Lyle Custer is the proud owner of an ultra-rare 1968 Mustang GT/CS coupe–one that is the only model of its kind with a Wimbledon White exterior and red-knitted bucket seats.
Lyle is aware of his Mustang’s rarity, but he chooses to drive it rather than imprison his pony car in a storage facility and look at it.
Instead, Lyle chooses to hit the open road in his California Special Mustang and enjoy its ability to gallop down the road.
Jim Sutherland
A little history: Mustang California Special (GT/ CS) models were initially sold by southern California Ford dealers after their flashy debut on February 15,1968 at the famous Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles.
The special models were created to link the California Special Mustangs and the Shelby Mustangs via the use of a few Shelby components so So-Cal Ford dealers could offer a limited-edition road rocket under the Mustang label.
Ford provided an aggressive marketing campaign to build their California Special models’ image as rare beasts unique to the Golden State, although the cars were offered in other states back in 1968.
The result was a popular pony car with a distinctive style that was only offered in coupe form. The Shelby sequential taillights were a unique feature on the California Special Mustang models; an idea undoubtedly borrowed from other Ford family members such as the Cougar and Thunderbird models sold during the same era.
None of the history of the 1968 Ford Mustang GT/CS is unknown to Lyle because he knows his car’s details very well and displays a board with all the relevant information in front of his car when he attends a show.
The Mustang still sports its original powertrain, including its 289 Ford small block engine coupled to a C-4 automatic transmission with a floor-mounted shifter. The ‘68 Mustang GT/CS also sports a vinyl roof, a luxury feature that was a dealer option, according to Lyle.
Other creature comforts include power steering and an 8-track player to make every journey comfortable in a retro way. Speaking of retro, Lyle relies on his Mustang’s factory 4-wheel drum brake system to whoa-up his pony car.
Lyle’s Mustang has a rear defogger unit to help clear moisture off the rear window on cooler California days, but it would find the glass thawing process would get much tougher if Lyle drove the car in winter in his northern area. For the record, Lyle does not drive his rare Mustang in winter, but he spends plenty of time behind the wheel during the summer months, and many of the shows he attends are a long distance from his home.
Oddly enough, Lyle told MyStarCollectorCar he was not looking for a 1968 Mustang GT/CS when he bought his rare pony 15 years ago but thought “it was just different”, in his words. So is Lyle’s choice to drive his rare 1968 Mustang GT/CS as much as possible to as many events as possible under his watch.
That is the sign of a true car guy in our opinion here at MyStarCollectorCar.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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