1970 FORD MUSTANG MACH 1 TWISTER SPECIAL

Details

From launch in April 1964, Ford's wildly successful Mustang captivated the public like no other automobile and with its almost limitless array of models and options, a logical choice for high-profile promotional use. With the late-1969 debut of the 1970 Mustang, Ford Motor Company's Special Promotion Division was hard at work building a small batch of 10 highly modified and optioned 428 R-code 1970 Mustangs (five convertible pace cars and five fastback VIP cars) for American Raceways Inc. Since

the cost was prohibitively expensive for ARI, Ford Special Promotions pre-sold 100 Mustang fastbacks to the Kansas City District Sales Office (DSO) to help subsidize the project, with the final total being 96 Mustangs, plus a number of Torino Cobras and Rancheros. Known collectively as 'Twister Specials,' they were the central attraction at Ford's November 7, 1969, Total Performance Day promotion held at Kansas City Raceway. All Twister Special Mustangs were intended to be equipped with R-code 428ci Super Cobra Jet engines plus competition suspension and 3.91 Traction-Lok rear axles that activated the rare Drag Pack external oil cooler option. In all, 96 Twister Special Mustangs were produced during October 1969 and since only 48 SCJ mills were available in inventory, the remaining 48 Twister Specials were powered by Ford's new 4-barrel 351ci 'Cleveland' engine. All Twister Special Mustangs were finished in Grabber Orange paint with special Mach 1 stripes and graphics, plus a special 'Twister' logo at each rear fender. Other Twister Special features included a Shaker hood, power front disc brakes and F70x14 raised-white-letter Goodyear Polyglas tires. The 30th Twister Special Mustang was produced during October 1969. This example is one of the 48 R-code 428 SCJ cars and rarer still as one of the 24 Twister Specials equipped with a 4-speed manual transmission. Retaining the vast majority of its original sheet metal, this Twister Special benefits from a total, photo-documented rotisserie restoration completed in 2014 by RJ Restorations in Minnesota. Accolades include the MCA Concours Gold Trailered Award at the Lincoln, NE, Pony Express Show, 2014 Car Craft Summer National Editor's Choice and Best Ford awards, and Street Stock Gold and Platinum awards at the 2014 Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals (MCACN), plus a Muscle Car Review magazine cover. From the Mile-High Collection.