Ford Mustang Grilles

Nothing defines 20^th Century America like the automobile and nothing says America like a muscle car.  The Ford Mustang has long been seen as America’s premier muscle car, a sexy blend of style and substance.   Since 1965, the Ford Mustang has been the poster in the closet of every adolescent boy small town Iowa to the Bronx.  These horsepower toting gas guzzlers are more than a mode of transportation though, they are a status symbol, the proverbial trophy belt buckle.

Like their owners, each Mustang is unique.  From the throaty rumble of the engine at a stop light to the low roar of take off, the Mustang is a personality in and of itself.  One of the most prominent features of this American beauty is an unmistakable front end which varies a little bit in style every year.  If your car is a person, then the grille is its smile.  And for anywhere from fifty to five hundred dollars you can deck out your ride with the latest chrome, or give it a traditional feel nodding back to the Mustang’s late sixties ancestors.

With the new car industry seemingly on the downward spiral, sprucing up your vehicle is a cottage industry on the internet and on the street.  A cursory search of the phonebook or the internet will return hundreds of store and websites specializing in Mustangs and muscle cars. 

Made of aluminum, ABS plastic or stainless steel, the grille of the Mustang says as much about its owner as the car itself.  A mesh grille might conceal the heart of a racer, laughingly boasting an extra horsepower from the added airflow while a sleek slotted grille gives the Mustang a sophisticated low profile look.

Installation is a walk in the park for even the least mechanical owner.  While some of these fancy accessories require bolting on, many are simple inserts that slide right in and snap on with fastening clips already on your car.  Most of the aftermarket parts today claim installation in just a few minutes, and they are often right.

In addition to being standalone improvements to your auto, these grilles often have matching gas caps, ground effects, rims, door handles and emblems.  While it is fiction that these accessories will boost your car’s performance, it is a fact that some of the best looking rides start with a shiny grill and go from there. The latest and greatest grills have many options:  inset fog lights, traditional pony emblem, powder coating, custom color matching and anodizing as well as other options to make it just right for your Pony. 

The gallery at muscularmustangs.com has hundreds and hundreds of photographs showing the diverse styling available to these classic American machines, and it is just a small sampling of the culture that has arisen around these vaunted muscle machines.  From car shows to race tracks, the Mustang is a strong symbol of the foundering American car industry.  In spite of the weak showing in the economy though, Ford continues to produce a good looking automobile. 

At the high end of manufacturers, T-REX produces the Upper Class 3 series, and a standard Chrome Mesh Grille, both upwards of three hundred dollars.  E&G Classics produces similar models for slightly less (200 – 300 USD).  Rounding out the less expensive end of the spectrum, Grillcraft, Lund, Precision, SES Trims and Ri-Trenz all have options below 200 dollars.  For the true purist though, the T-Rex stainless steel grills are as durable and strong as the solid steel construction of the Mustangs of the 1960s.  Nothing says tough and American like steel with more steel.