Cruise control, or "Fingertip Speed Control" as Ford originally called it, is something the Mustang didn't see as an option until 1967. Consider yourself extremely lucky if your '67 Mustang came with factory speed control; according to Kevin Marti's Mustang…By the Numbers book, only 55 units were built with the option that year. For some reason, Ford dropped speed control for 1970-1978 Mustangs. It didn't reappear on the option list again until the new Fox-body Mustang arrived in dealer showrooms in 1979.

Your Mustang's cooling system is one of the most basic systems of the internal combustion engine, be it a vintage or a late-model Mustang. The cooling system's function is a simple one; transfer the heat produced by the combustion process to an external heat exchanger, via fluid that is pumped through the engine via a pump, where the heat is radiated to the atmosphere with the help of a fan that pulls air through the heat exchanger. Yeah, that description was a little “shop manual-ish“, but you get the idea. No matter the year or model of Mustang you own, while the components may differ slightly, the cooling system is essentially the same. Whether it is a '66 Mustang with an inline-six or a '09 Mustang GT with a 4.6L Three-Valve, they all have a radiator, a water pump, hoses, a cooling fan, and coolant/anti-freeze.

It has been proven that four-wheel disc brakes provide superior fade resistance, especially in extreme braking. However, many vintage Mustang drivers prefer the feel of rear drum brakes and the more effective nature of rear drum parking brakes. Of course, there are also owners with concours restored and low-mileage Mustangs who want to keep the stock brakes, which means making the most of drum brakes. Improving drum brake performance means knowing what to do when it is time to do a brake job.

The '94 Mustang was a clean-slate interior design that harkened back to the '69 Mustang and its "twin pod" dash theme. After having pretty much the same Fox Mustang interior for the previous 14 years (save the aero dash upgrade in 1987), the new SN-95 interior was well received by enthusiasts. And like most aspects of the Mustang, the new interior was a blank canvas for aftermarket companies to produce upgrades and custom parts for. Right off the bat you could order billet knobs, gauge bezels, carbon fiber or wood grain dash trim kits, and more to personalize your new Mustang's interior. But what happens after 10 years or more of daily driving abuse? That worn and tired interior needs a complete makeover and that's exactly what we were staring at with our '00 Mustang V-6 coupe seen here.

Classic Mustangs have been getting dual exhaust conversions as long as there have been Mustangs. Exhaust shops have carelessly drilled holes and attached hangers using anemic sheetmetal screws. With road shock and vibration, screws pull out, pipes and mufflers drop, and it gets quite embarrassing. When dual exhaust systems were factory installed, Ford used stamped steel reinforcement inserts and brackets that provided excellent support.

Autolite 4300
I own a '67 Mustang and I'm trying to figure out if the carburetor on the 289 is original. It's an Autolite/Motorcraft 4300 but I'm told that the 289s came with a 4100. Can you tell me if the 4300 was stock, special order, or if someone installed it after the car was purchased? The installation looks factory and not an add-on by a back-yard mechanic.
Arlen Zacharias
Homer, AK

With the release of the all-new Mustang chassis in 2005, Ford engineers finally stepped away from the antiquated Fox-era modified McPherson strut design and non-parallel four-link rear suspension to give us a true McPherson strut front and proven three-link rear design with a fixed Panhard bar for lateral axle control. Gone were band-aids like Quad Shocks. In 2005, the Mustang received the start of a true handling suspension under its sleek new body. However, like any OE-designed suspension, there are plenty of areas that can use improvement, from the OE bushing material (for a more compliant ride and less noise), to anti-sway bar diameter, to spring rate and overall ride height.

The basic principle of power steering—hydraulics—hasn't changed much since the Mustang was introduced nearly a half century ago. It has been said you could move the world with the fluid power of hydraulics. Fortunately, all we have to do is steer two front wheels with a hydraulic pump, hoses, control valve, and a power cylinder ram.

At 375 horsepower and 450 lb-ft of torque, the 385-series 429ci big-block was the most powerful factory engine ever installed in a first generation Mustang. Ford initially used the short-block with hemi heads in '69 to conceive the limited production Boss 429 Mustang. However, the Boss 429 was not for everyone. For '71, the 429 got wedge heads for two forms of Mustang rocket propulsion—Cobra Jet and Super Cobra Jet.

Scott Drake is a perfectionist. Don’t believe it? Then ask his wife, Suzanne. She can tell you about the times that Scott brought home prototype parts and slept with them right beside him on the bedside table.

There hasn't been too much in the way of Mustang themed steering wheels from the aftermarket for our vintage Mustangs. Sure, you can install a repro wheel, horn button, and all that if you need something correct looking for your Mustang. However, if you have a nice driver or a modified car and you're searching for something that appears period looking and fits the Mustang theme with a little more feel to the grip coupled with nice looks and build quality to spare, your options have been limited. While you can get any number of high-tech billet street rod-type steering wheels, and they're nice, they often look out of place in a vintage Mustang interior. What if you have a relatively stock interior and want a nice steering wheel that "fits in"?

The well-travelled vintage Mustang owner knows that the hobby's biggest four-letter curse word is r-u-s-t. Rust has ravaged its fair share of vintage Mustang body panels and one of the more problematic areas is another four-letter word that brings chills to Mustang owner's spines—the cowl.

Like most parts installed on your late-model Mustang, the stock shifter mechanism is a combination of compromises that Ford had to come to grips with to create the part. From overall part cost to powertrain noise ingress to the cabin and even time to install on the assembly line, these are all factors that determine the type of part created for the assembly of a car—and there are thousands of them. These compromises are what help the performance aftermarket parts companies thrive, as they provide solutions with better products. These products usually take longer to install, cost more, or allow more noise into the cabin, but they do so in the name of performance.

Engine mounts exist to provide support and isolate vibration. As the Mustang evolved over the past half century, engine and driveline mount technology has advanced to where high-tech vibration isolation makes the drive smoother and quieter. Fifty years ago, Ford used thick molded rubber stock, which continues to do its job quite well. These days, you have quite a choice of engine mounts for older Mustangs—original equipment rubber mounts, harder urethane mounts, and specially engineered aftermarket mounts designed not only for quiet but also strength.