Colin Wood
Colin Wood Associate Editor
11/29/21 12:33 p.m.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/rGtB0Fwgk38

If you could take any car on the unrestricted part of the Autobahn, what car would you take? A Porsche? Ferrari? How about a 1966 Ford Mustang convertible?

After all, when you pay for the whole speedometer, shouldn’t you use all of it?

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I am sure a street car like that is quite the  *ahem* experience  at that speed.

 

bob-"too many dang korean cars"-zilla
bob-"too many dang korean cars"-zilla MegaDork
11/29/21 3:18 p.m.

It looks like a lot, but 200kph is only 124ph. But I imagine on a stock suspension/brake 66 mustang convert that would feel like 190mph.

Tom1200
Tom1200 UltraDork
11/29/21 3:20 p.m.

125 seems believable. 

 

DjGreggieP
DjGreggieP HalfDork
11/29/21 4:17 p.m.

Can we take a moment to acknowledge the speed of the Audi shaped car in front around the 3:20ish mark?

The Mustang is traveling at 200km/h and that thing just walked away as tho traffic wasn't moving around them. Mind you, it DID slow down substantially on the curve...

Jerry From LA
Jerry From LA SuperDork
11/29/21 5:40 p.m.

Those speedos are pretty inaccurate at either end of the spectrum.  They are most accurate around the middle of their range.  There is a small screen perched on the steering column but we can't see the readout.  It's probably a GPS because it was placed there with no attaching wires. That rag top was probably really puffed out at those speeds from the pressure differential.  I expected to hear more rattling but was surprised at the tightness overall.  The front end was probably a handful due to lift.  Props to anyone who maintains a 55-year-old Mustang well enough to achieve that velocity and walk away from it in the end.

Mr_Asa
Mr_Asa PowerDork
11/29/21 8:51 p.m.
Tom1200 said:

125 seems believable. 

I was clocked at 95 with a 200ci engine, so I believe it. 
Cop said he had been behind me for 5 minutes or more.  I should make sure I get rearview mirrors when I get her ready again.

I really hope that guy upgraded the brakes before he did that.

Shaun
Shaun Dork
11/30/21 10:30 a.m.

The car sure goes strait and the steering wheel was dead centered and appeared to have very little play on center which indicates to me it is a car that has been gone though pretty well.  I think the small black rectangle on the dash cluster sill is a hero type camera?  Look like a fairly calm 125 per..., although I don't think I would bother if it were my car.

MadScientistMatt
MadScientistMatt UltimaDork
11/30/21 11:22 a.m.
Jerry From LA said:

Those speedos are pretty inaccurate at either end of the spectrum.  They are most accurate around the middle of their range.  There is a small screen perched on the steering column but we can't see the readout.  It's probably a GPS because it was placed there with no attching wires. That rag top was probably really puffed out at those speeds from the pressure differential.  I expected to hear more rattling but was surprised at the tightness overall.  The front end was prbably a handful due to lift.  Props to anyone who maintains a 55-year-old Mustang well enough to achieve that velocity and walk away from it in the end.

I presume the thing on the steering column is a camera recording the speedometer.

I wonder if some better shocks would make a lot of difference here.

This kind of reminds me of that commercial Ford ran earlier:

"Couldn't find a car you liked in Germany?"

"Couldn't find a speed limit I liked in America."

Toebra
Toebra Dork
11/30/21 11:32 a.m.

I know a guy with a Superbird that would be appropriate.

Ian F (Forum Supporter)
Ian F (Forum Supporter) MegaDork
11/30/21 12:03 p.m.
noddaz by any other Cougar name is still noddaz said:

I am sure a street car like that is quite the  *ahem* experience  at that speed.

 

I can confirm 90 MPH (GPS speedometer) in a '64 Mini is exciting.  Probably more so than 124 in a '66 Mustang.

CAinCA
CAinCA HalfDork
11/30/21 12:19 p.m.

It's pedantic, but I'm pretty sure that's a '65. The speedo was round on the '66s and the gas cap didn't have the black inlay. The side scoops were different too, but it looks like this car has had them removed. In HS I had a '66 with the 200 straight 6 and friend had a '65 with the 289 V8 2bbl. 

 

This car does indeed look to be well sorted. Even with new tires my car would rattle, shake and float around at 100mph. The steering was also pretty sloppy in the center and that was on a 20 year old car.

Jerry From LA
Jerry From LA SuperDork
11/30/21 1:42 p.m.
CAinCA said:

It's pedantic, but I'm pretty sure that's a '65. The speedo was round on the '66s and the gas cap didn't have the black inlay. The side scoops were different too, but it looks like this car has had them removed. In HS I had a '66 with the 200 straight 6 and friend had a '65 with the 289 V8 2bbl. 

 

This car does indeed look to be well sorted. Even with new tires my car would rattle, shake and float around at 100mph. The steering was also pretty sloppy in the center and that was on a 20 year old car.

This appears to be the export version of the Mustang.  They often differed from their American counterparts cosmetically.  They could've gotten rid of excess '65 dashboards by continuing to install them in export cars where Europeans did not expect wholesale changes from year to year.

Jerry From LA
Jerry From LA SuperDork
11/30/21 1:44 p.m.

In reply to MadScientistMatt :

I'll go for that "GPS" being a camera.  Not up on my small video camera stuff.

fearlesfil
fearlesfil New Reader
11/30/21 9:12 p.m.

In reply to bob-"too many dang korean cars"-zilla :

Oh yeah. The air would lift the front end on my '69 on the freeway at 115 MPH. There was literally no steering without easing off the throttle. I felt like Chuck Yeager investigating "ground effect."

Type Q
Type Q SuperDork
12/1/21 11:42 a.m.
Jerry From LA said:

In reply to MadScientistMatt :

I'll go for that "GPS" being a camera.  Not up on my small video camera stuff.

http://www.mtwhitneyquest.com

It's a camera. I have watched other videos on this channel. SOP is to set up a small camera to record video of the speedometer. 

 

wspohn
wspohn SuperDork
12/1/21 11:49 a.m.

124 mph?  My old (69) MG would handily top that.  In fact everything I own would top that  ( think my wife's Mazda 3 is about 2 mph slower though).

I've raced on the track against some first gen fairly stock Mustangs and they seemed to get a bit squirrely as they neared top end.

 

CAinCA
CAinCA HalfDork
12/1/21 1:43 p.m.
Jerry From LA said:
CAinCA said:

It's pedantic, but I'm pretty sure that's a '65. The speedo was round on the '66s and the gas cap didn't have the black inlay. The side scoops were different too, but it looks like this car has had them removed. In HS I had a '66 with the 200 straight 6 and friend had a '65 with the 289 V8 2bbl. 

 

This car does indeed look to be well sorted. Even with new tires my car would rattle, shake and float around at 100mph. The steering was also pretty sloppy in the center and that was on a 20 year old car.

This appears to be the export version of the Mustang.  They often differed from their American counterparts cosmetically.  They could've gotten rid of excess '65 dashboards by continuing to install them in export cars where Europeans did not expect wholesale changes from year to year.

Good point on it being an export version. I never considered that they exported them new.

Toebra
Toebra Dork
12/2/21 7:44 p.m.

Had to be an export version, or the speedo would not be in KPH

californiamilleghia
californiamilleghia UltraDork
12/2/21 8:01 p.m.

There is a large early Mustang club in Switzerland , where I believe they sold a lot of American cars in the 60s , 

The Mustang club did a USA tour maybe 10 years ago  and I saw them on the local freeway !

Jerry From LA
Jerry From LA SuperDork
12/3/21 12:39 a.m.
CAinCA said:

Good point on it being an export version. I never considered that they exported them new.

I was in Paris in 1970 and saw a '68 Mustang with Ford alloy wheels you never saw in the US.  Further examination showed differences in the interior as well.  As a 14-year-old, I was probably at the peak of my ability to discern differences in American car manufacture.

Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter)
Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) UltimaDork
12/6/21 11:01 p.m.

The rear gear would have a lot to to with the top speed as well. Would be curious to see a tach reading at top end.

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