WINNING HORSE
> KEN BUCKLAND STAMPEDED INTO THE SUMMERNATS TOP 10 THREE TIMES STRAIGHT WITH THIS PERFECT PONY
KEN Buckland’s ’67 Mustang coupe was one of the most talked-about cars at Street Machine Summernats 12 in 1998-99. Usually, cars that cause that level of tongue-wagging are fierce, overthe-top mechanical monsters, but not in the case of this thoroughbred. Ken’s Mustang was pure class, with wholesale restyling taking a back seat to breathtaking workmanship and incredible finish.
The level to which the underside had been caressed left mouths agape inside the Elite Hall, including those of the judges. Even the highly experienced John Taverna singled it out for special comment: “The engine bay is beautiful, then the underside, plus up inside the wheelarches. He’s spent a lot of time on this car; I just love it!”
Street Machine featured the car in our June 1999 issue, where scribe Mark Oastler noted: “Technically she’s pretty stock, but it’s the depths of Ken’s dedication and mind-blowing attention to detail that leaves you in awe.”
Ken was unashamedly a huge fan of the make, which is why the build took the direction it did. “Because it was a Mustang, I couldn’t bring myself to cut the car up,” he said at the time. “The main aim was to try to keep it as original as possible yet be a show car that would turn heads.”
To that end, he took all the factory elements – such as the brake lines, fuel lines, transmission cooling lines, handbrake cables, cover panels, brackets, etc – and meticulously arranged them, then finished each and every piece to perfection. The suspension is 100 per cent stock, but finished 1000 times better. The fact that the car made the Summernats Top 10 in three consecutive years, as well as scoring Top Undercarriage twice, is testament to the car’s level of perfection.
The smoothed-over 8¾-inch Mustang diff housing was about the closest thing to an aftermarket modification. Every factory seam, ridge and original stamping detail was there. However, there wasn’t a spot weld, stamping wrinkle, casting mark, manufacturing dag or millimetre of sheet metal out of place.
Every bolt or part that was chrome-plated was first polished to a mirror finish before being considered ready for the dipping tank. Heck, even the inside of the brake drums were finished to the same astounding level.
Likewise, every surface was painstakingly ground and sanded smooth, high-filled, hand rubbed, painted in two-pack and buffed, including the entire floor. The body was arrow straight, every gap was dead-on, and the periodcorrect metallic green paint was beyond belief. Little wonder that it also scored Top Standard Paint, 2nd Top Bodywork and Top Coupe along the way.
Ken started with a factory coupe and stuck with its 289ci Windsor V8, C4 auto and the aforementioned 8¾-inch diff. A couple of areas where he did deviate from stock included the XA Falcon braking system, Edelbrock Tripower intake and 14x8-inch Dragway fivespoke wheels.
One aspect of the Mustang most akin to your typical street machine was its completion time. “The car took a lot longer than I could have imagined at the start,” said Ken. “In fact, many times I wondered if I would ever finish!”
With many super-elite cars, the untold hours they took to create is often not immediately apparent or comprehended by the casual observer. Not so here. Looking at any piece of this ’67 coupe prompted the question: “Damn, how long did that take?”
Ken still owns the coupe, and it’s still good enough to win trophies at most shows.
“I’ve only done about 5000km in it; mostly just short trips,” he says. “I have a brand-new Mustang, so my wife Robyn and I prefer to take that one for longer trips – it’s got a/c!
“I haven’t changed the ’67 much. I removed the triple carbies, as they never ran right, so I’ve gone back to the single four-barrel, and I swapped the green vinyl interior for beige leather, done in a factory style.
“I’m involved with the Dural Men’s Shed, so I got together with them to make a new cover panel that sits between the grille and radiator support, plus a new metal fan shroud that looks similar to the original plastic unit.”
THE MAIN AIM WAS TO TRY TO KEEP IT AS ORIGINAL AS POSSIBLE YET BE A SHOW CAR THAT WOULD TURN HEADS