One day driving the RS to the bank I came across a guy driving a 1983 Mustang GLX convertible similar to my old one. I doubled back and started talking to him about his gorgeous car.
The mans name was Ed Baum, during our talk he asked me if I would be willing to join/help start a local Mustang club in Casa Grande. I said yes I would be very interested.
A few days later we where setting a date with others he had come across to meet at Glenn Jones Ford.
On that day in April (the month the 1st Mustang was sold in 1964) with sponsorship from the Ford dealer, a group of like minded Mustang owners formed what became Desert Sky Mustangs!
Still going strong as a club. They have set up and ran car shows and have collected money for charities, our largest donations have gone to the Wounded Warriors program as of this writing.
If your in the Casa Grande, Maricopa, Coolidge area make sure to look them up and check'em out at Desert Sky Mustangs Facebook Page
My first item of 2012 was to make a screen to fit into the opening of the hood scoop to keep larger foreign matter from getting into the engine compartment.
The screen I made was from a metallic mesh used in exterior stucco finishes for home construction. I chose it for its strength and that it resembled a honeycomb pattern that was used on Mach 1 Mustangs.
I took several measurements and crafted it so it would not only cover the front but would fold back to secure against the inside top of the scoop and folded back against the hood to give it better strength and resistance to being pushed into the scoop.
A shot of black paint and it was ready for use.
My nephew for his birthday was the lucky recipient of a genuine 1988 Saleen Mustang #288. So one day when I was taking care of my horses we parked side by side for a few photos.
Yes that is one of my Arabians walking in the background.
And this photo here of my scoop that day with the red showing from inside it made me realize I needed to do something more about the look.
To start with I pulled the scoop off the car and with the help of some black vinyl tape I blacked out the hood at the opening of the scoop.
While I was at it I wanted to help make the scoop more functional so I decided to make barrier to help,
- Divert hot air from the air filter blown back by the fan.
- Keep water from rain that may come in from the scoop off the distributor.
I had some Plexiglas handy so I first made a cardboard pattern to define the shape and then cut and bent the Plexiglas into shape.
I designed it to attach to the same bolts that hold the scoop in place on the hood.
Then in December the Magical Christmas Stallion blessed my car with new rims!
Actually the guy I know that owned a Mustang wreaking yard contacted my brother asking if he or anyone he knew would want to buy some black 15" 4 lug Saleen style web wheels. Of course that someone was me and they where the perfect period correct optional wheel for the RS!
Personally I think these wheels where a vast improvement in the visual impact of this car!
Mercury did release a red special edition of the RS called a Crimson Cat. While it was done with a gold treatment on similar wheels, I much prefer the look of the black with chrome lip.
One last picture for 2012, a group photo from a slightly damp but fun none the less December park get together of the Desert Sky Mustangs.
