1969 The "Going Thing" Mustangs

In May 1969, Ford held an All-Ford Performance Day at Thompson Dragway in eastern Ohio to showcase Ford's performance cars, the Ford Drag Team, and the region's new special edition Mustangs and Torinos. The "Going Thing" Mustangs were painted Grabber Blue (which didn't become readily available until '70) with white stripes similar to the Boss 302 C-stripe but with "The Going Thing" reversed out along the bottom. They also included the Mustang's top performance packages with 428 CJ and 351 four-barrel engines. It has not been determined how many were built. They can be identified by a blank color code and a DSO code of 32-2249. They may have been available in red as well, but that has yet to be confirmed.

Are ’69 Mustang 428CJ Still ‘The Going Thing’
for Charlie and Carole Crouch of Sandusky, OH
Mustang history is filled with a wide variety of rare “sales promotion” cars, and they don’t come much more rare than “The Going Thing”

1969 Mustang owned by Charlie and Carol Crouch. This Sandusky, OH, couple bought their special edition “R-Code” 428CJ Fastback after seeing a Ford Racing promotional tour at their local dragstrip, and knew that was one Mustang that would soon be “going” home with them:

 “In May of 1969, I purchased a Mustang Fastback from my local Ford dealer. The car was one of just 27 Sales Promotion Cars built called "THE GOING THING" that Ford had transported to Thompson Dragway near Cleveland, along with other Mustangs, Torino Cobras, and the two Ford Racing "THE GOING THING" factory drag-racing Mustangs of Hubert Platt and Randy Payne.

“This was a weekend for the public to go and see how the new 428CJ's performed and to take them on test drive. (Also there besides a group of Ford executives were Bob Tasca and Art Arfons, among others.) My car was there for this promotional weekend and after it was brought back to the dealership, a friend of mine (who was a Ford mechanic at the dealer), told me about it. My wife Carole and I went to the dealership together and bought it then and there – and have owned it ever since!

“The car is an "R" code 428CJ equipped with a Toploader four-speed. It is painted in Petty Blue with a white "C" stripe on the side that has ‘THE GOING THING’ in the bottom stripes on the doors. A large Ford emblem is featured on the trunk lid. The steel wheels are painted to match the car color with chrome centers and chrome lug nuts. It is a true ‘R-Code’ car, and came this way from the factory.

“Mine is the 90,000th car to come out of Dearborn! Wife Carole and I have raced the car in SCCA road racing, autocross, rallys and hillclimbs, and we have won many events in the car. It has since had a full restoration and is now back to its original self!’

GOING THING PROMOTION MUSTANGS - In 1969, you could buy your very own Drag Team replica, complete with Grabber Blue paint, and white C-stripes with the Going Thing logo. It was part of Ford's little-known "Going Thing" promotion. Ford reportedly built only 103 of these special Mustangs, this example was another eBay find. (1-13-08)