Mustangs stampede on Squamish

There’s an urban legend that the Mustang that helped inject the vehicle into America’s cultural fabric sits collecting dust somewhere in

New Jersey.

“The car chase scene in Bullitt is famous,” Mustang enthusiast Craig Dowall said.

Two Mustangs were used in the filming of the 1968 film – one was destroyed during the shoots and the other lives on. Rumour has it that Steve McQueen, the main actor in the film, approached the Mustang’s owner and offered half a million dollars to buy it. The car owner said “no.” And so the car remains, unused in an old barn in the eastern state. 

Dowall owns a 1969 Mustang convertible with a 351 cubic inch Windsor V8. The West Coast Railway Park director bought the car in 1975 for his wife Nora, who drove it up until 1986. After that it became a bit of a rust bucket, Dowall affectionately said. 

The car sat idle in storage for 10 years. Then in 1997, Dowall thought it was time to breathe some new life into the sleeping beast. It took 11 years to get the Mustang on the road again. 

Originally a deep blue, Dowall painted it a powder blue for his wife. And the women love it, he joked.

“It always wins ladies’ choice,”
Dowall said. 

On Sunday (Aug. 31), Dowall and approximately 100 Mustang owners will cruise up the Sea to Sky Highway to the West Coast Railway Heritage Park in Squamish. The drive is a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Mustang. The event marks the 35th International Mustang Meet, which showcases cars from Manitoba to Washington. The show is hosted by different cities every year. The Greater Vancouver Mustang Association organized this year’s meet, said Jeanene Nelson, the railway park’s volunteer resource manager. 

“It is going to be neat,” she said, adding for a small admission price the public is invited to come view the vehicles from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The railway park’s exhibits will also be open to the public and its staff will be in period costume. 

Dowall is looking forward to driving his Mustang up the Sea to Sky Highway. There’s something about the muscle car that screams America, he said. 

“Even today the Mustang hasn’t changed a lot since the late ’60s,” Dowall said. “When you think American car, you think Mustang.”