Found: the real Bullitt Mustang that Steve McQueen tried (and failed) to buy - Sensationalist Headlines

[t]https://i.imgur.com/AXNoS5L.jpg[/t] [quote]Steve McQueen made one last effort to buy his favorite Mustang in 1977. He sent a letter, typed on a single piece of heavy off-white vellum, to the car’s owner in New Jersey. The logo for his movie company, Solar Productions, was embossed in the upper left corner and opposite that resided the date, December 14, 1977. The letter is just four sentences. “Again,” it begins, “I would like to appeal to you to get back my ’68 Mustang.” McQueen offered no specifics as to why this particular Ford was important to him, except to say that he wanted to keep it unrestored and that it was “simply personal with me.” McQueen’s star may have dimmed by 1977, but he remained an icon, a rare actor loved by both genders. McQueen was also one of us, an aficionado and a racer, someone who understood the instinctual joy of automobiles and motorcycles and indulged in both. And with that ’68 Mustang, McQueen gave us a gift, one of the greatest car chases ever filmed, a duel with a Dodge Charger up, down, and around San Francisco. The Bullitt chase is coveted for the usual crashes and jumps, but it had something more: Unlike most cinematic chases that feature cars performing impossible feats, the one from Bullitt was every bit as exciting, but the driving was obviously real. Those who know cars knew. It’s 10 minutes of film nirvana. McQueen wanted the Bullitt Mustang back. The rich and famous are often allergic to the word “no,” and so was McQueen. His impatience over being rebuked in his quest emerged in the last sentence: “I would be happy to try to find you another Mustang similar to the one you have,” he wrote, “if there is not too much monies involved in it. Otherwise, we had better forget it.” The owner was just fine with forgetting it, and then the Bullitt Mustang made an exit, stage left, from recorded history.[/quote] [url=https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2018/01/14/mustang-bullitt-found-real-mcqueen]Hagerty[/url] The article is a damn long read, but it's a pretty interesting story.

I love the unrestored look it has It has so much character. You can literally see the history behind it

[QUOTE=Zukriuchen;53055574]I love the unrestored look it has It has so much character. You can literally see the history behind it[/QUOTE] Same, same. If I ever found myself in posession of this car I would restore it only in a functional manner. I'd make it run every bit as well as the day Steve drove it on set for the first time. [B]But I'd leave every ding, every rust spot, every faded panel and cracked trim piece exactly as it sits now.[/B] And I wouldn't change any of its mechanical specifications, either, just make it run properly. That is, I believe, a true honor to the history of this car. Keep it running, keep it spry. But keep it looking exactly as it does, right down to the retro plates and bias ply tires. And then drive the hell out of it. I believe Steve would like that, would love to see this car still running and driving exactly as he had enjoyed it way back when. Not modded, not left to rot in a barn or a museum, not traded across the auction block over and over again. Just kept running, kept healthy, and driven regularly.

I can't believe I'm this exited over someone finding a car, but this isn't [I]any[/I] old car, it's [I]the[/I] mustang. I'm seriously giddy right now.

i have 45th anniversary t shirt i bought at a car show years ago

For some reason it deeply pains me that McQueen never got to see the car again, apparently out of pure spite by the owner, who preferred to let it sit and rot than to let McQueen have it.

[QUOTE=Grenadiac;53055673]For some reason it deeply pains me that McQueen never got to see the car again, apparently out of pure spite by the owner, who preferred to let it sit and rot than to let McQueen have it.[/QUOTE] [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io6n2sGvs7M&t=0s[/media]

I love the 67’ coupe my dad and I restored to death but I’d prolly drop it in a second for a 68 390 fastback in highland green. Truly a classic beast of a car.

[QUOTE=Grenadiac;53055673]For some reason it deeply pains me that McQueen never got to see the car again, apparently out of pure spite by the owner, who preferred to let it sit and rot than to let McQueen have it.[/QUOTE] Let it rot? Sean, with his father, tried their best to get t up and functional again but living on a farm with a growing family took too much time from them, adding on the father developing Parkinson’s no less.

[QUOTE=LtKyle2;53055969]Let it rot? Sean, with his father, tried their best to get t up and functional again but living on a farm with a growing family took too much time from them, adding on the father developing Parkinson’s no less.[/QUOTE] That's the same as letting it rot, seeing as the owner clearly did not have the means to fix it.

[QUOTE=LtKyle2;53055969]Let it rot? Sean, with his father, tried their best to get t up and functional again but living on a farm with a growing family took too much time from them, adding on the father developing Parkinson’s no less.[/QUOTE] If it rotted, it was let rot. If you can't do anything with the car and someone who can is offering to save it, you are letting it rot if you refuse the offer.

I was born and raised in Dearborn Michigan, both my father and grandfather worked for Ford; father still does. I... can’t even put into words how cool this is to me. Seriously this is the car guy equivalent to finding Jimmy Hoffa alive and well.

[QUOTE=grr164;53056134]I was born and raised in Dearborn Michigan, both my father and grandfather worked for Ford; father still does. I... can’t even put into words how cool this is to me. Seriously this is the car guy equivalent to finding Jimmy Hoffa alive and well.[/QUOTE] A bit late news, but the 2nd car was found as well. Although it isn't in nearly the same condition as this one. [url]https://blog.caranddriver.com/authenticity-of-bullitt-mustang-in-mexico-confirmed-drivetrain-and-much-bodywork-not-original/[/url]