Ford Mustang Land Speed Racer (1967) - Mario Andretti

1967 Autolite 1 – Mustang Land Speed Racer.

Danny Eames, the manager of Production Performance and Evaluation for Autolite, was able to obtain the very first 1967 Mustang production-test car (AKA pilot car) which was most likely going to be destroyed after it served its purpose of testing and evaluation for the upcoming 1967 Mustang.

Eames had the engine replaced with an IndyCar 255 cubic inch four-cam Ford motor which included custom built fender well headers. The chassis was modified and outfitted with a specially built front axle by Woody Gilmore of Race Car Engineering. The passenger seat removed to make space for a ten-gallon fuel tank and a ten-gallon oil tank. The car was built in 34 days.

Mario Andretti chosen to run the car at the Utah Salt Flats. In November of 1966, Andretti set two new USAC records for D/Production Sedan.
1) The previous 5 km record was 126 MPH. Andretti set the new record at 136.645 MPH.
2) The previous standing 5-mile record was 139 MPH. Andretti set the new record at 150.134 MPH. The standing 5-mile begins from a stopped position.
3) The final record that the team wanted to achieve was to have the first production car to hit 200 MPH in the flying mile. To reach that speed, they added nitromethane to the fuel resulting in a top speed of 171.472 MPH. Not satisfied with the results, they added more nitro to the fuel. The car was able to reach 175.873 MPH but the motor suffered a piston failure. A flying mile takes the average speed over two one -mile runs, with a one mile build up.

Afterwards, a custom Plexiglas hood was created for the car and it went on a one-year tour to promote Autolite components. The car was restored to its current condition in 1990.