(Photo Credit: Ford Motor Company) – It was a publicity stunt that worked beyond anyone’s imagination. The owners of the Empire State Building, looking to build more traffic to their observation deck contacted Ford after the Mustang took the nation by storm in 1964 and 1965. The plot was hatched to get a Mustang to the top of the building so that visitors would see it up there and tell their friends who would want to see it up there, etc. You know how the world of promotions go. Anyway, Ford determined that because of the building’s shape, there was no safe way to get a helicopter to do the job. After that idea went out the window, they got the engineering department involved and those guys took the reigns of the project.
The engineers made a trip to NYC and measured up the elevators in the building, determining that they could whack the Mustang into four pieces and load each piece by itself and then reassemble the car once all the pieces made it to the top floor and that is exactly what they did, but there was one small problem. One of the four sections was mis-measured by a 1/4″ and stopped the operation cold until it was discovered that the steering wheel had enough give to deflect and allow the works to slide in. It is important to note that this whole job took place late at night. The car was offloaded in front of the building at 10:30 and it was around four AM when the car was assembled and ready for the news choppers to take ariel photos of it on the observation deck itself. After those flying cameras had their peek, the car was broken down again and brought inside the building where it lived for a couple of months. Thousands and thousands of families and tourists looked at the car as they got off the elevators on the top of what was then the tallest building in the world.
Fast forward to right now. Ford is getting ready to replicate the same stunt with a 2014 Mustang convertible. The elevators have changed over the years and the Mustang has gotten longer and wider so we’re guessing the math really has to be spot on this time. Today’s engineers have the advantage of working with complex computer modeling programs that will guide them on how to cut the car up based on data they have gathered from the elevators at the building. Computer modeling or not, this is a pretty bitchin’ deal and like the people did almost 50 years ago, thousands more visitors will once again be greeted by a Mustang when the elevator doors pop open neatly 1,000 feet in the sky. Unlike the ’65 demonstration, this one will be a short time deal. From best we can tell the Mustang will only be in the building for the better part of a day.
SCROLL DOWN FOR HISTORIC PHOTOS FROM THE FIRST TIME THIS FEAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED IN THE 1960S!
Whaddya mean Bill measured it wrong?! Here’s the nose section of a Mustang heading into the elevator in ’65.
The car had been specially modified by these guys back in Detroit and was designed to come apart quickly. Here’s them unloading the car on the night the fun began.
The interior was pulled out for obvious reasons during the move.
The guys had steel pipe that slid into receivers holding the car together. Here we can see them pulling it apart.
Horsing around photos are the best. These fellas were clearly in control.
Here’s the finished product…kind of. The car was only outside for a short time before being moved (in pieces) inside for a two month display.
“So how was work today honey?”
“Bitchin, we put a Mustang on top of the Empire State Building.”
“Yeah, right. Now what did you really do.”