MustangWagons
Exploring the lost world of Ford Mustang Station Wagons
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Mustang Wagon 302 5.0L Engine
The Joe Kamp Mustang Wagon has a 5.0L 302 fuel injected engine under the fibreglass hood.
The engine is internally stock and fitted with a custom exhaust. Smog equipment is also removed, so we estimate the Mustang Wagon to now have about 250 hp and over 300 ft/lbs of torque. Power is fed through a newly installed heavy-duty clutch. On the road, engine performance is strong and driveability is excellent, with all the benefits of a modern fuel injection system and electronic ignition combined with great sound and acceleration. Concentration is called for if you step on it--no cell phone talking allowed.
Mr. Kamp also took the step of adding a strut tower brace and engine torque control arms to make sure the more powerful engine wouldn't result in chassis flex.
The engine is internally stock and fitted with a custom exhaust. Smog equipment is also removed, so we estimate the Mustang Wagon to now have about 250 hp and over 300 ft/lbs of torque. Power is fed through a newly installed heavy-duty clutch. On the road, engine performance is strong and driveability is excellent, with all the benefits of a modern fuel injection system and electronic ignition combined with great sound and acceleration. Concentration is called for if you step on it--no cell phone talking allowed.
Mr. Kamp also took the step of adding a strut tower brace and engine torque control arms to make sure the more powerful engine wouldn't result in chassis flex.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Newsweek and the Wagon Free Story Behind the Mustang.
In April 1964 Newsweek ran a cover story about Ford's development of the Mustang under Lee Iacocca. At a starting price of $2,368, the article was optimistic about the Mustang's future.
For the price of an unglamorous compact, the aspiring young sport can drive out in a reasonable facsimile of a European rally car. And if he wants to, the young sport can add enough items from the Mustang's 50 optional accessories to build himself a real rally car--at a cost ranging up to $4,400. From a mixed bag of engines, transmissions, and special equipment, a true performance buff can put together a car that will peel off 555 feet in ten seconds from a standing start
The article portrays Iacocca's determination to make the Mustang an affordable sporting machine:
He said to the engineers, "Start putting in the extras. Put in class for the mass. If we're right, this will make the Model A look like nothing."
Iacocca obviously meant "the masses", but he clearly preferred poetry over grammar.
The article talks about the development of the Mustang's body, with no mention of Iacocca or the designers considering a Mustang station wagon at this time:
A choice of six or eight cylinder engines had to be offered; to accommodate the long six, the hood was stretched out and the trunk compartment shrunk--a trend which delights Iacocca and styling vice-president Gene Bordinat. "There's something about a long hood that says, 'There's a lot of engine here'," Bordinat gloats. "I wanted a mouthy front end", Iacocca says. "All the $25,000 cars I'd seen at Torino (Italy, in an auto show) had that pointed, mouthy appearance. "The stylists liked the idea, but as Bordinat says, "It took a lot of noodling."
The process of choosing the name Mustang is truly from another era compared to today's world of Google, focus groups, and test-marketing:
"I liked T-bird II," Henry Ford recalls with a touch of petulance, "but nobody else seemed to." Iacocca had no strong preferences, and at this point John Conley, account representative in charge of J. Walter Thompson's forward planning group, was sent to the Detroit Public Library. Conley had spent hours there previously, culling names of birds for the cars that became the Falcon and the Thunderbird; this time, he was looking for horses. He produced a list of 6,000 names (among them: Colt, Bronco), and Mustang was eventually picked. The main reasons, according to Thompson's Frank Thomas, were that "It had the excitement of the wide open spaces, and it was American as all hell."
Given J. Walter Thompson's strong involvement in creating the brand image of the Mustang at this time, one wonders how much Barney Clark, a Vice President at the agency, and stylist Bob Cumberford might have argued for the creation of a station wagon model during the initial styling phase. They shipped a Mustang hardtop to Italy as early as March 1965 (less than a year after the Newsweek article) to be transformed into a station wagon, so their concept and styling for the wagon likely had been developing for some time.
For the price of an unglamorous compact, the aspiring young sport can drive out in a reasonable facsimile of a European rally car. And if he wants to, the young sport can add enough items from the Mustang's 50 optional accessories to build himself a real rally car--at a cost ranging up to $4,400. From a mixed bag of engines, transmissions, and special equipment, a true performance buff can put together a car that will peel off 555 feet in ten seconds from a standing start
The article portrays Iacocca's determination to make the Mustang an affordable sporting machine:
He said to the engineers, "Start putting in the extras. Put in class for the mass. If we're right, this will make the Model A look like nothing."
Iacocca obviously meant "the masses", but he clearly preferred poetry over grammar.
The article talks about the development of the Mustang's body, with no mention of Iacocca or the designers considering a Mustang station wagon at this time:
A choice of six or eight cylinder engines had to be offered; to accommodate the long six, the hood was stretched out and the trunk compartment shrunk--a trend which delights Iacocca and styling vice-president Gene Bordinat. "There's something about a long hood that says, 'There's a lot of engine here'," Bordinat gloats. "I wanted a mouthy front end", Iacocca says. "All the $25,000 cars I'd seen at Torino (Italy, in an auto show) had that pointed, mouthy appearance. "The stylists liked the idea, but as Bordinat says, "It took a lot of noodling."
The process of choosing the name Mustang is truly from another era compared to today's world of Google, focus groups, and test-marketing:
"I liked T-bird II," Henry Ford recalls with a touch of petulance, "but nobody else seemed to." Iacocca had no strong preferences, and at this point John Conley, account representative in charge of J. Walter Thompson's forward planning group, was sent to the Detroit Public Library. Conley had spent hours there previously, culling names of birds for the cars that became the Falcon and the Thunderbird; this time, he was looking for horses. He produced a list of 6,000 names (among them: Colt, Bronco), and Mustang was eventually picked. The main reasons, according to Thompson's Frank Thomas, were that "It had the excitement of the wide open spaces, and it was American as all hell."
Given J. Walter Thompson's strong involvement in creating the brand image of the Mustang at this time, one wonders how much Barney Clark, a Vice President at the agency, and stylist Bob Cumberford might have argued for the creation of a station wagon model during the initial styling phase. They shipped a Mustang hardtop to Italy as early as March 1965 (less than a year after the Newsweek article) to be transformed into a station wagon, so their concept and styling for the wagon likely had been developing for some time.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Joe Kamp's '65 Mustang Station Wagon
This custom built 1965 Mustang Station Wagon was built by Joe Kamp of Peoria, Illinois. It was no doubt inspired by the original Mustang Station Wagon built in 1965 by Intermeccanica, the Italian custom builder founded in 1959.
Mr. Kamp's creation of this unique wagon is finely executed and beautifully crafted. The body was modified using all steel fabrication, retaining the original rear window and rear roof section, with custom made side windows. Mr. Kamp then carefully upgraded the performance of the wagon as an engineering complement to the modified station wagon body. The engine is a fuel-injected 5.0L V8, the transmission is a five-speed manual with Hurst shifter, and the brakes are an upgraded power disc system. Further modifications include reinforcements to the rear section of the frame, engine torque control rods, and rear axle control rods.
Coming soon will be my report on what it's like to drive Joe Kamp's wonderful creation.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
The Mustang Wagon
This blog is dedicated to one of the most offbeat cars of the 1960's--the Ford Mustang Station Wagon. Created as a prototype, Ford considered producing the Mustang Wagon but decided in the end to bury the idea. We'll be looking to find out exactly why Ford made this decision, what was the fate of the prototype, and how many have been created in tribute to the striking original. Also open to discussion is the current possibility of Ford creating a new Mustang wagon. Will it happen?
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