2009 Fabulous Fords Forever 2003 Mustang Gt

24th Annual Fabulous Fords Forever 2009 - Hot In The Shade

It Was 100 Degrees In The Shade, And Even Hotter On The Show Field, As The S197s Turned Up The Heat

By KJ Jones

Photography by KJ Jones

Mustangs continued their march on the 24th Annual Fabulous Fords Forever show April 19, muscling their way out of their traditional late-model parking lot and into "other" parking lot. Once exclusively the domain of Model T's, A's, Torinos, and such, the other of the two main parking lots had rows of newer Mustangs standing proud.

Furthermore, it turns out Mustangs are cannibals. To be blunt about it, the Mustang growth at Knott's is largely S197s, which besides making statistical sense, speaks volumes of where Knott's entrants interest lay. Clean, lightly modified, street cars are the show's bread and butter, and as Ford has been building great Mustangs lately, they've been edging out the '60s-era ponycars and taking some of the interest from the early Foxes.

2009 Fabulous Fords Forever 03 Gt Procharger

We'll admit to a soft spot...

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But to anyone hoofing it up and down the rows at Knott's, it's all academic. There are plenty of Fords of nearly every stripe, more than anyone can take in between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Add in an early heat wave, just under 100 degrees, and Knott's was a real place in the sun this year.

Featured vehicles were the 45th anniversary of the Mustang, 70th anniversary of Mercury and 50th anniversary of the Galaxie. Additionally, there was a Boss Mustang reunion, giving Knott's-regular Parnelli Jones more guests than anticipated the day before the show, and giving showgoers a small feast of Boss 302, 351, and 429 Mustangs. The flyer also listed a Probe anniversary, but we didn't really notice. We did see a putting green around a Lincoln display, however.