Vehicle Description
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.
