2017 National Mustang Day Event April 14 - 17, 2017
On April 14th through April 17th, the Mustang Owner’s Museum conducted a National Mustang Day event near the site of the new museum in Concord, NC. It was a fun and very informative weekend for all who participated.
We left on Friday (the 14th) for the host hotel in Concord to pick up our registration packet ready with time left over to retire to our room to unpack. In the evening, a welcome cookout in the parking lot behind the hotel was a great chance to get together with old friends and make some new. We had a chance to talk with the President of the Carolina Regional Mustang Club and discuss their relationship with the museum, our inter-club relationship, their big show in September, and (of course) Maggie Valley. It turns out that Maggie Valley is one of their favorite shows and they will be there in force, again, this year.
We left on Friday (the 14th) for the host hotel in Concord to pick up our registration packet ready with time left over to retire to our room to unpack. In the evening, a welcome cookout in the parking lot behind the hotel was a great chance to get together with old friends and make some new. We had a chance to talk with the President of the Carolina Regional Mustang Club and discuss their relationship with the museum, our inter-club relationship, their big show in September, and (of course) Maggie Valley. It turns out that Maggie Valley is one of their favorite shows and they will be there in force, again, this year.
On Saturday, we participated in the National Mustang Day Car Show at the Cabarrus Arena. It was a popular vote and celebrity judged show with Mustangs of every “flavor” from 1964 ½ to modern including at least one Mustang II. During the day there were seminars by: Streetside Classics about the collector car market, Bob Coulter focusing on Mustang models and die-cast, Lyle Sturgis from Tindol Roush, and the HoonDog Group discussing the prototype Boss 302 and prototype 2008 Bullitt. HoonDog had both those cars on display.
Saturday evening brought us back to the Arena for the Banquet Dinner in the Event Center. We had the good fortune of sitting with Bill and Kathy Harris of Harris Mustang Supply. For any who aren’t aware, the Harris’ were instrumental in the creation of the Shelby show that is now Maggie Valley. They remain sponsors to this day. The evening’s guest speaker was Tom Scarpello, owner of Revology cars and the former head of Ford’s SVT program (1998-2004). He discussed a little bit about his activities between Ford and Revology (Nissan), the Revology vehicle genesis and powertrain choices, as well as the Ford GT program in which he was involved at Ford. If you’re interested in a brand new 1966 Mustang, or updating your 1964 ½ - 1973 Mustang to modern specs - take a look at http://revologycars.com/
On Sunday, Steve Hall conducted a museum progress meeting. He explained the sound reasoning behind relocating the museum before construction was even started. At the original location, highway improvements required by the local government would have significantly reduced the footprint of the facility and limited parking to unworkable levels. In addition, the museum would be responsible for bearing the cost of these upgrades. The new site (adjacent to Dennis Carpenter Ford Restoration Parts) is larger, can accommodate a larger building (42,500 sq. ft. per floor) and parking lot, and features additional parking available nearby. The revised Grand Opening will surround Mustang Day 2018 with a Member Reveal on April 12th – 15th, Mustang Day Festivities on April 17th, and the Official Grand Opening for the public on April 19th – 22nd. There will be a welcome party, dinners, open track time at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the new road course, and a guaranteed 3 hour window for you to visit the museum without battling the crowd. The museum will have frequently changing exhibits which will initially include: a 1964 World’s Fair Mustang, Mustang Clubs & Culture, Dealership, Performance, Racing, Modifications, Restorations, Barn Finds, Shelby/Roush, as well as an area for children. At the conclusion of the meeting we were invited to tour the site. Following the site visit, we toured the Carpenter Ford Museum. This is the private collection of the Carpenter family.
On Monday, we assembled at the Cabarras arena for a cruise to the Petty Garage in Randleman, NC. We toured the museum and wandered our way into some other “unauthorized” areas that we would learn more about later. After lunch we started to assemble for the official tour and were greeted by a terrific surprise. “The King” himself was hanging out in the gift shop taking pictures and signing autographs. After the “fan” stop, we toured the entire facility including, Petty’s Garage, the body shop, and the OEM facility where they were preparing about six new Petty Mustangs. Petty’s Garage is a restoration, repair, and upfitting shop. Some of the more interesting specimen’s under restoration included 4 Plymouth Superbirds and “Poison Ivy,” an early Petty race car driven by Lee and Richard. This is the old race shop and one could not help but notice all the surface plates built into the floor for chassis construction. Since the Petty NASCAR team is now affiliated with Ford Motor Company, they are also building specialized Mustangs. At the OEM facility, we got a good look at the conversion and the pieces that can go into one. The packages start at $7,500 (500 HP) allowing you to work your way up to 850 HP with 1,000 HP as an ultimate goal. Richard is deeply involved in the process and has final approval on any modifications. -Lou Manglass
Lou Manglass, a member of the Northeast Georgia Mustang Club, wrote this amazing incredible review of the event for his clubs monthly news letter "Pony Tales". We couldn't have written it better ourselves and are grateful to be able to share it with everyone - Thank You Lou!!
Saturday evening brought us back to the Arena for the Banquet Dinner in the Event Center. We had the good fortune of sitting with Bill and Kathy Harris of Harris Mustang Supply. For any who aren’t aware, the Harris’ were instrumental in the creation of the Shelby show that is now Maggie Valley. They remain sponsors to this day. The evening’s guest speaker was Tom Scarpello, owner of Revology cars and the former head of Ford’s SVT program (1998-2004). He discussed a little bit about his activities between Ford and Revology (Nissan), the Revology vehicle genesis and powertrain choices, as well as the Ford GT program in which he was involved at Ford. If you’re interested in a brand new 1966 Mustang, or updating your 1964 ½ - 1973 Mustang to modern specs - take a look at http://revologycars.com/
On Sunday, Steve Hall conducted a museum progress meeting. He explained the sound reasoning behind relocating the museum before construction was even started. At the original location, highway improvements required by the local government would have significantly reduced the footprint of the facility and limited parking to unworkable levels. In addition, the museum would be responsible for bearing the cost of these upgrades. The new site (adjacent to Dennis Carpenter Ford Restoration Parts) is larger, can accommodate a larger building (42,500 sq. ft. per floor) and parking lot, and features additional parking available nearby. The revised Grand Opening will surround Mustang Day 2018 with a Member Reveal on April 12th – 15th, Mustang Day Festivities on April 17th, and the Official Grand Opening for the public on April 19th – 22nd. There will be a welcome party, dinners, open track time at Charlotte Motor Speedway on the new road course, and a guaranteed 3 hour window for you to visit the museum without battling the crowd. The museum will have frequently changing exhibits which will initially include: a 1964 World’s Fair Mustang, Mustang Clubs & Culture, Dealership, Performance, Racing, Modifications, Restorations, Barn Finds, Shelby/Roush, as well as an area for children. At the conclusion of the meeting we were invited to tour the site. Following the site visit, we toured the Carpenter Ford Museum. This is the private collection of the Carpenter family.
On Monday, we assembled at the Cabarras arena for a cruise to the Petty Garage in Randleman, NC. We toured the museum and wandered our way into some other “unauthorized” areas that we would learn more about later. After lunch we started to assemble for the official tour and were greeted by a terrific surprise. “The King” himself was hanging out in the gift shop taking pictures and signing autographs. After the “fan” stop, we toured the entire facility including, Petty’s Garage, the body shop, and the OEM facility where they were preparing about six new Petty Mustangs. Petty’s Garage is a restoration, repair, and upfitting shop. Some of the more interesting specimen’s under restoration included 4 Plymouth Superbirds and “Poison Ivy,” an early Petty race car driven by Lee and Richard. This is the old race shop and one could not help but notice all the surface plates built into the floor for chassis construction. Since the Petty NASCAR team is now affiliated with Ford Motor Company, they are also building specialized Mustangs. At the OEM facility, we got a good look at the conversion and the pieces that can go into one. The packages start at $7,500 (500 HP) allowing you to work your way up to 850 HP with 1,000 HP as an ultimate goal. Richard is deeply involved in the process and has final approval on any modifications. -Lou Manglass
Lou Manglass, a member of the Northeast Georgia Mustang Club, wrote this amazing incredible review of the event for his clubs monthly news letter "Pony Tales". We couldn't have written it better ourselves and are grateful to be able to share it with everyone - Thank You Lou!!