Mustang Monthly

Rare Finds: The Case of the Side-Striped 1967 Mustang
Rare Finds
This is a little bit of a departure from the typical Rare Finds, as we can't confirm or deny that this car came like this from the factory, or perhaps the dealership. Could Ford have produced a limited run of 1967 Mustangs with a side stripes reminiscent of the two-tone paint insert on the 1956-1962 Corvette?
Ben Beasley recently sent us a photo of a 1967 Mustang he bought "30 years ago or so," in his words. He lives in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and explained how he got the car. He was the general manager at a Cadillac dealership, and one day a man came in to buy a new Cadillac, with this '67 Mustang as a trade-in. It was his mom's car, and she had bought it new.
The owner of the Cadillac dealership asked Ben, "Are you trading for that car?" When Ben replied yes, the owner said, "Well, you need to have a home for it, because I don't want it." Ben found a home—his garage. He got a boatload of documentation with the car, but there was nothing about the unique side stripes. He was curious, so Ben phoned Ford Motor Company and talked to any older gentleman that was there and might know something about it.
This conversation took place over 30 years ago and Ben recalls, "He told me they had sent these cars to Arizona and California and they did less than 100 of them for test market, and that was all they made. They didn't continue with the test, so evidently it wasn't a success like they thought it would be."
We were curious too, so we contacted Kevin Marti for historical help. Ford Motor Company has licensed its production records for every Mustang and other Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicle built since 1967 with Marti Auto Works (martiauto.com). They have information available that can tell you all about how your vehicle was built on the assembly line (known as Marti Reports, in case you're not familiar with them already).
Kevin looked up the '67 by the VIN but found no evidence of a special build. He found no evidence that this paint scheme came with the car from Ford but found a stock order by a dealer in Colorado with a sale to a retail customer. If Ford did test-market this side-stripe model in 1967, we figure there must have been other cars and people might remember them or somebody might still have one with the original paint. More than likely the stripe is either a modification or perhaps was added by the dealer when this Mustang hardtop was brand new. Who knows?
If you have information send me an email at jerryheasley@gmail.com.
Photography by Jerry Heasley