REPORT - 2023 Mustang Round Up
Words and Photos: Mike Ryan
When the Victorian chapter of the Mustang Owners’ Club of Australia (MOCA VIC) put on an event, they go big. When it’s their first major show in four years, it’s even bigger. Such was the case for the 2023 Mustang Round Up, which was the first to be held since 2019.
The Round Up, which is primarily for MOCA VIC members, but welcomes all Mustang owners, was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID, while torrential rain in 2022 led to the event being called for the third year in a row. As such, Mustang owners were champing at the bit (no pun intended) for the Round Up’s return in 2023, which was held on 29 October at the Dandenong Showgrounds; a familiar venue for past Round Ups.
For decades, Dandenong used to be a major venue for monthly (and sometimes even weekly) horse sales. Even after the arrival and widespread adoption of motor vehicles, the horse sales continued and were still going in the 1940s and ‘50s. With that equine history in mind, Dandenong is the ideal place for a Mustang show!
The Round Up hosts the MOCA Victorian State Concours, as well as the Shelby Nationals, Boss Mustang Display Concours and a Show ‘n’ Shine. The state concours sees the best of the best amongst the MOCA VIC membership submit their vehicles for a thorough judging process with the chance to score gold, silver or bronze awards in Original and Modified classes.
For the Show ‘n’ Shine, the judging criteria isn’t as comprehensive (no underbody inspection, for example), but excellence is still recognised, with the winner of the Most Outstanding Mustang award eligible for concours judging in the future.
For the Victorian State Concours, Shelby Nationals Concours and Show ‘n’ Shine, entrants must be MOCA VIC members. Their vehicles must be registered and driven into the venue, along with a number of other criteria, so the process is serious. As such, a gold, silver or bronze award in the concours is a big deal.
Other awards recognise stalwarts of MOCA and the Mustang movement locally, including Steve Lond, who many amongst the JUST CARS audience will remember as the man behind Mustangs of Melbourne. A memorial award in his name and another for Garnet Judd are some of the key awards, with others including a President’s Award and the usual trophies for bodystyle (hardtop, fastback/sportsroof and convertible), era (2005-2014, post-2015, etc.) and modified vehicles, as well as specific awards for Shelby and Boss Mustangs.
A Long Wait = A Big Turnout
With the 2023 Mustang Round Up being the first in four years, the numbers were impressive, with 485 cars entered. This eclipsed the 2019 total and comes close to the biggest of all time. The hardstand area (the Gloria Pyke netball courts within the Dandenong Showgrounds complex) soon filled with cars, with the overflow moving onto the grassed areas to the north and west of the courts. To the south and east, there were food vendors and stall holders; the latter including Mustang Motorsport, who presented an impressive array of late-model Shelby and Roush Mustangs, along with a tricked-up Ranger from their new ‘MM Offroad’ division offering performance parts for Ranger and F-150.
Near perfect weather on the day played its part in 2023’s impressive numbers, too.
Judging got underway at around 8:00AM, barely an hour after the first cars arrived. Expediting the process for the 21 cars (the biggest entry in years) in the Victorian State Concours and Shelby Nationals Concours judging was a scissor-lift hoist for underbody inspections, in addition to the trailer that’s usually used for this purpose. For the dozens of other cars entered in the Show ‘n Shine, judges remarked on the high standard, with many close to concours levels of presentation.
While Show ‘n’ Shine awards were presented at the venue on the day, the concours winners received their gongs at the club’s Annual Concours Presentation dinner in Richmond that evening. These winners included nine gold and two silver in the Original class, with two gold and two bronze in Modified. For the Shelby Nationals Concours, there were three gold award winners, including a stunning 1966 GT350-H – the famous “Hertz Mustang”.
Ponies from (almost) Every Era
The feature for the 2023 Round Up was the 1971-73 Mustangs, with Shelby Cobras welcomed, too. These were in the first lineup of cars to greet enthusiasts. Beyond them, the rest of the display field was heavily populated with first-generation and sixth-generation examples, with a few fifth-, fourth- and third-generation cars, too. This reflects the tastes of Mustang enthusiasts more generally, along with the vehicles you’ll find for sale with JUST CARS. The only era not represented at the 2023 Mustang Round Up was the second-gen ‘Mustang II,’ but these underappreciated pony cars have been a regular fixture at Round Ups in years past.
Every generation has its devotees and those that attended the Round Up no doubt had their favourites. What’s presented here is a snapshot of what was on show on the day.
More in 2024
With 2024 marking the 60th birthday of the Mustang, and the new, seventh generation version expected to reach our shores in April, MOCA state chapters around the country will be getting their ponies out to shows throughout the year.
At an Australia-wide level, the Mustang Nationals is now a biennial event, with the next nats scheduled for 21-23 March, 2025, in Bathurst, NSW.
For MOCA VIC, their upcoming events will include the All Ford Day (Geelong, 17 March) and a new event on 14 April (location TBC). There’ll likely be a Mustang presence at the Maling Road Auto Classico in May (Canterbury, date TBC), with other events and the 2024 Round Up still awaiting confirmation at time of writing.
For details on all upcoming MOCA VIC shows, go to the club website – vic.mustang.org.au or follow them on social media.
