Mustangs Across America –
40th Anniversary Drive: 11 – 15 April 2004

 Story by Arthur Wilkinson and Wayne Lack
(Pictures supplied by Arthur unless stated otherwise)

Background

About twelve months ago Wayne Lack and I discussed attending the 40th Anniversary celebration in Nashville. Originally we intended to fly to Nashville to attend the event but discovered that an organisation known as Mustangs Across America were planning a drive from Los Angeles to attend the event. This organisation has held previous events of this nature under the leadership of Sam Haymart and Tony Sousa. The idea was discussed with our respective partners and an e-mail was sent to Sam asking if we could join their event. He responded that we would be ‘absolutely welcome’.

Originally it was planned to use rental vehicles but Wayne put up the idea of obtaining two suitable vehicles in the US. Wayne utilised a business contact in Portland, Tom Sensabaugh of Speciality Wheels, and eventually obtained two 1965 coupes. Both were good sound cars but needed re painting, some chrome replacement and the interiors tidied up (crash pad, instrument bezel etc). Mechanical servicing including brakes, oil changes, flush cooling systems and replace with glycol was also done. Both cars were also fitted with new wheels and tyres.

About three weeks out from the event departure date, Wayne and Barbara left for Portland to ensure that the cars would be ready on time. This was just as well as on arrival Wayne found that only the yellow ‘C’ code car had been painted. After some frantic re-organising the green ‘A’ code car was painted with only a week out from the event.

Tom Sensabaugh and his wife Dolores opened their home where Wayne and Barbara stayed, and their workshop. Work on the two cars was carried out pretty much on a dawn to dusk basis. Tom and Dolores were really great as without their help the two cars would not have been ready on time.

Both cars received extensive decals to acknowledge the various sponsors, Speciality Wheels, Dynacorn International and California Mustang as well as the 40th Anniversary celebration logo on the hood and trunk of both cars. The decaling was produced by a New Zealand Company – Dsign@xtra.co.nz  and received a lot of comment en route and during the event. Many wanted to buy the hood and trunk logos.

    
The two trusty steeds!
(Pictures by Don Brodersen (of the US Army, Alabama) taken at Nashville)

Departing Portland – Oregon

Wayne and Barbara were finally ready to go on the Wednesday prior to the event. They had hoped to get an early start but some ‘red tape’ held them up. After it had finally been sorted, farewells were said and finally got on the road at about 4.30 pm. Wayne drove the yellow car as it was a manual while Barbara drove the green car. They drove without incident late into the night, had a few hours sleep and then an early start the next morning with hopes of reaching Los Angeles that night. Beautiful country up there, very much like our South Island. It was lovely as the sun came up and shone all day.

It was while driving into Sacramento in the middle of a huge five lane each side freeway that Wayne indicated to go off. The car was making ominous loud knocking noises, spewing oil out everywhere. Apparently the main seal had gone. It was about lunchtime and to say that the freeway was busy was an understatement. A phone box was found and a call made to a local Mustang dealer, American Mustang at Rancho Cordoba, run by Andy and his wife Karen. They were only too happy to help. The car was put up on their hoist and they helped Wayne to remove the gearbox and oil pan. The oil pump, big end and main bearings and main seal were replaced as was the intake manifold gaskets to cure another small oil leak. Some parts had to be ordered by urgent courier and the help given by Andy and Karen was wonderful.

Wayne had the car back together again at about 10.00 pm and he and Barbara set off again, drove for a couple of hours to clear the city, stopped for a sleep and set off early again the following day. On arriving in LA in the early afternoon a new gas tank was obtained for the green car (the original was leaking through the seam) which Wayne changed after dinner. Finally everything was set to pick up the Arthur, Maryann and Sarah from the airport to begin the run the following day.

Ontario, CA – 10 April 2004

My wife, Maryann and daughter Sarah, almost didn’t make the start of the event. Our flight was postponed from a 4.00pm departure on 10 April to the following morning due to ‘engineering issues’. As we had arrived at the airport early we were able to change to a flight leaving four hours later.

At Los Angeles, Wayne met us at the airport and we were soon at the event starting point after about an hour on the LA freeways. The two cars looked great and attracted a lot of interest from other participants.

The following morning dawned fine and we all met up at the nearby Ontario Mills Centre. We all left between 7.45 and 8.00 am after a briefing from Sam Haymart (who incidentally was driving a brand new white stage 3 Roush convertible) and a raffle draw – licence plate surrounds, mustang monopoly games etc. Approx 100 cars left LA and we followed the I 15 to Barstow and then the I 40 to a rest area stop. This was a good opportunity to talk to some of the other participants. After about 215 miles we stopped at the Needles area for a lunch stop. Gas was expensive here, $2.49 a gallon (compared with $2.15 in LA and $1.60 in Arkansas). Weather was fine and the scenery great on the drive to Flagstaff in Arizona. We travelled about 425 miles that day. Accommodation that night was at the Ramada, which took a little while to find due to the confusing directions, supplied. During this part of the run the scenery was much like that in western movies expecting to see Indians on the horizon

Flagstaff, AR – 12 April 2004

If I thought we had travelled a lot of miles the previous day, this was longer – 440plus miles. Due to the altitude, the yellow car developed an over fuelling problem, which thanks to some of the American participants, was able to be quickly fixed. After the drivers meeting and raffle draw we left Flagstaff and entered New Mexico at about 11.00 am. Amazing scenery through this part of the country, including Indian reservations and the Great Divide. Lunch stop was at a place called Gallup, NM. Time change here, forward one hour. More cars had joined the convoy and there were probably about 120 (out of the 326 registered). Weather was fine but cool as we were gaining altitude. We stopped at some authentic Indian craft stores, buying some of their work. We were supposed to meet the local club in Albuquerque in the afternoon, but due to the relevant off ramp being closed a lot of the cars missed the meet up. Very disappointing for the locals. We then travelled onto Santa Rosa, NM. The accommodation that night was at a Super 8 motel. This was a small town (by American standards) and did not offer a lot in the way of nightlife although some did get to the local Route 66 museum.

Santa Rosa, NM – 13 April 2004

We awoke and everything had frost on it so it was out with the ice scrapers. The weather was still fine though. One car that arrived late in the evening due to having diff repairs carried out in Flagstaff and had also received what the Americans called, a ‘gator bite’. While travelling in the dark a pick up in front of them threw up a truck tread which badly dented their hood but they carried on regardless. After the briefing we all departed and entered Texas about two hours later. We had been warned that if you exceed the speed limit by more the 20 mph in Texas, quote ‘you will go to jail ‘unquote. Time change here, forward one hour.

John Chandler Ford and the Texas Panhandle Mustang Club in Amarillo, TX hosted lunch complete with 40th Anniversary cakes made for the occasion and give away packs for all participants. This was just one example of the importance that the local Ford dealers place on these type of events. A truly southern welcome. By now the convoy had grown so large that a Police escort was needed to get us back on the freeway. We, however, were the last to leave as Wayne had got talking to an old guy about the 64 and a half convertible that was wasting away in his garage. Phone numbers and address changed hands. After travelling at a faster pace than the convoy for approx two hours we managed to be at the front for the afternoon stop

At about 3.30 pm we stopped at Clinton in Oklahoma to visit the Route 66 Museum. All participants were given free ‘old style’ bottles of coke and memorabilia was purchased at their shop. The large number of cars now involved almost caused chaos in the street as Mustangs of all shapes and sizes blocked others.

 Clinton Route 66 Museum; One of Many

After the Museum we arrived at our night stop in Mustang, OK. After checking into our hotel, we were hosted by Oklahoma Mustang Club and the locals at a local park. Mustang is obviously proud of its connection with the pony car. There was even a state representative to welcome us all. We were treated to home cooked local variety food and a bluegrass band that would have challenged the band on the movie ‘O brother, where art thou’. Southern hospitality at its best. I had one older dude call out when he saw the kiwi decals on the car, ‘Hey, kiwis, I was with you guys in Vietnam, welcome’

Mustang, OK – 14 April 2004

By now the convoy had doubled to about 200 cars and it looked impressive in the rear view mirror with their lights on. Mustangs as far as the eye could see. After the driver’s meeting we all left onto the I 40. Weather was great and the landscape was getting greener after the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico. Lunch stop was in Sallisaw, OK in the Wal Mart parking lot. We overshot the off-ramp due to an incorrect off-ramp number in the instructions and had to drive to the next off-ramp before heading back. After lunch we rejoined the freeway in a fragmented bunch due to traffic light phasing and headed towards North Little Rock, AR. Generally the convoy was well spread out by the time we reached North Little Rock. 352 miles that day.

The hungry truck!  Even though the speed limit was 55mph for these beasts they often passed us in excess of 80mph.

North Point Ford and Central Arkansas Mustangers put on a great reception with a catered dinner and participants giveaway packs. An impromptu car show at the dealership was also organised. In addition speeches from the local club president had the gathering in fits with his rendition of a Willie Nelson (complete with hat and hair) poking fun at Chevy’s. A further example of the hospitality and relationships with local clubs and their Ford dealerships. Isn’t something like that missing in NZ? A representative of Roush Motor sport was also in attendance and presented lots of spot prizes, Wayne was lucky enough to win a Roush tyre pressure gauge.

North Little Rock, AR – 15 April 2004

Last day of the convoy today. After the briefing and raffle draw including more Roush products and coffee and donuts for breakfast, the convoy left North Point Ford under Police escort which is just as well as there were in excess of 300 cars by now. After an easy drive along the I 40 and the green hills of Tennessee we arrived at the Germantown Mall in Memphis. Here the SVTOA of Memphis hosted us with a hospitality tent (with complimentary soft drinks) in the Wolf Chase Galleria. At this stop a lady from one of the American motoring magazines took photos of us and the cars as well as information to do an article.

After leaving Memphis it was relatively short drive to Nashville arriving there just after 3.00 pm. Our accommodation was at the Marriott Airport Hotel with others of the group staying at the Gaylord Opryland (the base hotel for the MCA). That evening we went to the hospitality room for nibbles and drinks before heading out to the meeting area of a nearby church prior to a planned drive around downtown Nashville.

On arrival at this meet up point there were Mustangs filling the entire car park, I believe somewhere around 2000.

Car park crush at Nashville, prior to the downtown drive

 We decided not to participate in the downtown drive due to the slow driving involved and the likelihood of overheating (we had experienced this during the drive in road work areas). So instead we positioned ourselves by the parking lot exit and watched a continuous procession of Mustangs of every year shape size and condition leave. This took almost two hours for those who were taking part to leave the parking lot. The odd near miss and wheelie being popped made it an impressive sight.

Nashville, TN – 15 – 18 April 2004

Due to arriving on the opening day we did not get to the speedway until the following day. After resolving a reservation problem at the hotel (which resulted in all of us receiving complimentary breakfasts for the four days), Wayne and I headed out to the Nashville Super Speedway to validate our registration. On arrival we were greeted by a very well organised reception where we received a souvenir box and entry credentials for the next three days. The Nashville Super Speedway is huge by NZ standards and is located about 40 miles from Nashville near a town called Lebanon.

Arthur at Nashville, on top of the superspeedway stand

Over the next three days we were treated to a mind-blowing array of vehicles.

                                   
Early models: Main event centre at Nashville Superspeedway : Late models

Under the stadium were located all the concours vehicles, many of which had been trailered long distances to get there. A special car park had been set aside for their trailers and there were hundreds of them.

To the right of the stadium there were located the Judges choice late model vehicles. Imaging if you will, 70 green Bullit mustangs in a row, and then over 140 Mach 1’s. To the left of the stadium were located all the early models (including the two we drove). It was a continuous battle with dust in the judge’s choice area, so we gave up after the first day as we weren’t there to win prizes.

 The rear of the stadium at Nashville where all the commercial displays
and swap meet were located

At the rear of the stadium were all the commercial displays and swap meet areas. The e-bay 1967 mustang was there, a truly impressive restomod, which attracted a lot of attention. The original Mustang prototype was there (smaller than I would have thought) as well as the first Mustang produced that had been sold by error to a Canadian airline pilot. An error, which Ford rectified when they purchased it back two years later.

As far as I was concerned the most interesting display was the 2005 model pre-production car. There were three, a red GT, a lime gold V6 and a white mule car which looked a little worse for wear after obviously being used for road testing. In addition there was a chassis display of the new model, which showed that the engine is mounted symmetrically as opposed to the current offset method in the current model. This should make conversion easier to right hand drive.

Various participants took the opportunity to try their cars out on the speedway track and throughout the event the growl of challenged engines could be heard. I believe that there were in excess of 4,000 cars on display at the event. So many in fact my recollection of particular cars started to blur. One that does stick in my mind however, was a bright yellow Shelby 500KR called the Yellow Rose of Texas.

That evening we attended along with many others a show at the Grand Ole Opry. It was very professionally done with continuous comment and acknowledgment by the performers on the Ford Mustang. This show also goes out live for radio and television broadcast and is claimed to be the longest running radio show in the world.

The following day was more events out at the speedway for the participants. Transport was even arranged throughout the event by the organisers for partners to do some shopping at the Opry Mills Mall. Sprinkled throughout the day were technical briefings on the new Mustang, a GT350 race and a vintage Trans-Am Mustang race. That evening about 700 of the participants (us included) took part in a dinner/cruise on the General Jackson (a river boat) on the Cumberland River. This event had proved so popular that it had sold out in September 2003. The event included very interesting talks by Ford executives and others as well as an excellent live show.

The final day at the Nashville speedway involved award presentations as well as entertainment from the Charlie Daniels band.

Art Hyde of Team Mustang entertained the Mustangs Across America group at the farewell dinner at the hotel. A very interesting speaker who informed us Kiwi’s (on being asked) that Ford USA would have produced the new model in right hand drive to supply those particular markets. However he stated that Ford Australia, New Zealand and UK were not interested. Clearly they do not understand their customers very well. Perhaps they are trying to protect the Falcon brand or are miffed that the Falcon was not adopted as the world car, who knows. An excellent dinner and a great opportunity to farewell acquaintances made on the journey. We had brought with us a number of New Zealand souvenirs which we presented to the various people that we had met.

My daughter, Sarah won the final raffle draw, number 339 of 1000 Mustang GT concept Convertible with the 40th Anniversary decal on the door. The car is also signed by Art Hyde of Team Mustang. Wayne also participated in a team quiz event winning a 40th Anniversary poster signed by Art Hyde.

Returning to Los Angeles – 19 – 30 April 2004

The following day we said our farewells and headed off down to Mobile in Alabama and back to Los Angeles via Biloxi Mississippi, New Orleans Louisiana, Dallas Texas, Shreveport Texas, Flagstaff and Phoenix Arizona.

On leaving Nashville we travelled south for some distance on the Natchez Trace Parkway which had been recommended to us. However, even though it was very scenic with the rolling hills of Tennessee, the speed limit was only 45 mph and it would have taken too long to complete. So we headed back to the freeways and on to Decatur where we had a nice lunch by the Tennessee river. A beautiful little town (French influence) with lots of old areas. Travelling on we visited Dauphine Island in the Gulf of Mexico. To get to the island you travel over a 6 mile causeway. On the island we had a look at a historic Confederate fort as well as being lucky enough to be invited into a new beach home by a lovely American family, this allowed us to see from their turret room the beautiful views over the Gulf and beaches.

 Maryann, Arthur, Wayne and Barbara outside the holiday home on
Dauphine Island, Alabama

After travelling the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico from Alabama, through Mississippi to Louisiana, we visited New Orleans. After a $1.99 breakfast of eggs and grits (an acquired taste I assure you) a true Southern experience, we walked the whole French Quarter which was very historic and all we expected. We then drove around the Garden District and had lunch in a lovely park with the chipmunks. After driving around other parts of New Orleans we returned to our motel at Long Beach on the Coast.

Our intention was to attend a show in Dallas in conjunction with the 7 week pony trek but the water pump on the yellow car failed on the I 12 in Louisiana, this took about four hours to fix.

Fixing the water pump on I12 Louisiana.

The delay resulted in us missing a car show in Dallas that day. However when we got to Dallas the following day we were able to go through the Unique Performance facility (where the GT500E Shelby is made – the ‘Eleanor’ car) on our own. About five were in finishing stages of production from the standard (302 V8) to the super snake (427 V8 with Shelby supercharger). The two prototype cars were there on display. A row of about 8 donor cars under covers plus approx 12 others in the early stages of rebuilding, were on show.

On leaving Dallas we travelled back up to Amarillo and stayed in a hotel that had a heated pool in by the lobby with all the rooms set around it in a semi-circle. That night we went to the restaurant next door called the ‘Cracker Barrel’. This looked like an old farm house complete with rocking chairs. The front part of the building was a shop which sold all sorts of clothes, home baked goods and gifts. The dinner was great.

The next morning we visited the American Quarter Horse Museum, so named for the time the horses used to do over the old quarter mile. Sarah in particular enjoyed this visit as she is a bit of a horse nut. We then headed back to Albuquerque part of it along the old Route 66. Albuquerque is a very pretty city with some very colourful painted freeways (beige & blue) passes and bridges. As we were now back in New Mexico, the scenery was mostly desert with faraway rocky outcrops and mesas, Indian country. That night we stayed in Santa Rosa and had time to visit another Route 66 museum. This was a family run affair and quite impressive with a large collection of 50’s and 60’s cars, lots of memorabilia. Well worth the visit.

Route 66 museum in Santa Rosa, New Mexico - picture of a nice Ford pick up

The next stop was Walnut Canyon, just outside of Flagstaff; this is an amazing place where over the years the canyon walls have been built up in layers, very steep. Among the layers are lots of pockets where the Indians made them into dwellings. We climbed down a heap of steps to view one – incredible how they lived there. Just as we were leaving a Park Ranger advised us that one of the cars was leaking a large amount of green liquid. On checking Wayne found that the water pump had died on the green car as well. We topped up the radiator and carefully drove into Flagstaff to a parts place where a new pump was ordered. This did not arrive until the next day but we had planned to spend two days in Flagstaff anyway. The following day Arthur, Maryann and Sarah drove up to the Grand Canyon while Wayne and Barbara saw to the car (they had already seen the Grand Canyon) and repaired the water pump at the motel.

With everything fixed we drove the following day via the Grand Canyon valley floor through Sedona and Jerome. This takes you up into the a mountainous region with the most amazing rock formations and colour range. Very beautiful and definitely a highlight travel wise. On to Phoenix down to the desert floor, with buildings all the same low, square, white block, flat roof and little slit windows to keep cool or warm and to stay put during tornadoes. This area exposed us to some of the hottest temperatures that we had experienced – 107F. It was like being in a fan oven. We didn’t stay long driving onto Blythe on the Colorado River, a place that boasts 365 days a year never lower than 55 degrees F. A middle class mans Palm Springs.

On arrival back in LA the girls flew back to New Zealand on 1 May while Wayne and I stayed back another week to enable Wayne to organise the shipping of the two cars back to NZ as well as filling a 40’ high cube container with rolling bodies, nose cuts and thousands of parts.
 

Some Comments

This was an amazing experience made possible by Wayne and his commitment to using cars of the period. We met an amazing variety of people during the drive and at the event from the couple that gave my daughter a pendant with the American flag and eagle signifying veterans of foreign wars, to Walter (in his 80’s) and his partner in their 1965 poppy red coupe (with 300,000 miles on it). Also the memorable evening beer sessions with the ‘boys from Idaho’ outside their room at the Nashville Marriott. The Aussies as always were prominent; the cry of ‘Aussie, Aussie, Oi Oi’ split the air on occasions with their flag draped outside their white mustang rental car. The Canadians who transported a completely restored 1967 fastback to Los Angeles with only 28 miles on it, the drive was to be the shakedown cruise, talk about tempting fate. One group of Aussies even shipped their cars to the event. It was real strange to the Americans to see a 1971 429 Super Cobra Jet in right hand drive. Another group purchased a 66 coupe in LA and sold it in Nashville for $US7000. They were not seen after that. Most of the Americans were in awe of our undertaking to do this trip in cars we knew nothing about until 2 weeks prior to the start. The detailing package on the cars also attracted considerable interest

If you can, do a trip like this. You get to see the genuine America, a very proud and friendly people. We met numerous people after the event that gave us insight into the psych of the ordinary citizen, from the elderly couple on their way from Virginia to Arizona to visit family, to the insurance broker from Atlanta Georgia, in the newly constructed holiday home at Dauphin Island in Alabama, who welcomed us in to see the view from their turret room.

Chevy owners may call their cars the ‘heartbeat of America’ but the Mustang is rightly called the ‘Hoofbeat of America’.

Postscript

When the car arrive back, Wayne decided to bring the two cars down to the 2004 convention in New Plymouth in October 04. Go here to see them