Some say that as they get older, they don’t want to celebrate birthdays. However, each passing year is a great excuse for a party — even if it isn’t a milestone. Last year, Mustang marked 60 years of continuous production in style at Charlotte Motor Speedway. However, dedicated enthusiasts, like the people who run the Mustang Owner’s Museum, celebrate the original pony car every April in honor of National Mustang Day, the event created by its founder, Steve Hall.
“We had a mega show last year, so this year, I do feel like I noticed that in our show field this year, there was nothing but Mustangs,” Mischelle Hall of the Mustang Owner’s Museum said. “Last year we had a mix of cars and a lot of general public there. It was all Mustangs this time. I feel like people now have gone out and gotten Mustangs and they’re joining in, or they’re bringing their Mustang versus their regular cars and parking. Everybody had a wonderful time.”
The brainchild of the late Steve Hall, the Mustang Owner’s Museum was built by enthusiasts for enthusiasts. It continues with Mischelle Hall at the helm and celebrates the original pony car with a rotating inventory of display vehicles from all seven generations of the Mustang’s history, as well as a host of cool Mustang memorabilia and hardware.
This year’s two-day event included a cruise to Petty’s Garage (where attendees saw The King himself), a Whole Hog barbeque dinner, guest speakers who were part of Ford’s Mustang team over the years, a popular-vote car show, a Mustang raffle, and a Hall of Fame induction.
A special part of the event is the speakers. Tom Cotter, better known as the Barn Find Hunter, wowed the audience at the Whole Hog dinner with his tales of finding rare rides tucked away all over the country. During the show, Bud Magaldi (Chief Designer and Design Manager of the Fourth-Generation Mustang), Art Hyde (Mustang Chief Engineer for the Fifth Generation Mustang), and Omead Dorandish (Lead Designer of the Seventh-Generation Mustang) regaled the crowd with the stories behind their pony car creations.
“We’re just very fortunate with the Mustang community. They are always willing to do anything they can now, so we all appreciate that,” Hall said. “Everybody thanks us, but we thank them because we all keep each other going, you know what I mean? If it weren’t for them, we would have been like, ‘Why are we doing this?’ But they’re the reason why we do this.”
While the Mustang Owner’s Museum hasn’t yet formulated its plan for next year’s event, you can rest assured that one will take place next April. It will also follow a similar format with a car show, guests, and another Hall of Fame induction. If you’ve never been to one of these events, it is worth adding to your calendar. Not only is the event fun, but you get a chance to check out the museum as well, and it’s well worth the visit, so keep reading to see what we spotted this year.
Your author was charged with selecting a favorite car from the show field, which featured examples from classics to the latest Mustangs. As a lifelong fan of Fox Mustangs, this 1986 Mustang GT spoke to your scribe. Sure, its well-worn patina isn’t what you would think as show-ready, but the car just looks the part and takes your author back to his early days as a Mustang enthusiast. The Def Leppard ‘Pyromania’ CD on the center console also didn’t hurt Scrappy’s cause.
The winner of the Mustang Owner’s Museum show’s popular vote was none other than John and Valrie Olesuk’s stunning 1965 Mustang Fastback. Sprayed in Rangoon Red and equipped with a Pony interior, it is motivated by a 302-cube small-block backed by a TREMEC T-5 five-speed manual transmission. It was fully restored more than 20 years ago and has since racked up numerous Mustang Club of America show wins.
Carroll Shelby would say his creations were meant to be driven, and we’d say that applies to all Mustangs. Lyn Adams certainly took that mentality to heart as she picked the car up from Ralph Williams Ford on May 30, 1965. Since that time, she has logged more than 560,000 miles on the car she calls “Mustifer” and considers her middle child.
While its color was difficult to capture, this 1967 Mustang is painted in the subtle hue, Dusk Rose, which adds a hit of pink to its personality. It is also equipped with the popular Sport Sprint package, as well as some rare options like air conditioning, a center console, and a standard steering column. This coupe is in great shape and one cruise in this car would transport you back to a simpler time.
Jennifer Highley, of Foxy Events fame, brought out her Fox coupe, known as “Peaches.” She is the organizer of the Foxtoberfest and Chocolate Fox shows, and is as passionate about the Third-Generation Mustangs as anyone you will meet. Her coupe has numerous custom touches, and she loves driving it near and far.
More than just a car show, the Mustang Owner’s Museum celebrates the Mustang’s birthday by bringing in some impressive guest speakers. Among this year’s presenters was Bud Magaldi, who served as the Chief Designer and Design Manager of the Fourth-Generation Mustang.
A part of the museum’s displays is a library filled with legacy media where your author cut his teeth. It was great to walk down memory lane checking out old copies of Super Ford and 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords magazines.
After the Saturday car show, the Mustang Owner’s Museum drew the name of its fund-raising raffle winner. Dave Handy of Cornelius, North Carolina, didn’t own a Mustang until he won this 2016 California Special Mustang after purchasing just one ticket for the raffle.
It was a great honor for the Mustang Owner's Museum to induct your author into its Hall of Fame for Mustang Journalism. I was inducted by former Mustang Chief Engineer Art Hyde, alongside the other 2025 inductees, including Mustang Industry: Dave Pericak (Former chief engineer of the S197 and S550 Mustang and former Global Director of Ford Performance), Mustang Racing: Bob Tasca (Creator of the 428 Cobra Jet Mustang), Mustang Hobby: Bill Dillard (A founder of the Mustang Club of America). Thanks to Mischelle Hall at the museum and all the members who voted for me, and congratulations to all the inductees. (Photo Credit: Gerard Ferraioli/RGA Media Services)
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