1970 Ford Mustang Mach 1 "Twister Special"

Beauty, isn't she ? Want to know more about her? I can help you there...but first, we have to journey back to the beginning. Late in 1969, after the success of their Boss 302 Mustang, the Ford Motor Company was coming in strong (although a little late in the game), to the mass production performance car era. Sales plans for 1970 concentrated heavily on special promotions to help Ford get a larger piece of the performance car market. And here, my friend, is where the Twister story begins to unfold...

The Twister Special 1970 Mustangs consisted of 96 consecutively numbered Grabber Orange Mach 1's that were designed for the Ford dealers in the Kansas City sales district, along with 90 429-powered Twister Special Torinos and 4 351-powered Rancheros. Initially, all of the Mustangs were supposed to receive 428 Super Cobra Jet engines, but a shortage of the big-blocks led to the installation of 351 Clevelands in half the cars. After assembly, the cars were shipped to Kansas City for the official unveiling of the Twister Special Mustangs and Torinos at Kansas City International Raceway.

So, what's up with these cars anyway? Glad you asked. The Twister Specials were noticibly different in appearance and performance from the average Mach 1 Mustangs. The Twister Special Mustang's side stripes were redesigned so that they contained the "Ford Oval" and "Mach 1" logos. Rear quarter panel track designated decals had a Tornado background and a Twister Special logo. ( The symbolism was the midwest's reputation for the quick and powerful storms ). The Twister Specials were light on convenience and luxury, but heavy on performance options. Such delightful inclusive goodies were a 428 SCJ V8 engine , Drag Pack, competition suspension, power front disc brakes, shaker hood scoop, and Goodyear F70x14 raised white-lettered Polyglas tires. Half of these Twister beasts were mated with C6 automatic transmissions and 3.91 traction-lok rear ends, while the rest were hooked up with 4-speed manual transmissions and 3.91 traction-loks. (I'll take THAT one, thank you!)

The Twisters were in the 118,000 VIN series. All 96 1970 Twister Special Mustangs were built at the Dearborn, Michigan plant in early to mid October 1969. The cars were shipped to Ford's Kansas City Claycomo assembly plant out-bound transportation lot. (whoo..there's a mouthful!) The stripes and decals were then applied by a detailing firm that was under contract with Ford's "Special Promotions Division" . Once all completed, they were transferred one more time, to be the main attraction for Kansas City's special "Total Performance Day" at KCIR ,on Friday, November 7th, 1969.  

During that phenomenal day, featured attractions were special appearances by the Ford Drag Team, Ford's Total Performance Show, and Bob Tasca's High Performance Show. Morning seminars were held for the dealers and their sales, parts, and service personnel. That afternoon brought exhibitions by the Drag Teams and then a chance for participants to try their luck on the road-race course or the quarter-mile. Trophies were presented to the winners in each of the district's 13 sales zones. After a day of high-performance demonstrations, the dealers were taken to an area around 4pm, where before their own eyes, the Twister Specials were awaiting the drive home or shipment to dealerships.

What a day THAT must've been. I get goosebumps just writing that. That reason alone is good enough for me to build myself a time machine, and go back to that day. But, once there...could any car guy blame me for destroying the time machine afterwards? I think we all know the answer to that one...