1964 - 1965 New York World's Fair

The Mustang was officially introduced at the 1964 New York World's Fair.  Disney's WED Enterprises created many of the pavilions at the fair, including the Ford Magic Skyway.  Check out this super cool film of the exhibit, presented by Ford.

Mustang 50th Anniversary Event at site of 1965 New York Worlds Fair

The 1967 Ford Mustang GT500 won Best in Show at the 50th birthday celebration for the Ford Mustang. Photo by: Sam VarnHagen/Ford Motor Co.

Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company

Thanks to Ford for the coverage of the 50th Anniversary Show held in New York at the site of the 1965 World's Fair.

APR 17, 2014 | NEW YORK

FORD MUSTANG RETURNS TO NEW YORK TO CELEBRATE 50 YEARS; 1967 SHELBY GT500 MUSTANG FASTBACK WINS BEST IN SHOW

• Ford executives bring the all-new Mustang to the site of the 1964 World’s Fair, where the original Mustang debuted 50 years ago

• Hundreds of area Mustang club enthusiasts celebrate the iconic pony car, with 94 classic Mustangs on display in front of the Unisphere at Flushing Meadows Park

• 1967 Shelby GT500 Mustang fastback owned by David Davidson is chosen by Moray Callum, Ford vice president of design, as best in show

VISIT THE 50 YEARS OF MUSTANG COLLECTION

Ford Mustang fans and company executives gathered at Flushing Meadows Park in Queens, N.Y. today to celebrate 50 years of the iconic sports car that debuted on the grounds of the 1964 World’s Fair. In addition to the all-new 2015 Mustang, 94 cars from New York-area Mustang clubs were brought to the plaza in front of the Unisphere, where Moray Callum, Ford vice president of design, chose a 1967 Shelby GT500 Mustang fastback as best in show.

“It’s a great feeling to be here at Flushing Meadows 50 years to the day after Ford unveiled the original Mustang at the 1964 World’s Fair,” said Raj Nair, Ford group vice president, global product development. “Seeing the devotion that owners put into caring for these amazing classic Mustangs reinforces why we put so much passion and effort into making the all-new 2015 Mustang great.”

Visitors to the World’s Fair on April 17, 1964 were among the first in the world to see Mustang on display at the Ford Rotunda pavilion. That same day, Americans stampeded into Ford dealerships to buy a Mustang. By the end of the day, more than 22,000 Mustangs had been purchased or ordered, a breathtaking start to one of the greatest product launches in history.

“Standing where my grandfather, Henry Ford II, stood to reveal Mustang five decades ago is both humbling and inspiring – especially since we are launching the next 50 years of Mustang at Ford Motor Company,” said Ford Vice President Elena Ford, leader of the Global Dealer and Consumer Experience organization. “Since then, Mustang has become the heart and soul of Ford Motor Company, and a symbol of my great-great-grandfather Henry Ford’s vision of putting the world on wheels.”

After walking among the 94 classic Mustangs brought out by club members, Callum narrowed the selections down to these three:

• 1965 Mustang K-Code convertible, owned by Teresa and Steve Kronred
• 1971 Mustang Mach 1 fastback, owned by Steven Chernow
• 1967 Shelby GT500 Mustang fastback, owned by David Davidson

“Great sports cars are living, breathing machines that reflect both their drivers and their creators,” said Callum. “Like a living organism, they must change and adapt or become extinct, and that evolution is on display today, showing how Mustang has adapted while retaining its essence.”

Callum chose a blue 1967 Shelby GT500 Mustang fastback owned by Davidson as best in show. Davidson was presented with a unique prize, a Ford design studio model painted Race Red and used to evaluate exterior colors. Following the presentation, it was personally autographed by Elena Ford, Nair and Callum.

“I’ve owned many Mustangs over the years, but I’m just amazed to get this honor from the Ford design team,” said Davidson. “I’ve owned this GT500 for three years and it only has 40,000 original miles. It’s fantastic to drive.”

“Mustang has an incredibly rich heritage, and as we celebrate 50 years at Ford, we are focused on making the next 50 years even better,” said Nair.

More than 300 Mustang Club members gathered to celebrate the 50th birthday of the Ford Mustang at the site of the car’s 1964 introduction. Photo by: Sam VarnHagen/Ford Motor Co.

Ford Archives, The Henry Ford to Make More Ford History Accessible Online

Image courtesy of Ford Motor Company.

Ford Motor Company has announced that key material from the millions of assets currently held at Ford archives and The Henry Ford soon will be accessible online.  The goal is to preserve Ford's rich history and share it with new audiences.

Mustang related items will include selections from the following:

• 450 rolls of film from the 1964-65 New York World's Fair
• Ford Mustang heritage photography
• Many historic Ford advertising images

The materials will be available on www.TheHenryFord.org beginning in 2014.

The entire press release is available as a PDF download by clicking on this link.

1964 World's Fair Mustang-Part 2

I posted Monday about one of the 1964 World's Fair Magic Skyway Mustangs. I just wanted to share some of the "detail" photos today. I did not get that many, but there are some interesting ones.


Here are three pictures showing some of the remnants of steel brackets welded to the car to attach it to the ride system:

I will share one story that I read a while back about the development of the Magic Skyway. There was somewhat of a "battle" between the Ford engineers and the Disney folks as to how the ride system should be engineered and developed. The Disney design won out when the Ford ideas did not work.

The original trunk mat was still in the Mustang!

The original carpet was really interesting in that it was sewn to fit, rather than molded, like all Mustangs that I have ever seen.

The "smooth" seams in the door jambs and trunk area may have been just for a "show car" treatment for the World's Fair cars or maybe it was done on many of the very early Mustangs.

I've always been very interested in learning more about the history involving the 1964 World's Fair, and, of course, Ford's Magic Skyway, but there are only so many hours in the day...

1964 World's Fair Mustang-Part 1

Friday, I visited the Ford Carlisle Event. It was raining, but there was a very interesting Mustang on display inside a building. I'll apologize for the images, because I just had a point and shoot camera since it was nasty and raining.

Anyway, the Ford Mustang made it's debut at the 1964 World's Fair in New York. There is a ton of information about this World's Fair, and I just know a little bit about it. I know more about the involvement of the Walt Disney Company. One of the attractions that Disney created was Ford's Magic Skyway. I could go on and on about the history and development of this pavilion, but I want to just share the general information and pictures of this particular Mustang.

The ride featured new Ford vehicles (including some Mustangs) on a "ride through" attraction. One of these Mustangs is pictured here. It is actually serial number 4! After I got home, I realized that I was so excited to see the details of this car that I did not actually get a photo of the entire outside of the car!