The Ford Heritage Vault is a Classic Mustang Photo Goldmine
Hoping to have a productive Friday? The Ford Heritage Vault might have something to say about that…
Ever found yourself cruising the web looking for pictures of old Mustangs? Well, then the Ford Motor Company just did you a solid. Because today, the Blue Oval launched the Ford Heritage Vault, an extensive library of images a spanning a century, from 1903 all the way up to 2003. In total, there are more than 5,000 individual items, including everything from concept cars, to work rigs like the F-150, to press photos of the legendary Taurus SHO. So if you were looking to have a productive Friday? I have some bad news.
Given the focus of the forum, I focused on the Mustang shots, and managed to grab a few choice ones. My personal favorite is the hero shot, of a 1965 Shelby GT350 on display at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. The plinth it was placed on looks simultaneously regal and menacing, which is perfectly appropriate for a machine that would go on to inspire both adulation in the streets and terror on the track. Who knows? This could be the very machine that Ken Miles would eventually make famous for getting airborne at its inaugural race!
I also dug the photos of the 1969 Mustang Mach 1 Fastback, chiefly because it reminded me how much I’d love to have one wearing a Japanese police livery. Given how tough it is to find pictures of that wicked interceptor, I was kind of hoping — largely in vain — that there would be some images of it included in the first batch. That said, there are loads of classic Mustang pictures, like the Wimbledon White Mustang Convertible shown above, and poking around the site is loads of fun.
In the future, I know this will be a tremendous resource for me personally. Because at the moment, finding images of vintage vehicles — or more importantly, images of vintage vehicles that are OK to use without getting sued — for editorial pieces can be a huge challenge. Seriously, most corporate press photos go back a few years at best, and if you’re say, Chevrolet? They might only contain a handful of photos of the company’s current halo car.
Unfortunately, the Ford Heritage Vault seems to be currently experiencing what Reddit users refer to as the “Hug of Death,” meaning it’s breaking under the sudden influx of traffic. But even if you have to wait a few days, make sure to head over and check it out!
Photos: Ford
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