Contributed by Russ Muller Photography
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On Saturday, February 25 2017, the Mid-Florida Mustang Club (MFMC) held their 30th Annual Mustang & Ford Roundup in historic downtown Longwood. According to Joe Rodriguez of MFMC there were over 300 cars in attendance, between the show cars and specialty displays. And I photographed most of them…
Before getting to the show details, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what the Mustang world was like in 1987. The Mustang was still on the Fox platform, and engine choices were either a 90 horsepower 2.3 liter 4-cylinder or a 5.0 liter V-8 rated at 225 hp and 300 ft. lbs of torque. There were a total of 64,704 two-door and convertibles produced and 94,441 hatchbacks. There were also many Mustang SSP (Special Service Package) units produced for over 60 law enforcement and government agencies. If you’re anything like me, you remember seeing those police Mustangs in your mirror, lights flashing…
Back to the show. I thought I would be ahead of the game by arriving at 7:00, but I was wrong. Registration opened at 7:30, but there were already Mustangs lined up waiting to get in, in addition to the club member cars that were already parked in the show field. Vendors were arriving and setting up tents and displays, and downtown Longwood was alive with activity. Glad I had coffee before I left the house, because there was no time for easing into this event. With camera in hand, my morning began.
As the event photographer, I had to shoot photos of the cars after they registered. With a beautiful historic building as a backdrop, I stopped counting cars after I got to 200. The show was mostly Mustangs, but there were also Thunderbirds, Cougars, classic trucks, deuce coupes, Cobras, a GT40, a GT, and 4 Panteras. The absolute best of the blue oval was on display.
Once I was done with the official photos, I was able to wander around and enjoy the event as a spectator. DJ Don of Cruisin’ Orlando provided the music, and Church Avenue never sounded better. Several performance parts vendors had display tents, including National Parts Depot (NPD), Orlando Mustang and VMP Tuning. Southern Ford Dealers had a display of several new Fords, and Gingerbread Insurance was on site to offer great insurance coverage for the classic cars. In addition, several law enforcement agencies had both new and vintage Ford police vehicles on display. My favorite was the 1950 Ford that the Oviedo PD drove over. There was a pet rescue organization onsite, and I think a few dogs may have gotten adopted during the show. The Longwood Police department even had a K-9 demonstration for the crowd.
MFMC had a special area for the Ford Performance vehicles. When was the last time that you saw 4 Panteras, a GT-40, a GT, and two Cobras all in one location? Yeah, it’s been a while for me too.
There were 4 Mustang Shelby GT-H on display, two of which were 2016 models. One of those two was #171 of 171 produced. There were Bullitt Mustangs, Mach 1s, Boss 302s, Roushes, California Specials, a big bad Boss 429, GTs, and Cobra IIs, all in addition to the “plain” Mustangs. Needless to say, I had no problem spending a few hours walking around and seeing the sights.
There were four classes of cars judged, in addition to the City of Longwood and the Longwood Police Department picks for specialty awards. The Best of Show trophy was awarded by Donald Farr, the editor of Mustang Times magazine. Between the awards, door prizes, Daytona 500 tickets, and 50/50, I may have been the only one who left empty-handed. A great day, a great show, and a great job by MFMC.
Click HERE for more candid shots