You may want to get a note pad ready because i am about to
give up a ton of info on mustangs!
Ok,
1969
The year of 1969 was a year of radical changes to the
mustang platform, most of them being styling changes. More
sheet metal changed between 1968 and 1969 than in all the
preceeding years or in years to follow. Ford was up to it's
ears in the muscle car race with other automotive companies
at the time the leading competition for the mustangs at the
time were the Pontiac Trans-Am and the Chevrolet Camaro
Z-28.A newer approach to erformance was necessary in teh
FORD camp, enter the performance models: MACH 1's and
BOSS's and Cobra Jet's would soon own the field in high
performance cars. So much so that the shelby line could no
longer compete with the standard factory models, thus 69
was the last full production year for shelby mustangs.
BODY STYLING
Mimicking the 65-68 GT packaging the 69's were manufactured
with quad headlamps, the inner two lamps being high beam
only lenses that were set in a black plastic grille with
the mustang emblem located on the left(driver's side). The
front valance panel was changed to direct flow of air into
engine compartment for improved cooling over previous
models.
The, until then, trademark concave sculpted side of the car
all but disappeared. In fact, that area of the body was
made convex from the tip of the headlight to the rear
quarter panel, a three section, reversed scoop at the end
of the quarter panel suggested an exhaust vent for air on
the coupe and convertible.
The fastback (otherwise known as sportsroof), had the same
bodyline. The bodyline however terminated at a
non-functional air intake scoop at the front of the quarter
panel immediately behind the door handle. Another body line
extended from just above the rear bumper along the rear
quarter panel to just behind the rear wheel well to define
the lower bounds of the convex body sculpture.
The mustangs overall length was changed to better match the
cars performance. By adding 4 inches to the body they
increased the length of all three models to 187.4 inches,
the mustang built to date at the time.
The rear exterior of the car still resembled the concave
style of the 1968 model year, the fastback however, had a
spoiler built in to the deck lid, and quarter-panel
extensions.
INTERIOR---
A complete interior styling change accompanied the exterior
changes. The instrument panel dash pad was now a two-pod
design, accentuating and dividing the driver and passenger
compartments, giving a "cockpit" effect. Gauges were deeply
recessed into the instrument panel, with an overhanging
crash pad greatly reducing reflected glare from the
instrument faces.
The new instrument cluster featured four gauge pods: two
large ones centered behind the steering wheel and two
smaller ones at either side. From left to right, these were
the ammeter, speedometer with high-beam indicator, fuel and
temperature gauge pod with two warning lights for seat
belts and emergency brake, and the oil-pressure gauge.
Two interior groups were offered: interior Decor group, and
Deluxe interior Decor group, the deluxe was only available
to the convertible and the fastback. At additional cost,
you could have high-back bucket seats. The biggest
difference between the standard and deluxe interiors was
the wood-grained, vinyl applique on the dash, To this was
added a clock mounted above the glove compartment. a
Tachometer, if so ordered, replaced the oil-pressure gauge
and coolant temperature gauge. These became warning lights.
Adjustable front seat headrests were offered on low-back
buckets for the first time in 1969.
GT EQUIPMENT GROUP
69' was the last year for the GT option on mustangs, so as
you can guess, nearly everything was carried over from 68'.
They were now going to put emphasis on
sellingpackaged cars such as the Mach I and the
Grande models, cars with elements of the GT option, the
very limited number of cars sold with the GT option are
among the rarest of the mustangs.
Drive Trains
For 1969, Ford dropped the 302-4bbl engine, but added two
and four barrel versions of the new small block V8, the 351
--basically a stroked 302. This provided customers with
eight engine choices----200ci-6, 250ci-6, three small block
V8's, the 302-2v, and 2 and 4v 351's, and two big block
V8's, the 428 and 428cj(ram air).
Three speed manual transmissions were offered as
standard on the two sixes & the three small blocks. The
four speedboxes were offered as an option on all but the
sixes, a cruise-o-matic automatic transmission was again
option on all eight engines.
Specialty Models
Specialty models were the really big news for 69'. This
year introduced the Mach I, Boss302 and 429, and he
luxurious Grande.
Mach I~~
The Mach I was developed on the new fastback sportsroof and
made available with any of five V8 engines. It featured a
deluxe interior with high back bucket seats, a deluxe
three-spoke steering wheel, console with woodgrain vinyl
trim and special carpet.
Outside was added a non-functional hood scoop, low-gloss
black-matte finish--painted hood, racing-style hood pins,
color-keyed side mirrors, and Mach I body stripes in one of
three color combinations: black with gold,red with gold or
gold and white. Chrome styled-steel wheels, pop-open gas
cap, dual exhaust with four chrome outlets(four barrel
engines only), E70x14 tires and rocker panel moldings
completed the exterior treatment of the performance-oriented
Mach I.
BOSS302~~
The Boss302 was designed to compete with Chevrolet's
Camaro Z/28 in SCCA's Trans-am race series. Available in
the fastback Sportsroof only, it's powerplant gave it its
name, the 290hp 302 V8 with 351C style cylinder heads.
similar to the 65 and 66 289 HiPo models, it had a four
sped top-loader transmision, 9-in. rear axle, stiffer
suspension and 16:1 steering, to name but a few. In fact
the BOSS302 chassis remains the fastest chassis that Ford
has ever tested, it was the sole reason for FoMoCo required
test drivers to wear helmets and full fire suits during
testing!!!
The Boss 302 was basically a factory road racer with
muscle car styling. This styling included elimination of
the sportsroofs simulated side scoop, a C-shaped stripe
with "BOSS 302" lettering, functional fromt spoiler and
black out hood, rear deck and back panel. You could have an
optional set of black, rear-window louvers and adjustable,
stand-up rear airfoil over the tail. Four vibrant colors
were available: Bright Yellow, Calypso Coral, Wimbledon
White, and Acapulco Blue.
The 302ci HO(high-output)engine was available in both
racing and street versions. The street version was rated at
290 HP@5800 rpm and 290 ft-lb of torque @4300 rpm. The
beefier racing engine had close to 450 usable horsepower.
Canted valve cylinder heads breathed through a
high-rise intake manifold and 780cfm Holley four barrel for
the street version. The ads had extra large valves(2.33in.
intake 1.71in. exhaust) with solid valve fters and a
high-lift camshaft.
Internal beefing for this wild street engine was similar
th the HO 429. This included oversized forged four-bolt
main bearing caps, forged connecting rods, caps and bolts
and forged, extruded aluminum pistons. Every 302
forged-steel crankshaft was electronically balanced, both
statically and dynamically. The exterior was completed
with chrome or cast aluminum rocker covers and a
high-capacity, dual-point ignition system, this was all
matched to a four speed transmission with ratios specially
spaced to match the 302's output curve, and a 3.50:1 rear
axle. An option was a locker rear axle with either 3.50,
3.91, or 4.30 ratios.
The racing version had special machining for dry decking
rather than gaskets, special intake manifold with
individual runners, two four barrel Holley's rated at 1100
cfm each, and fabricated tubular exhaust headers tuned for
max performance. A cast-aluminum oil pan was fitted with a
windage tray to prevent oil splash. To improve high-rpm
lubrication, and Indy-style, cross-drilled, forged-steel
crankshaft was aded. Valves were forged steel with
chrome-plated hollow stems and tulip-shaded heads. The
exhaust valves were sodium-filled for maximum cooling.
Additionally, the racing Boss 302 included wide
shouldered connecting rods with beefed-up bolts. these were
similar to those developed for the 289 LeMans winning
GT-40's.
Chassis refinements on the street car includded: witght
distribution of 56/44 front to rear, heavy-duty suspension
with staggered rear shocks, 16:1 quick ratio steering with
3.74 turns lock to lock, F60x15 fiberglass belted tires on
7-in magnum 500 steel wheels and floating caliper power
front disc brakes with ventilated cast-iron discs.
BOSS429~~
continuing ford's push for racing, the BOSS 429 met
NASCAR's homologation rule for grand National racing. This
rule stated that at least 500 units of a particular engine
or body style must be manufactured and sold to the
public. To squeeze the big Boss429(blue crescent) into the
engine compartment, special front suspension spring towers
had to be installed, making the engine compartment wider..
This and other engineering changes were accomplished by Kar
Kraft, ford's in-house race car fabrication and preparation
arm, in their small Brighton, Michigan assembly faility.
the exterior featured a functional hood scoop, a front
spoiler, a Boss 429 decal on the front fenders and dual
color-keyed mirrors. Performance features included the Boss
429 engine, loc differential, power disc brakes in front,
heavy duty suspension, power steering, 65-amp alternator,
and an 85-amp battery mounted in the trunk.
