1971-73 "Clydesdales"

[Mister 4x4]

OK, so I mentioned that the '71-'73s aren't quite as big as everybody thinks.  The specs say enough: a few inches longer, one inch longer wheelbase, a few inches wider, but fail to note that the roof is about 1 1/2" shorter than the previous year's Sportsroof/Mach 1s.

The biggest issue of why the '71-'73s seem so 'gigantic' compared to the '69-'70s, is because of the squared off nose of the former vs. the tapered nose treatments found on the latter.

So, let's check out some pics.

This one was taken last weekend (17 Nov, 2018) at a local car show with my '71 parked next to a buddy's '69 Sportsroof.  The '71 looks gigantic in comparison. because of the optical illusion of perspective.



Let's switch angles a bit and see what we can see.  To me, it's still apparent that the '71 has a longer nose, however, the '69 suddenly looks a lot bigger than it seemed in the other shot.  That's because of perspective.




But here we have a '71 and a '70 parked nose to nose with the '70 a little bit closer to the camera.  Notice something different?  The '70 looks enormous compared to the '71.  Granted, the nose still appears shorter... and it is... but it's also tapered, with that taper showing away from the camera, so it looks even smaller.

   

Again, the tapering of the nose causes quite a significant difference in appearance, with more bulk filled in as a result.  Here's a picture of a pair of '69s - Shelby and Sportsroof (oops - that's a '70 Shelby... sorry). The nose on the Shelby looks quite a bit different (very '71-'73-like, in fact) and adds a lot of bulk to the car:

   

I'm still looking for the elusive picture of a '71-'73 next to a '69-'70 Shelby for further evidence of how much bulk the blocked-off nose adds.  But just for fun, let's see how much the Mustang has grown over time by comparing the "biggest Mustang ever produced" (allegedly, the '71-'73) to the next-to-last generation - I think you'll be surprised by what you see.

   

   


I'm not claiming to be an expert, by any means... but, to me it looks like the newer Mustangs have bulked up quite a bit from the "biggest Mustang ever produced" era of 1971 to 1973.  I think the biggest reason people can't believe how much more bloated the newer Mustangs are than the '71-'73s is because they never see them together, and with the tiny 15" wheels on the '71-'73s, compared to the 18-20s typically found on the newer Mustangs, the "wheel-to-body" proportions cause people the think that they're smaller than they actually are.

Gen-5s almost look like mini-vans in comparison... yet, the '71-'73 still takes the heat for being the most bloated Mustangs ever produced.  Sounds like "Fake News" to me. ;)

So, jump into the fray and post up some pics of some side-by-side comparisons you might have.