tremec T5 gearbox, hydraulic clutch, and iconic Hurst shifter. Supplied by Trans Am Racing in California, on the Shelby works dyno, the 5 424 cm3 V8 registered 345 kW.
Resplendent in a metallic olive green – similar in hue to the Highland Green paintwork on Steve McQueen’s 1968 Mustang GT used in the movie Bullitt – in 2012 it was entered and featured well at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England. At the 2014 festival it won its category (Class 6) in the prestigious Cartier ‘Style et Lux’ category entered by its new owner, Bill Shepard. The Franschhoek Motor Museum then purchased the concours-winning Mustero and had it converted to right-hand drive to allow it to be imported into SA, where it is now regularly on display.
To the purist, the thought of an early Mustang pick-up might jar the senses, but somehow the transformation manages to retain the classic pony car long bonnet/truncated tail proportions. Along with the charismatic G.T.350 striping, Shelby and Cobra insignia can be found all over the place – even the tyres are 215/60 R15 Cooper Cobras. As for the load bed, perhaps it could best be used to hold a heavy load to put weight over the leaf spring-suspended back end to help prevent axle tramp when summoning-up those wild horses under the bonnet. But after twisting the key and becoming engulfed in that rough and ready V8 rumble that only ‘bent-eights’ (1950s terminology for hopped-up V8s) can engender – especially when fanfared through twin exhausts, each exiting just aft of the door – the senses are stirred with rousing vibrations felt through the wood-rim wheel, seat and drilled aluminum pedals. The air of expectation escalates, the grin factor multiplies…
And the Mustero does not disappoint. Once inside the light and airy cabin, with its classy instrumentation and supportive bucket seats, twist the key and there is a degree of menace about the way it takes off and sounds, challenging the driver to give it full rein. The chromed shifter works with mechanical precision, the clutch is weighty in a complimentary way, and the bonnet scoop rises as the Cobra-badged rev counter indicates the rising level of oomph being summoned from beneath before each long ratio runs out of breath.
The steering is precise, albeit a bit sticky around the straight ahead. No need to challenge physics in the twisty bits: slow in, quick out, but put pedal to the metal only when this blitz bakkie is pointing straight otherwise wheelspin, axle tramp, rubber smoke and armfuls of opposite lock are the likely outcome. Pushed to – and beyond, if you are brave – the limit, the Mustero is a rogue. Playful, but not averse to kicking you in the pants when not treated with respect!
In the words of Wilson Pickett’s 1966 R&B hit song, “Mustang Sally, think you better slow your Mustang down”…
Visitor note: The Mustero is currently on display in Hall D.
