Big improvements don't always require big bucks. These five budget-friendly upgrades can make your classic Mustang look better, feel better, and become even more enjoyable to drive. 

There's something magical about sliding behind the wheel of a first-generation Ford Mustang, twisting the ignition key, and hearing that familiar engine rumble to life. Whether your pony car packs a thrifty 200-cubic-inch inline-six, a spirited 289 small-block, a 351 Cleveland, or a thundering 428 Cobra Jet, the experience is pure automotive Americana.

In the streets of Southern California, specifically Orange County around Costa Mesa and the planned community of Irvine, there's a daily-driven prowling cat that knows just where it's at in the American pony and muscle car landscape. The uninformed think it's a funny looking, if not upscale customization of a first-generation Mustang. True gearheads shake their heads at such an outlandishly incorrect assumption. For goodness sakes, the new for 1967 Mercury Cougar was appointed Car of the Year by the automotive scribes at Motor Trend (an automotive car mag of considerable repute back in the swingin' muscle car '60's - in the February 1967 issue).

California classic-car enthusiasts scored a significant legislative victory on September 16, 2026, when Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1392 (SB 1392), better known as “Leno’s Law,” at Jay Leno’s Garage in Burbank, California. The new law creates a limited, phased-in exemption from California’s Smog Check requirements for qualifying collector vehicles from the 1976 through 1985 model years.

The Fox Body Mustang is a deeply nostalgic vehicle for those of us who grew up in the 1980s and '90s. These cars were easy to find at affordable prices, fun to drive, and served as a gateway into the world of high-performance modifications. More than 40 years later, it's no surprise that some Fox Body enthusiasts are willing to spend big bucks to build their ultimate dream Mustang... but would you be willing to pay $280,000 for one? Velocity Restorations, a custom classic car and truck builder in Florida, is offering a new series of turn-key Fox Body Mustang restomod builds for more than a quarter-million dollars each.

Every August, the Monterey Peninsula becomes the center of the collector-car universe.

For a few glorious days, seemingly every road connecting Monterey, Carmel, Pebble Beach and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca become an impromptu rolling car show. Ferraris mingle with Porsches. Prewar classics cruise alongside modern hypercars. Vintage racers thunder through the hills, and automobiles carrying seven- and eight-figure valuations suddenly seem almost commonplace.

If you work with your brain and your hands this could be your creation and your good fun. Civil engineering student and JBA Speed Shop builder Ethan has created a 1967 Ford Mustang fastback that pretty much every gearhead on the planet would want to drive and enjoy.

Transform your classic Ford with serious small-block performance. TheATK HP100M Stage 2 347ci stroker V8 delivers a dyno-proven 450 horsepower and 440 lb-ft of torque from the compact, proven architecture of Ford's legendary small block V8.

Just imagine the great luck that accompanies stumbling onto/discovering the 1968 Ford Mustang GT390 Bullitt movie stunt car that the King of Cool, actor Steve McQueen drove as San Francisco Police Department Detective Frank Bullitt. There's also a mountain of work that ensues once such a figurative pot of gold is found at the end of the rainbow, in terms of renovating a historically and painstakingly accurate, 100-point ground up restoration. 

Whether you're a movie buff or just a car enthusiast, the name Eleanor likely brings one thing to mind: Gone in 60 Seconds. The 2000 action film, which was loosely based on the 1974 action film of the same name, featured a sleek silver '67 Mustang at the center of its story. Anti-hero protagonist Memphis Raines, played by Nicholas Cage, feverishly hunts this car like Ahab hunted Moby Dick. While the film wasn't appreciated by critics, it has become a cult classic and is frequently cited as one of the most memorable car movies of all time. More than 25 years later, the original crew that built the movie stunt cars is making a limited series of 25 "Eleanor Gone Again" tribute cars.

The collector car world’s top prize, Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, was awarded today [Sunday, August 16, 2026] to a Duesenberg SSJ originally owned by Clark Gable. The 75th celebration also reached a major milestone, surpassing $50 million in total charitable giving.

This year, 218 cars—including 33 international entries from 14 countries and 185 US entries from 30 states—pulled onto the competition field. The winning 1935 Duesenberg SSJ Special Speedster was shown by Harry Yeaggy of Cincinnati, Ohio.