Ford Mustang GT Fastback 2+2 High Country Specials 1967

by

Model number: AW1038

Review of the model:

Auto World/Ertl model in scale 1:18 is already a showstopper in the box, as this model car is stunning in yellow, called Aspen Gold. This particular color was a part of a limited production run from Ford to boost advertising and publicity. And even this model is produced in limited numbers of approx 1000 – this is number 0368!

If you like Mustangs as many do, you will surely like this 1967 Fastback GT. In my book this Mustang is one of the best looking of them all; as the new 66-68 design give the car a true sense of speed and coolness. Just remember the film Bullitt were Steve McQueen drove the green 1968, 390 GT Fastback!

Auto World´s model is heavy – I will estimate a weight of 3lbs or 1.5Kg! You get a lot of “steel” for your money. So let’s take a closer look of this handsome model.
As this car fall in to the category of a true muscle car, we will start in the engine bay or motor room. When we open the hood, our attention well fall on the "Small" block V8, 289 cu. Inch, (4.7L) 271 HK. from Ford. This blue motor, give a fine statement, with all the chrome upper parts and well made air filter. The details are good, as we see some fine stickers incl. the “289” and oil requirement etc. Hoses and battery is present too, so all in all a good looking motor room! But if we look on the hinges on the lid, Auto World have made the better- Just look at my 1964 ½ Mustang Convertible on the list of my model cars! Moreover the 64 Mustang have lots of wires in the motor room, this in surely odd, as the models are in the same price range.

Just close the hood and enjoy the “new face” of the grill this 1967 model have. The first feature that’s indicate this is a 67, is the extra pair of head/fog light mounted on a chrome bar. This and the new face design are giving the car a more aggressive and cool look. But it’s a shame; the grill is solid black plastic instead of etched metal mesh! (Also a feature the 64 model has) And if I have to be nit picky; the headlights lenses is mounted directly with a yellow background, giving them a strange “block off” appearance. It will have been way better, if the lenses them self, had chrome background as a reflector on real cars.

I have not forgotten to mention the prep and paint work on this model car. Here I most say; this model is flawless in every aspect! And the same goes with the chrome parts, they shine very realistic and is mounted perfect on the model. – But! If we look around the windows and wheel wells, the chrome trim panels is only painted silver. This indicates that this very model is not Auto World´s highest ranking model series, as I can’t see why they have missed the opportunity here. The windshield vipers are after all made in chrome.

The quality of the plastic in the windows are high and have minimal distortion. A fine feature is: the fastback window on the rear has the centerline mould line just as the real car – Further back down we can see the famous triple concave backlights a icon of the 66-68 Mustangs the are fine made, but only red paint on chrome parts. No real plastic lenses here. One thing I feel is a shame is the missing open function of the trunk. It would have been nice to look inside.

The four wheels on rubber tires is well made here, you can even see a small emblem on the center of the hubcaps. Remember in 1967, the white wall tires was beginning to fade away, but could still be ordered at an extra expense. Here on this model a more racing style tire with red line is mounted the car.

The model have all of its emblems, stripes and decals placed correctly, they are all tampon stamped with a high detail richness. The license plates are decals with real Colorado motives!

Have you seen the inside of the car? Take a look!
The door open nicely and the black interior with brushed steel trim, shows this is a true cool car! The sporty look could have been repulsive for old lady’s who need a ride to church. But on the other side, this Mustang was for the sporty, cool, American youth of tomorrow.

Inside we find fine black carpet in high quality. The black vinyl bucket seats can fold down to easy access the bench seat in the back – a nice feature if you have a date in those days! But if we look around the models interior it will certainly not win any prices! It have what you will expect from a low to mid-price model and that’s it – there is also some issues regarding the finish of the plastic parts – So hurry up, close the doors and enjoy this otherwise fine model from outside.
 

I will give this model 4 out of 6 stars  ******

Below here are pictures of the model, historical description, old brochures, technical data and some movie clips of the real car. So please enjoy!

History:

When it came time for its first significant revamp, the original pony car was no longer the only pony car. It was clear the 1967 Ford Mustang would have to fight for sales.

Designers who would shape the '67 model were in a unique position, however. In the 1960s, a new car took some three years to go from drawing board to showroom. Typically, designers and engineers were working without knowing how the public liked the car they had just finished.

But when work on what would become the 1967 Ford Mustang began in summer 1964, the first edition was already a huge hit. That posed the knotty problem of what to do for an encore. While Ford expected some changes would be needed after '66, it wasn't clear what those ought to be. Moreover, as program head Ross Humphries later told author Gary Witzenburg: "At the time the '67 was planned, we really didn't have any idea that the original was such a winner. Things did look awfully rosy, but we didn't know how long it was going to last." Fad or not, Mustang's instant high success got Ford cracking on a slightly larger, more luxurious pony car by late 1964.

It would emerge for '67 as the Mercury Cougar. Meantime, Ford Division was left to ponder how archrival Chevrolet might respond -- if at all. For a time, General Motors design chief Bill Mitchell insisted his company already had a Mustang-fighter in the beautiful second-generation 1965 Corvair. But that was just a smokescreen for the super-secret 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, a true Chevy pony car being readied for launch in late 1966. As Ford engineer Tom Feaheny recalled for Witzenburg: "It was a long ways down the road before we were aware they were coming after us. "Beyond that, Feaheny admitted that "[the '67 Mustang] was an opportunity to do a lot of refinement work. Frankly, the amount of engineering in [the first model] was not as great as it could have been...We really wanted to do the job right the second time around." He also noted that product planning chief Hal Sperlich wanted to "one-up the original in every respect: model availability, options, handling, performance, braking, comfort, quietness, even appearance where we could without making a major change."

Dovetailing nicely with that goal was the redesigned 1966 Ford Falcon, which grew from cost-conscious compact to a slightly smaller sister of the midsize 1966 Ford Fairlane. This meant Mustang would now have to share front-end components with those cars for cost and manufacturing reasons. And as the Fairlane was planned for big-block V-8s, Mustang's engine bay was bound to get wider too. Moreover, arrival of the 1964 Pontiac's GTO muscle car gave Ford an extra incentive to offer Mustang with a big-inch engine. After all, another "horsepower race" was on, and even a pony car can always use more oats.

The 1967 model year Mustang was the first redesign of the original model. Ford's designers began drawing up a larger version even as the original was achieving sales success, and while "Iacocca later complained about the Mustang's growth, he did oversee the redesign for 1967."The major mechanical feature was to allow the installation of a big-block V8 engine. The overall size, interior and cargo space were increased. Exterior trim changes included concave taillights, side scoop (1967 model) and chrome (1968 model) side ornamentation, square rear-view mirrors, and usual yearly wheel and gas cap changes. The high-performance 289 option was placed behind the newer 335 hp (250 kW; 340 PS) 390 cu in (6.4 L) FE engine from the Ford Thunderbird, which was equipped with a four-barrel carburetor. During the mid-1968 model year, a drag racer for the street could be ordered with the optional 428 cu in (7.0 L) Cobra Jet engine which was officially rated at 335 hp (250 kW; 340 PS) all of these Mustangs were issued R codes on their VINs.

The 1967 Deluxe Interior was revised, discontinuing the embossed running horse motif on the seat backs (the source for the "pony interior" nickname) in favor of a new deluxe interior package, which included special color options, brushed aluminum (from August 1966 production) or woodgrain dash trim, seat buttons, and special door panels. The hardtop also included upholstered quarter trim panels, a carryover from the 1965-66 deluxe interior. The 1967 hardtop also had the chrome quarter trim caps, carried over from 1965-66, but these were painted to match the interior in 1968 models. The 1967 deluxe interior included stainless steel-trimmed seat back shells, similar to those in the Thunderbird. These were dropped at the end of the 1967 model year, and were not included in the woodgrain-trimmed 1968 interior. The deluxe steering wheel, which had been included in the deluxe interior for the 1965-66, became optional, and could also be ordered with the standard interior. The 1968 models that were produced from January 1968 were also the first model year to incorporate three-point lap and shoulder belts (which had previously been optional, in 1967-68 models) as opposed to the standard lap belts. The air-conditioning option was fully integrated into the dash, the speakers and stereo were upgraded, and unique center and overhead consoles were options. The fastback model offered the option of a rear fold-down seat, and the convertible was available with folding glass windows. Gone was the Rally-Pac, since the new instrument cluster had provisions for an optional tachometer and clock. Its size and shape also precluded the installation of the accessory atop the steering column. The convenience group with four warning lights for low fuel, seat belt reminder, parking brake not released, and door ajar were added to the instrument panel, or, if one ordered the optional console and A/C, the lights were mounted on the console.

Changes for the 1968 model increased safety with a two-spoke energy-absorbing steering wheel, along with newly introduced shoulder belts. Other changes included front and rear side markers, "FORD" lettering removed from hood, rearview mirror moved from frame to windshield, a 302 cu in (4.9 L) V8 engine was now available, and C-Stripe graphics were added.

The California Special Mustang, or GT/CS, was visually based on the Shelby model and was only sold in Western states. Its sister, the 'High Country Special', was sold in Denver, Colorado. While the GT/CS was only available as a coupe, the 'High Country Special' model was available in fastback and convertible configurations during the 1966 and 1967 model years, and as a coupe for 1968.

The 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback reached iconic status after it was featured in the 1968 film Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen. In the film, McQueen drove a modified 1968 Mustang GT 2+2 Fastback chasing a Dodge Charger through the streets of San Francisco.
 

HCS 1966-1968

High Country Specials Ford Mustang
By Tracey Ellis

Offered during the '66-'68 model years and available at 100 Ford dealers in the Colorado, Wyoming, and Western Nebraska regions, the High Country Specials were among the first of the promotional Mustangs created to enhance sales. For the first two years, the HCS Mustangs were set apart by their unique colors, while the '68s borrowed heavily from the Shelby-like California Special styling.

In 1966 and 1967, High Country Specials were available in all three body styles, all painted with one of three promotional colors: Aspen Gold, Timberline Green, and Columbine Blue. The front fenders sported a brass badge featuring a running horse in a blue-sky background over a mountain horizon and the words "High Country Special." A delete-paint-code number on the data plate and a DSO of 51 for Denver, followed by a four-digit code, identified a Mustang as a High Country Special. Bob Teets, the recognized expert on High Country Specials and keeper of the registry for these rare Mustangs, suspects the four-digit code represented a dealer number designating a group for a certain dealership.

Teets has updated the production figure for the '66 High Country Special from 330 to 333, based largely on publications he has uncovered. A Denver Post advertisement dated July 26, 1966, mentioned, "Only 333 people in the entire United States will be driving one of these High Country Specials." In August 1966, a Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad publication called Green Light reported, "333 of them rode flanged wheels of steel across the Rio Grande on July 18 from Salt Lake City to Denver, the first full trainload of sports cars to move as a single shipment across the system."

The production figure for '67 High Country Specials now stands at 416, thanks to Kevin Marti's production database for Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury cars and trucks built from 1967 to 1973. Teets believes that other documentation, such as a Rocky Mountain News advertisement stating "This special emblem marks your Mustang as one of the 400," was close, but not as accurate as Marti's Ford-based figure.
 

Technical specification:

Assembly :Dearborn, Michigan. San Jose, California. Metuchen, New Jersey
Valencia, Venezuela
Mexico City, Mexico
Lima, Peru
Designer: Ross Humphries (1965)

Body and chassis:

Body style 2-door hardtop
2-door fastback
2-door convertible

Powertrain

Engine:

displacement, type, carburetor type max. motive power at rpm max.

200 cu in (3.3 L) Thriftpower I6 (1967) 1-barrel 120 bhp

289 cu in (4.7 L) Windsor V8 (1967) 2-barrel 200 bhp

289 cu in (4.7 L) Windsor V8 (1967) 4-barrel 225 bhp

289 cu in (4.7 L) Windsor HiPo V8 (1967) 4-barrel 271 bhp

390 cu in (6.4 L) FE V8 (1967) 4-barrel 320 bhp
 

Transmission :

3-speed manual
4-speed manual
3-speed automatic

Dimensions:
Wheelbase 108 in (2,743 mm)
Length 183.6 in (4,663 mm)
Width 70.9 in (1,801 mm)
Height 51.6 in (1,311 mm)
Curb weight 2,758 lb (1,251 kg) (base)

Old brochures of the Mustang 1967

Videos of the real car from Youtube

If you have any question or comment your are free to contact me at: aeronautic@stofanet.dk

Dealers are welcome to get their models reviewed too.

Aeronautic Feb. 2018

© 2004-2024 Aeronautic pictures. This website, the content, the design and the pictures and are intended for public non commercial use, and may be redistributed, freely printed, or electronically reproduced in its complete and unaltered form provided distribution is for private use only. Partial and other distribution means require the permission of Aeronautic Pictures. All rights reserved.