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Gold Nugget Special Times Two

Mosesatm

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Jan 18, 2005
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Wasn't there some discussion in an earlier thread that each of the original 14 prototypes had a tach?
 

BroadwayBlue

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...I find it interesting they would be jump starting sales in the Northwest when the original intent was to only sell in California. I wonder if Ford planned on expanding outside of CA early on.

To quote myself :wink: .. any thoughts on the push for the Northwest when California was the only planned selling area?

Do you think these Gold Nuggets were similar to High Country's?
 
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robert campbell

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Wasn't there some discussion in an earlier thread that each of the original 14 prototypes had a tach?

Arlie,
That is unknown to anything I have read. May very be that all the 14 cars were very loaded with options. Would make sense to enure they went off with a bang on 15 February show.

Rob
 
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robert campbell

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To quote myself :wink: .. any thoughts on the push for the Northwest when California was the only planned selling area?

Do you think these Gold Nuggets were similar to High Country's?

Rich,
The only thing I have to go on is the quote from Paul's book. It is mentioned in a couple places that the Gold Nugget Special was to jump start GT/CS sales in the Northwest. Later on many cars were ordered from the Northwest and delivered to DSO 74 (Seattle). So somehow the Northwest got wind quickly of GT/CS Mustangs. What better way that to have a few driving around in the early spring for people to ask their Ford dealer about.

As to the thought is it similar to a HCS? That is good comparison if we find all this to be true. An offshoot of the GT/CS in a small number to another region. I think that is what we have here, but some more work to do.

I do have an elite report ordered from Kevin Marti. To my knowledge, and I have seen a couple, the elite report attempts to replicate the window sticker. The deluxe report for a GT/CS says "California Special" in the opiton lines. We have many on the Marti thread. The elite report for a California Special should display the complete list of unique GT/CS options. IE. the side scoops, the tailights, the trunk lid, etc.. So with that in mind when I get my elite report it may list those items.

Of further note though, I would bet the first 14 cars elite report or deluxe report will say nothing of the "California Special" option in Marti's database. So with that in mind, Janice and my car may have been "Gold Nugget Limited Edition Mustangs" pulled from the line and staged for conversion after being ordered and built. So the elite report for my car may not be conclusive.

I am trying to follow my lead with the guy from Smith Gandy Ford where my car may have been sold. He was there in the late 60's and has other contacts. He may lead me to something definitive.

Rob
 

miller511

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Feb 3, 2004
Messages
567
Rob,

Sorry if this has maybe been addressed already but... Did the paper ads that you've found show a picture? And did it look like a GT/CS with scoops and stripes?

-Jeff
 

Mosesatm

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Arlie,
That is unknown to anything I have read. May very be that all the 14 cars were very loaded with options. Would make sense to enure they went off with a bang on 15 February show.

Rob

Here is a post from Paul about the cars at the unveiling. Guess it wasn't the original 14.


I keep forgetting to tell this story....

In my 1988 interview with Lee Grey (So. Calif. Sales Mgr. in 1968), he told me that they originally wanted to include the in-dash tach as part of the GT/CS package.

In fact, the pilot cars on the floor of the Century Plaza Hotel (promo night, Feb 15, 1968) all had in-dash tachs, regardless of engine type or trans type. It was part of that "looks like a Shelby" idea (since all Shelbys had in-dash tachs) I can't say if they were all 6 grand or 8 grand type..

Unfortunately, it didn't become a production item.

More about it in the book.

Paul N.
 

rvrtrash

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I'll throw in my 2 cents worth. This is for general information only to assist in research, not meant as a promotion or criticism of any point of view. I used to work in a production facility (Hyster Forklifts) doing prototype work on automated forklifts and pallet handlers. I imagine Ford would function in similar ways. If something was going to be built, it wasn't like a couple of guys sitting around on a break and saying "Hey, lets do this on our lunch hour". Engineering would come up with a proposal, it would be accepted by management, procurement would order all the parts, jigs/tooling would be made, etc. before the first item was built. Then a prototype or series of prototypes would be built (possibly the 14 we're talking about in this case) to find the problems and ensure it's what was wanted. I believe there was a jig for drilling the holes in the quarter panels but it was decided later to change the configuration so a new jig was made, if the holes in the first ones were in fact different. I find it very difficult to believe the the script would have been mounted backwards, as on some cars, unless the hole spacing is exactly reversed between left and right sides. Everything would have been documented and should show up as such if Kevin Marti does in fact have Fords complete database. Mistakes most certainly happened because the human equation never changes but I believe it would have happened on an individual basis, not on a large scale. I would imagine that the first 14 cars are listed as CS's. Finally, I was under the impression (from Paul's research I believe) that the CS option was meant for California and only opened up to other areas when sales failed to meet expectations, which would preclude a Northwest version that predates the California ones. I hope you find you have what you suspect you have, just because that would be cool, but I think you'd have to have indisputeable documentation.

Steve
 

John McGilvary

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Mar 16, 2006
Messages
321
HI Rob, I'm an original owner of my CS.

I was just wondering if you had some pics of the inside of the trunk of your
GN Special. Just want to know if the tail section and the tail light wireing is the same for the GN as it is for the CS. The pics in your gallery do not show many of the CS only parts.

Very cool looking Stangs, you should be proud!

John
 

BroadwayBlue

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Apr 26, 2005
Messages
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Location
Hudson Valley Area, NY
Here is a post from Paul about the cars at the unveiling. Guess it wasn't the original 14.


I keep forgetting to tell this story....

In my 1988 interview with Lee Grey (So. Calif. Sales Mgr. in 1968), he told me that they originally wanted to include the in-dash tach as part of the GT/CS package.

In fact, the pilot cars on the floor of the Century Plaza Hotel (promo night, Feb 15, 1968) all had in-dash tachs, regardless of engine type or trans type. It was part of that "looks like a Shelby" idea (since all Shelbys had in-dash tachs) I can't say if they were all 6 grand or 8 grand type..

Unfortunately, it didn't become a production item.

More about it in the book.

Paul N.

Arlie,
Aren't the pilot cars and the 1st 14 the same cars? So they did have the tachs based on this quote from Paul.
 

BroadwayBlue

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Location
Hudson Valley Area, NY
I believe there was a jig for drilling the holes in the quarter panels but it was decided later to change the configuration so a new jig was made, if the holes in the first ones were in fact different. I find it very difficult to believe the the script would have been mounted backwards, as on some cars, unless the hole spacing is exactly reversed between left and right sides.
Steve

Steve,
There is a post somewhere on this site somewhere where someone, maybe Paul, indicates that often after bodywork or paint jobs, the body shop or owners end up measuring one side, and then use that measurement on the other side, but that doesn't translate. That would make sense to me but looking at it I think I would hesitate before doing anything thinking it doesn't look right - but that's just me.

So the driver's (correct) side of my car someone measured from the back of the car to the last "a" in California. They then take that measurement to the passenger (incorrect) side and measure where the California should be placed ... but that's the start of California not the end of it. That causes the California to be indented incorrectly.

I believe that is probably what happened on a lot of our cars and it wasn't factory error.

I also believe the original holes were punched as opposed to drilled - not important to this discussion but just a note.
 

rvrtrash

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Apr 25, 2003
Messages
3,649
Steve,
There is a post somewhere on this site somewhere where someone, maybe Paul, indicates that often after bodywork or paint jobs, the body shop or owners end up measuring one side, and then use that measurement on the other side, but that doesn't translate. That would make sense to me but looking at it I think I would hesitate before doing anything thinking it doesn't look right - but that's just me.

Sorry, I was speaking to other threads where people were wondering if the holes were done incorrectly from the factory.

[/QUOTE]
I also believe the original holes were punched as opposed to drilled - not important to this discussion but just a note.[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure. If it was punched, it would have been done when the panel was formed so there wouldn't have been any deformation. Past threads have suggested that cars were run through in batches, using standard coupes. My Master Parts List doesn't list a separate number for a CS quarter panel and since the hood and tail light panels were drilled when they were modified, I'd lean toward drilling, maybe with a bit resembling a milling bit (square bottom).
Maybe that's one of the questions we should have had Paul ask when he talked to the guy that worked on the line at San Jose.

Steve
 
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robert campbell

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Apr 10, 2007
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Rob,

Sorry if this has maybe been addressed already but... Did the paper ads that you've found show a picture? And did it look like a GT/CS with scoops and stripes?

-Jeff

Jeff,
The ads that I have are for the Gold Nugget Limited Edition Mustang which is the plain-jane coup painted sunlit gold with a black vinyl top and black "C" stripe. does not look like a GT/CS. I have seen numerous ones in person. They are still around in the NW.

Rob
 
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robert campbell

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I'll throw in my 2 cents worth. This is for general information only to assist in research, not meant as a promotion or criticism of any point of view. I used to work in a production facility (Hyster Forklifts) doing prototype work on automated forklifts and pallet handlers. I imagine Ford would function in similar ways. If something was going to be built, it wasn't like a couple of guys sitting around on a break and saying "Hey, lets do this on our lunch hour". Engineering would come up with a proposal, it would be accepted by management, procurement would order all the parts, jigs/tooling would be made, etc. before the first item was built. Then a prototype or series of prototypes would be built (possibly the 14 we're talking about in this case) to find the problems and ensure it's what was wanted. I believe there was a jig for drilling the holes in the quarter panels but it was decided later to change the configuration so a new jig was made, if the holes in the first ones were in fact different. I find it very difficult to believe the the script would have been mounted backwards, as on some cars, unless the hole spacing is exactly reversed between left and right sides. Everything would have been documented and should show up as such if Kevin Marti does in fact have Fords complete database. Mistakes most certainly happened because the human equation never changes but I believe it would have happened on an individual basis, not on a large scale. I would imagine that the first 14 cars are listed as CS's. Finally, I was under the impression (from Paul's research I believe) that the CS option was meant for California and only opened up to other areas when sales failed to meet expectations, which would preclude a Northwest version that predates the California ones. I hope you find you have what you suspect you have, just because that would be cool, but I think you'd have to have indisputeable documentation.

Steve

Steve,
I agree that this concept did not come from two guys on a lunch hour. But, there is documentation and even chalk drawings of the script on the quarters with no holes just days before the debut. You may be correct and every car including the first 14 were identified from Ford as a GT/CS. But if what Paul holds as true that the first 14 were staged and assembled, I bet they are in the Ford data base as regular coupes. The only way we will know is to verify one of the orginal 14 and run the VIN.

I did alot of reserch in the 80's on the script holes. they were to the best of what I found out, drilled. The higher holes in my car are drilled and exactly the same spacing and I could move my script up to the holes. If you have Pauls book and look at the location on the pages I referenced in the earlier thread, you will see an amazing simularity to the location of my script holes to the relationship of the Mustang script on the trunk spoiler and the "California" script. Very noticable and very similar.

Rob
 

John McGilvary

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Mar 16, 2006
Messages
321
HI Rob, I'm an original owner of my CS.

I was just wondering if you had some pics of the inside of the trunk of your
GN Special. Just want to know if the tail section and the tail light wireing is the same for the GN as it is for the CS. The pics in your gallery do not show many of the CS only parts.

Very cool looking Stangs, you should be proud!

John

Rob, please show us some more pics of the CS only parts that are on your GN Special. That may clear up alot of the questions we have.

John
 
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robert campbell

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Rob, please show us some more pics of the CS only parts that are on your GN Special. That may clear up alot of the questions we have.

John

John,
I have owned this car since 1989. All fiberglass is orginal GT/CS except for the right side scoop, which is from Tony Branda. Left side scoop is orginal with the indent around the front of the scoop. Branda side scoop is very faithful to that also. I had the car to metal. The tailight panel was painted anniversary gold, as was the rest of the car. Marchall fogs. Correct breaker on the fuse panel. Correct wiring harness both front and rear. I think I can read the purple tag on the rear harness. Correct sheetmetal panels between the tail lights and the tail light panel. The one small anomaly is the one rib for the old tailights was removed from the original tail light panel. I have seen the same on other "known" GT/CS's cars. I am very familiar with after market fiberglass. These pieces are orginal trust me.

I can take more pics, but all will show it as I say. The most sad think I have to say, is I had three of the "California Special" scripts when I got the car. One was gone. I purchased new ones as they were very pitted. I sent a message to Paul that I thought I still had those scripts. I must have tossed them as I cannot find them. They, to me, seemed a bit less "robust" in their casting, but that was long ago. I now wonder if they were one of the first 14 hand made scripts. I will never know, now.

Rob
 

John McGilvary

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Mar 16, 2006
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321
Rob,
I have owned my CS since it was new in 68. I have no doubt that what you say is true about your GNS.
I was just thinking that the more pics you show us, the more we will be able to understand what you are trying to tell us.

IMO, its hard for me to believe that there were 14 hand made CS's prior to the start of the CS production. If it did happen, then having one of the 14 would be a very cool thing.

John
 
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robert campbell

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John,
WOW!!!! Original owner of a CJ GT/CS!!! Wisdom beyond all wisdom!!! To keep something like this all your life!! I am in awe! As a 52 year old now, I was a bit to young to buy one new. I did have a 68 Shelby GT 500 KR. Sold it in 77 to buy my first house..... wish I had it back....

The black 67 Fastback in my gallery has been with myself and my wife of 29 years since 1977! It is her car, but she still shares.

I do not know if my car is one of the first 14 or car 15 through 25 or ?? It is the real deal and the holes in the right quarter are higher like the pics of the cars in Paul's first books that show the debut.

When I say hand assembled I do not mean totally by hand. Pauls book shows some pics of the first cars just prior to the debut. He has a pic of a car with a chauk drawing on the rear quarter of what the script was to look like. Paul also wrote of the fact that the early cars may have been pulled from the line and "staged" to be assembled with the GT/CS option. They were assembled as a GT/CS after being pulled from the staged area, but may have been ordered first as a plain-jane coupe. I am very confident that car 1 through 14 were not GT/CS cars from the frisrt stop on the assembly line. I feel they were assembled in much the same way that a Mustang became a Shelby.

This is the mystery that I am trying to solve. It is a fun quest and either way does not diminish my love of my car.

Thanks for your support John!! You are a great guy!! and one smart guy to never part with your first car love!!!

Rob
 
P

PNewitt

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I've been out of the loop for a short while, and now my project ( an exhibit about Western Expansion for Wall Drug, SD) is done, and it's now time to concentrate on the book and continued research.

I have to go to L.A. soon to interview a few key people that were there when the GT/CS was made. I will ask a lot of questions about prototyping, the original 14 cars, and the Gold Nugget Special. I'll be asking about the promo cars, as they might have been local L.A. dealer cars that were redressed; although production had just began previous to that date (Feb 15th) for the party. So, I'll get to the bottom of this--as well as try to locate any of these cars. Who knows? Maybe some folks own them and they don't know it.

There may have been a misunderstanding between me and Lee Grey in 1988. The GN Special was perhaps a special deal developed by the L.A. DSO folks as a promotion for the Northwest--that L.A. clout made happen. This might have been a Northwestern Ford promo, because dealers were hurting from the strike in '67, and the new pony cars coming up.

I'll be saving this thread--as there is a lot to digest and interpret.

More coming--

Paul N.
 
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robert campbell

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Paul,
My connection to Smith Gandy Ford will be back from vacation next week. I will try to gather contacts and work from my end. I have been intrigued by the higher placement of the promo cars "California Special" script since I got your first book years ago. My right side original quarter panel has holes up high in a very similar, if not excact, location. Pics are in my gallery. The quest continues....

Rob
 

mach2

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Jul 2, 2006
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hi folks sorry ive been gone so long but i just happened to check in and low and behold ya'll been talkin about the gns . my data plate has 05A on it in the date position .dont know what that means but the dso clearly states 74111 (gold nugget special) c code 289 2v (65a) body 2 door hardtop .color (y5) sunlit gold metalic.trim (2y)nugget gold crinkle yinyl and nugget gold kiwi vinyl . axel (2) 2.79:1 conventional. trans (w) c4 auto unit #124542
 
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