Traveling from Lakeland to Ocala Thursday night with
Robert's two 429 Mustangs. |
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Due to an ignition system problem, Robert's friend
editor Ford had to come to the rescue to help us make the final leg of the
journey to Ocala. He was pleased to make the hour drive south at about
11:00 at night! |
Art, Jeff, and Robert securing the yellow 429 car.
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Friday morning at the NPD parking lot getting organized
for the Pony Trail. Lazarus is set to lead the way. |
Jeff Ford makes a last minute check with our Police escort
(arranged by Rick Schmidt of NPD) so we could keep all
the cars together until we reached the expressway. |
The drive was well planned and went through woods,
rolling hills and pastureland. |
It was neat to see residents from homes along the route
coming out into their yards to watch the parade of Mustangs roar by. |
My buddy Art and I were able to rent a brand new
Mustang GT convertible to use during the drive. The hood scoop is visible
in this photo. Art drove the GT within posted speed limits for the entire
trip ;-) |
A portion of the drive took place on a two lane
highway. A *few* of the cars opened things up for a minute. It was a great
sound to hear! |
We arrived at Cedar Key around 11:30 AM. There was a
parking lot along the harbor just the right size to accommodate all the
cars. |
Jeff Ford recommended some good places to have lunch
and told us where to meet at 1:00 PM for the drive back. |
Other cars besides Mustangs participated - note the
Sunbeam Tigers and Cobra.
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It was a beautiful day for the drive with blue sky and
temperature around 70 degrees.
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A view of all the cars from across the harbor. |
The cars gathered outside of town for the trip back to
Ocala. |
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The drive back through the Florida countryside. |
View over the rear spoiler. |
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After returning to the NPD facility at the end of the
drive, Rick Schimdt of NPD invited the Pony Trailers to tour NPD's 200+
car collection. It included a Boss 429, a '73 Mach 1 and many other rare
and interesting cars. |
'73 Mach 1 from NPD collection. |
Friday night, Art (front), Robert (back passenger) and
Dana "The Cheater" (back driver's side) had an after dinner
cruise in our rental GT convertible. Robert and Dana were pleased with all
the leg room afforded by the Mustang rear seats ;-) |
On Saturday morning, the Silver Springs "Ford
& Mustang Roundup" started. This is an annual car show that sees
around 800 - 1000 Ford vehicles. This Mopar/Mustang hybrid was spotted
among the show participants! |
I'm sure we have all seen these dolls at car shows that
lean on the front bumper? I was surprised when this one turned around and
was a real little girl! |
Robert's two 429 Mustangs were also on display. Robert
carefully chose a prime location to gain maximum exposure for the cars.
For the two days of the show, many people stopped by to take a look, ask
questions about his cars, and drool. It is fine displays like this that
will help increase public knowledge and generate interest in our rare but
still widely unknown 429 cars. Good job, Robert! |
Robert's cars were joined by a white '72 351 Mach 1 on
the show field. It was quite a sight to see these three cars together. |
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As shown in this row, three 351 powered Mustangs and a
Cougar convertible also attended... |
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Check out the custom plate on Jeff Ford's Lazarus
Mustang! |
The show finished up Sunday and then there was the
return trip to cold and frozen Michigan. It was a great trip and plans
were made to participate in the upcoming Grand Rapids, Michigan Pony
Trails in June 2002. (For those interested in the Michigan Pony
Trails, click this link to the West
Michigan Mustang Club) |
The Pony Trails was great fun and I would highly
recommend it to anyone who has a chance to go on one!
A big THANKS! to Mustang Monthly and NPD for making
this great event possible.
John Blair
Webmaster
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