Video: Choosing Between Perfection and Life Experience - A 1967 Mustang Named Patina

An American pony car/muscle car builder can choose between the school of hard knocks and the school of fast corners. An old car builder/owner will be progressing or regressing through both schools simultaneously and at all times (as the case may be). Which would an auto enthusiast choose? The answer is simple, unless reaction times, straight lines, and Christmas tree lights are the preference to a seemingly endless stream of winding roads and tight apexes. 1967 Mustang notchback owner Kyle Barnes affectionately has named his Mustang '67 Patina. Watching the Petrolicious video will make it most obvious why this moniker makes so much sense for Mr. Barnes' pony car.

Petrolicious Video: The Going Thing - Kyle Barnes' '67 Patina Mustang

Doing all the body work, rust repair, paint prep, and re-spray of the exterior's not going to make Patina any quicker in the turns or more streamlined in the straights. Even if she's sprayed with silicone, she's not going to be any slippery'er in the wind. In her present state of condition, she looks ever so much more menacing and even heroic, what with all her battle scars and rust holes. Never mind whether some of those scars came from grocery getting parking lot snafus or the mere passage of time. Patina looks the business. She sounds the business. And she goes like snot on any road that Mr. Barnes cares to drive along. 

The Right Sort of Creature Comforts for the Business at Hand

Equipped with Ford Granada disc brakes upfront and Shelby style larger, heavy duty Ford Galaxie 500 sourced large drum brakes in the rear, Patina stops far better than a bone stock '67 notchback. She's also got cold fresh air ventilation to the brakes, thanks to the addition of Shelby GT350 cooling ducts plumbed from the nose straight through to the front rotors. Lowering and improving Patina's front and rear suspension to the 1965 Shelby GT350 SCCA B-production specification gave the Mustang the sort of cornering capabilities equal to that of the 1967 Mustang notchback that won the 1967 Trans-Am racing championship (below is one of the 26 built to race in the Trans Am series, photo courtesy of RM Sotheby's). 

Kirkey Racing Seat for the Driver

A Kirkey racing seat keeps Mr. Barnes plenty comfortable and held in tight, whether the drive or race is short or long. A 1970's era full roll cage is more than sufficient for safe vintage racing, road rallying, or Sunday boulevard cruising. Indeed, if Patina was back in the 1960's and '70's, she could be driven to the track, racing number applied, raced, and then driven back home. For that matter, Mr. Barnes could be doing just that in 2025. He has built himself a beauteous beast that's the envy of most every Ford Mustang enthusiast on the planet, at least those who enjoy road racing or road rallying!

Parts Unlimited Interiors and America's First Pony Car

Parts Unlimited Interiors has a growing array of pony car interior components for the mighty Ford Mustang. Should you have a 1967 Mustang, check 'em out. Yee Haw!