Mustang Round Up highlight – 1966 restomod coupe

Every year, the Mustang Owner’s Club of Australia’s Victorian chapter (MOCA Vic.) brings together hundreds of examples of America’s famous pony car for the ‘Mustang Round Up’. The 2024 edition was no exception, with new, old, stock and modified Mustangs on show - some cars even came from interstate to be a part of the event.

Held at the Dandenong Showgrounds on Sunday, 27 October, the 2024 Mustang Round Up celebrated 60 years since the Mustang’s debut, as well as the 50th birthday for MOCA Vic. The annual event combines a Show ‘n Shine that’s open to all Mustang owners with the MOCA Vic. State Concours and Shelby Nationals for club members.

While concours are usually all about originality, MOCA Vic recognises that Mustang owners have always liked to customise and personalise their vehicles. As such, they include a modified category.

While it looked stock, aside from some fat Center Line Convo Pros and a bonnet scoop, there was a LOT going on with the 1966 Mustang coupe shown here. For starters, a 514ci Ford Big Block V8 fills the detailed engine bay, with handmade strut tower caps and a Ring Brothers billet strut brace fitted, too. The brake booster, windscreen washer bottle, oil cooler and horn have all been relocated from the engine bay to fit the Big Block, with a custom exhaust also fitted.

The factory suspension has been replaced with an RRS coilover front end and triangulated three-link rear. Mini tubs allow for bigger rear tyres, there’s a narrowed 9-inch diff from a late-50s ‘Tank’ Fairlane and a fuel tank from a 1970 Mustang.

Interior touches on this ’66 Mustang included a gear shifter and door handles from a 1968 Mustang, a billet shifter knob, handmade door trims, illuminated sills, custom seats front and rear, a Grant steering wheel, push-button starting, a Dakota Digital dash, auxiliary analogue gauges (tacho and water temp) in a special pod atop the dash and a CD player in the glovebox. The boot has been completely custom trimmed, too. The list of mods is really too long to list

If this car it looks familiar, it’s because it’s been on the show scene for a few years now, with appearances at Meguiar’s MotorEx back in 2019, amongst other events. At the 2024 Round Up, the quality of this custom Mustang’s overall finish saw it receive a Gold Award, in the ‘Modified Class – Driven’ section, in the MOCA Victorian State Concours.

To see JUST CARS’ report from the 2024 Mustang Round Up, click HERE.