Purchased new in 1964 as
a K-code (hipo 271HP solid lifter engine) Coup by Tom Roberts. According to Tom, the Mustang spent the fall
of 64, drag racing around the Central NY area, from stoplight to stop light. Over the winter the car was striped and
converted to a SCCA A Sedan racer. Tom
raced the car from 65 through the early 70’s primarily at Watkins Glen. Tom and #9 won the Glen 100 in 1968 and I
have a photocopy of a picture of them in the winner’s circle.
Rich Dean and I (partners in the cars
ownership) restored the car for the 1996 season and Tom drove the car at Pocono
and Watkins Glen that year. I got my
SVRA licenses the following year and have been driving the car since. Tom now drives a nearly identical black coup
that his buddy raced in many of the same events Tom competed in back in the
60’s.
Tom
tells the history of the car in a letter he wrote to SVRA. He wrote to have the car accepted in group 6
where it is currently raced. His letter
is below.
To Whom It May Concern:
In the summer of
1964 I bought a 1965 Ford Mustang. My Mustang was a beautiful Vintage Burgundy
color. I wanted very badly to go road racing and had previously considered a
Triumph TR-4. When Ford announced that they were offering the Cobra engine in
the Mustang, along with beefed-up running gear, I knew that this was the car.
Ford called this the High performance (Hipo) Mustang.
I was able to
trade service for driver-school seat time in 1965 and fulfill my driver-school
requirements, in borrowed cars. Finally, by the fall of 1966 the Mustang and I
were both prepared to compete in Regional races. We, the Mustang and I, entered
the Finger Lakes Invitational. This was a regional race, put on by the Finger
Lakes Region of the Sports Car Club Of America. We finished second in A sedan
to Brock Yates, fifth over-all in the Sunday race.
The following
year the Mustang and I ran in a lot of races. I never really kept track of when
or where, Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, Thompson. The next year, 1968, I had A
National license and ran some of those as well as Regional races. I ran the
inaugural road races at Pocono and finished second in A-sedan, in 1969. I still
have the trophy on the wall. I also ran other races in 1969, but just don't
remember where, and can’t recall when. Cumberland, Maryland was another from
1969.
When I retired my
Mustang in 1971, I know that I had run a lot of races. I know that most of them
were with the Mustang, but I never gave a second thought to keeping a history
of the car. Who would suspect that some day there would be vintage racing, and
it would matter. In 1971 my Mustang was just an old racecar and no longer
competitive. The resale value wasn't even high enough to convert it back to a
streetcar. I moved on to other things and other cars.
My old Mustang
just mostly sat around. Several people borrowed it to go racing, but never
really got it together. So, the car sat in various states of disrepair for 15
years.
I attended the
SVRA vintage races at Watkins Glen in 1985. I became inspired to once again
campaign my old Mustang. I came home and started the process of restoration
that same fall. The opportunity to purchase another Mustang came up in 1986.
This other car had belonged to a very good friend of mine, Jack Cartino, now deceased.
Jack and I had bought our cars at the same time, for the same reason, from the
same dealership. We always considered them sisters. Jack's car was in much
better shape and would be an easier restoration than my Mustang.
Richard Dean runs a Mustang specialty
business and was interested in my old car. Richard restored the body of Jack’s
Mustang and became the owner of my Mustang.
Richard Dean now
owns my Mustang and is nearing the completion of that restoration. Richard has
promised to let me drive it and I'm very pleased with that, and with the fact
that it will see it's old haunts again and sing it’s deep-throated song again.
Tom Roberts
