The automobile in Southern California is revered as a sacred item as the car culture carries a strong social standing. For those who drink Snapple, you might remember that one of the facts under the cap proclaims there are three times more automobiles in Los Angeles than there are people. Armed with that information, it's no surprise that nearly 2,000 Fords of all generations were at Knott's Berry Farm for its annual Fabulous Fords Forever car show.
We saw quite a variety of iron from all years, including the '10 Mustang and Shelby GT500. The cars--and trucks--weren't the only stars of the day: We ran into Chip Foose, Parnelli Jones, and Steve Saleen as we prowled the show-grounds. As usual, the lines were long for the autograph sessions. Roush Performance took the opportunity to rollout its '10 Roush Mustang 427R in the Cooper Tires booth.
For those who have never attended Fabulous Fords Forever, the volunteer staff slices and dices the park's parking lot into a highly organized regiment of specific models. Mustangs are broken down by generations, and SVT products are secured in a single section out back. Shelby fans rejoiced as nearly every Shelby Mustang was represented in the Shelby division of the parking lot. Trucks are segmented into two categories--early year Broncos and everything else. All other classic Fords are put into sections. Parking and organizing the sheer volume of vehicles is an impressive feat, to say the least.
We scoured the grounds and grabbed some highlight shots, as well as picking a slew of feature vehicles for upcoming issues of your favorite Mustang magazine. The accompanying photos are just a sliver of what we scoped out at this year's show.
Chip Foose was one of many...
Chip Foose was one of many popular car guys floating around Knott's Berry Farm. Ford set up a display with many of the custom Fords built at Foose Design. Naturally, Chip was signing autographs all day and rarely took a break.
Molly Saleen and her dad,...
Molly Saleen and her dad, Steve, took a break from signing SMS posters for a quick snapshot. Steve left early from the 45th Mustang Anniversary event in Alabama in order to make the Knott's Berry Farm Fabulous Fords Forever show that same weekend.
Kevin Sarkisian drove his...
Kevin Sarkisian drove his '04 SVT Cobra to the show. Thankfully, your author spotted Kevin on the highway and followed him to the show--if it weren't for Kevin heading up the 405 Freeway, I might have missed the exit and gotten lost. His Cobra is clean and simple, with a host of suspension modifications, exhaust, and supercharger upgrades.
Fox-body Mustangs were well...
Fox-body Mustangs were well represented at the Farm. Matt Glover shined up his '88 Stang and drove it down to Orange County. The street car boasts an impressive combination that consists of a 306ci mill with AFR 185 heads, a custom Kurgan Motorsports cam and tune, and a Vortech S-trim. All told, it has run as quick as 10.00 at 139 mph at Fontana Raceway.
APR Performance rolled into...
APR Performance rolled into the show with its new wide-body kit. A Turbonetics S197 turbo kit helps give the Stang some go to complement the SCCA Trans Am look that it carries.
The Shelby section of the...
The Shelby section of the show had some special vehicles. Here is the new Shelby 427--the Pace Car edition Super Snake. Shelby Automobiles sponsored the NASCAR race in Las Vegas and built 427 cars to commemorate the occasion.
Each year there is a strong...
Each year there is a strong showing of Mustang Bullitt cars. Mixed in with the New Edge Bullitt rides were a couple of S197s, as well. Dark Green Metallic was the most popular color, but we did see a couple of blue '01 Bullitts lurking in the crowd.