(Words and photos by Joe Grippo) – The 2018 Carlisle Ford Nationals went down recently and it lived up to expectations once again. If you have a Fox body, Terminator, SN95, S197 or S550 Mustang and you were not there, you missed what had to be one of the largest gathering s of your people anywhere. Who knows how many of these things Ford has cranked out since 1979 but of the thousands in attendance no two were the same. The variety of build styles, modifications was staggering. The aftermarket has stepped up the restoration offerings allowing the Foxes to be saved from the clutches of time and years of abuse, we saw several really nice stock 3rd gen ’79-’93’s on the Fun Field. The Fox and newer Mustangs are truly becoming the modern equivalent of the ’69 Camaro, as every conceivable modification is available and put into service on these cars. Huge wheels, air suspensions, custom paint and radical engines were everywhere.
The new Shelby Super Snake was featured in a product walk around hosted by Shelby American reps, it was resplendent in a gorgeous blue hue and a gnarly wide-body kit. Striking. Steve Saleen was on hand with his latest stable of offerings featuring tasteful body mods, clean lines and loads of power. Roush had a killer Boss 429 inspired 2018 Boss 729, complete with a retro green paint scheme and a functional Boss ‘9 style hood scoop. In the main building, the Ronzello Brothers had two modern but historical Cobra Jet race cars; both were “mule cars”, two of the earliest prototypes of the modern factory drag cars. Real history!
No denying the impact on the hobby/sport/industry the modern Mustangs have had and the sheer numbers at this event bear that out.
