AucklAnd MustAng Owners’ club – An “Old bOys” club?
Agood question, what do these fanatics really get up to and what literally spins their wheels? The notion that this club just caters to the interests of a few staid elderly gentlemen, meeting regularly to discuss the correct shade of blue on a 1966 Shelby stripe, could not be further from the truth.
Individuality is encouraged, it’s your pride and joy, all we ask is that you like it!
As a member of just five years, I couldn’t help being impressed by the strong presence of the fairer sex participating in all aspects of running this family oriented club. From the organisation of run events and car shows, kids Santa Christmas party and a host of other activities, if it doesn’t have a good keen girl contributing in a significant role, it would be rare indeed!
While it’s fair to say a good amount of time is spent detailing and polishing the prized Mustang for a car show and you certainly don’t win 1st prize at Masters and Teams awards at Concours De Elegance events without a huge amount of time spent in preparation, the ethos of the club is to enjoy your car along with like-minded folk. Of course a lot of owners who have a nice tidy car do in fact prefer to keep it as a “driver” and not necessarily a trailer queen “showpiece”!
Regular event days at Pukekohe or Hampton Downs racetrack and days at the drags are always well subscribed to by those with both older and brand new cars alike. On a recent club organised day at the drags, a virtually brand new Boss 302 was given “a thorough seeing to” by its ex stock car driver/owner! It went rather well too, beating off some considerably higher horsepower stable mates and putting up a very respectable time indeed!
Club organised runs such as the annual Auckland down to Kaiaua for Fish and chips, weekends away at the Tutukaka Resort and other organised events on club evenings such as going automotive paint manufacturers, panel shops and having interesting guest speakers, all make being an AMOC member a most enjoyable and informative experience.
There is always willing help and assistance from fellow members when work on the car or rare parts are needed, show time assistance in car preparation and technical know-how, are all delivered in good jest and invariably followed with a BBQ or bring a dish meal.
An old or new Mustang doesn’t matter; they both sound good and do they draw the lookers when you park it up! It will invariably pull a crowd of young and old, across the genders and the nationalities!
AMOC members can boast a wide spread of cars, from the early 1964 classic models through to the later 60s and 70s, a number of 80s, 90s and 2000s. Recently, there has been a big increase in the number of the current generation Mustangs from 2005 to present. A good number of GTs along with the infamous Shelby, Roush, Saleen and Boss marques are in the club. These limited edition cars are now able to be imported brand new and registered in left hand drive configuration.
Last but by no means least, there is nothing better than going for a cruise on a Sunday afternoon with the window partly down, salivating at the purr of a lovely wee V8 burbling over some good old rock and roll or a 60s number from the Sound! Of course we are not just reliving our long gone youth – we never lost it!
Back to the original question for debate, what was the correct blue for the stripe on the early white Shelbys? Apparently someone found the very man from the original Shelby paint shop and he quietly confounded the know it alls. “Oh, ha, I just mixed it up so it looked about right and when it was used up, I just mixed up some more that looked about right!”