When it came time for its first significant revamp, the original pony car was no longer the only pony car. It was clear the 1967 Ford Mustang would have to fight for sales.
Designers who would shape the '67 model were in a unique position, however. In the 1960s, a new car took some three years to go from drawing board to showroom. Typically, designers and engineers were working without knowing how the public liked the car they had just finished.
But when work on what would become the 1967 Ford Mustang began in summer 1964, the first edition was already a huge hit. That posed the knotty problem of what to do for an encore. While Ford expected some changes would be needed after '66, it wasn't clear what those ought to be.
Moreover, as program head Ross Humphries later told author Gary Witzenburg: "At the time the '67 was planned, we really didn't have any idea that the original was such a winner. Things did look awfully rosy, but we didn't know how long it was going to last." Fad or not, Mustang's instant high success got Ford cracking on a slightly larger, more luxurious pony car by late 1964. It would emerge for '67 as the Mercury Cougar.
Meantime, Ford Division was left to ponder how archrival Chevrolet might respond — if at all. For a time, General Motors design chief Bill Mitchell insisted his company already had a Mustang-fighter in the beautiful second-generation 1965 Corvair. But that was just a smokescreen for the super-secret 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, a true Chevy pony car being readied for launch in late 1966. As Ford engineer Tom Feaheny recalled for Witzenburg: "It was a long ways down the road before we were aware they were coming after us."
Beyond that, Feaheny admitted that "[the '67 Mustang] was an opportunity to do a lot of refinement work. Frankly, the amount of engineering in [the first model] was not as great as it could have been…We really wanted to do the job right the second time around." He also noted that product planning chief Hal Sperlich wanted to "one-up the original in every respect: model availability, options, handling, performance, braking, comfort, quietness, even appearance where we could without making a major change."
Dovetailing nicely with that goal was the redesigned 1966 Ford Falcon, which grew from cost-conscious compact to a slightly smaller sister of the midsize 1966 Ford Fairlane. This meant Mustang would now have to share front-end components with those cars for cost and manufacturing reasons. And as the Fairlane was planned for big-block V-8s, Mustang's engine bay was bound to get wider too. Moreover, arrival of the 1964 Pontiac's GTO muscle car gave Ford an extra incentive to offer Mustang with a big-inch engine. After all, another "horsepower race" was on, and even a pony car can always use more oats.
The 1967 Ford Mustang
Ford Division wanted everything about the 1967 Mustang to be improved. The '67s retained the original Mustang's basic chassis and inner structure but were redesigned or reengineered most everywhere else. Most obvious was fresh styling created by the Ford Division studio under Gale Halderman. Given the tricky task of changing an instant icon without really changing it, designers explored various combinations of crisp lines and soft, rounded forms through the usual plethora of sketches and clay models. They also toyed with Mustang's trademark mouthy grille, bodyside sculpting, and trim tail.
Even so, some proposals strayed fairly far afield, ranging from bulky and square to lithe-looking, almost European. But the car that ultimately emerged was a nicely logical evolution of 1965-66. "We really took a number of cracks at it," Halderman told Witzenburg. "For '67 the theme revolved around more performance, so we made it a little stronger in appearance all over. The side scallop got deeper, for instance, and the grille and rear panel were enlarged. But we were very adamant about not changing…that rear hop-up look."
Though Don Frey took the reins at Ford Division as the '67 took shape, Lee Iacocca, promoted to corporate management, couldn't stay away. "Back in those days, Iacocca appeared [in our studio] daily," Halderman recalled. "The Mustang was his baby, and he watched it very carefully. We really didn't do anything on that car that he wasn't fully aware of and part of."
All '67 Mustangs got new lower-body sheetmetal designed to suggest stronger
performance, but the 2+2 also got a sweeping new full-fastback roofline
patterned on that of Ford's LeMans-winning GT40 racer.
Except for the 2+2, styling of the 1967 Mustang amounted to new outer sheet-metal from the beltline down. Wheelbase was held at 108 inches, but overall width swelled by 2.7 inches. A half-inch height increase improved headroom. Overall length tacked on two inches, most of it via a tidier nose with a more aggressive grille bereft of flanking "gills." Halderman's comment notwithstanding, designers did exaggerate the rear hop-up a little. They also made the tail panel concave, as well as larger, and finally won approval for the more-expensive individual taillamps they'd long desired.
For a new Exterior Decor Group option they applied thin bars to the back panel and conjured a special hood with wide, longitudinal recesses suggesting scoops. A nifty gimmick were turn-signal repeater lights nestled at the scoops' forward ends, easily visible to the driver. The 2+2 was the most radically changed '67 Mustang, gaining a sweeping full-fastback roofline inspired by that of Ford's GT40 racer, then making its mark at LeMans and other international endurance events. The new fastback retained flow-through ventilation but with air ducted through a dozen rear-quarter roof louvers instead of five vertical slots.
New Interior, New Features
Changes inside were no less numerous. Though the cabin remained a close-coupled affair with standard front bucket seats, the available console now swept up to meet a new "twin-cowl" instrument panel unique to Mustang. Drivers faced a pair of large, circular dials below three smaller gauges; ordering the optional tachometer eliminated the ammeter and oil pressure displays in the main starboard hole. Besides looking cool, the bulkier dash allowed for integrated air conditioning, though a hang-on unit was still available from dealers. Newly optional for all models was the useful Tilt-Away steering wheel recently pioneered by the posh Thunderbird, as well as AM radio with 8-track tape player and a "Convenience Control Panel" above the radio — reminder lights for door ajar, parking brake, low fuel, and seatbelts.
Interiors also added a number of "passive safety" features for '67, most per new federal decrees. Included were padded armrests, windshield pillars, sunvisors, and dashtop; double-laminate windshield; lane-change positions on the turn-signal lever; breakaway day/night mirror; standard seatbelts with pushbutton buckle releases and reminder light; built-in anchors for dealer-installed shoulder belts; four-way emergency flashers; and door locks that could not be accidentally released from the inside door handles. Serving "active safety" were a new dual-circuit brake system with trouble warning light; corrosion-resistant brake lines; safety-rim wheels; and standard backup lamps. Revised steering with a faster ratio and tighter turning circle served both active safety and driving ease.
The '67 Mustang's jazzy new "twin cowl" dashboard allowed for integrated
air-conditioning and was unique to Mustang, part of Ford's effort to give the
pony car a more upscale persona.
Hardly anything was overlooked. Among other new features were Ford's handy reversible keys, manual keyless door locking, standard windshield washers (operated by foot-pedal), tighter door and window seals, and lower-effort window winders. A unique new ragtop option was a glass rear window with a middle crease that allowed more-compact top folding. It was naturally more durable than the traditional plastic affair, immune to "clouding up" with age and weathering.