Rare 1970 Ford Mustang Twister Special Is A 40-Year-Old Time Capsule

Anyone who's gone hunting for a potential classic car project knows the value of a good barn find. As the name suggests, these are cars long forgotten in random places like barns or old garages. Sometimes the owner has passed away and simply never told anyone about the car; others get lost when people move out. The stories, like the cars themselves, are incredibly varied from the mundane to the straight-up bizarre. Take this one, for example: A story about a a Mustang, one of a production run of only 96, that disappeared off the face of the Earth for four decades before resurfacing in 2024.

First thing's first: What the heck is it? At a glance, it looks like any other 1970 Mustang Mach 1. Arguably it's one of the most famous first-gen Mustang appearances, considering a similar 1971 Mach 1 in Medium Yellow Gold starred in the original "Gone in Sixty Seconds" and a customized black one was John Wick's signature car; this one, like all Twisters, is finished in Grabber Orange. But that's not what makes it truly special — it's the story behind that "Twister" decal, which we'll discuss in detail.

For the short version, though: This is a Mustang sold only to specific dealers in a specific region, namely Kansas, Northwest Arkansas, and Missouri — Tornado Alley, hence the decal. It was last registered in 1984 before being parked in a garage and covered in detritus. Then, some 40 years later, the original owner put this unique time capsule of a car up for sale, complete with patina and remarkably little rust for its age. Barn finds are truly special, every one being its own unique case, so let's dig in to this specific example.

As mentioned before, 1970 Mustang Twisters, formally the Twister Specials, were Mach 1s sold to specific dealerships in Tornado Alley. It was basically a publicity stunt designed to boost sales in the region, an experiment which was preceded by two other specials: one model for California and the High Country Specials for Colorado. The Twister Specials were sold by the Kansas Ordering District across 96 dealerships, with one Mustang representing each dealership for a total of 96 units.

It was a clever play from a botched order, actually — Ford originally intended to produce 100 examples to serve with American Raceways, Inc. There were five sanctioned NASCAR tracks under this organization, with the contract calling for 20 cars per track to serve as pace cars and additional functions. However, American Racing, Inc. ended up with financial troubles. With bankruptcy on the horizon, Ford backed out of the deal with 96 cars completed. Ford has a long history with NASCAR, in fact, with the Boss 429 being just one of its race-centric engines.

So Ford had these cars sitting in inventory when the Kansas Ordering District saw dollar signs, and the rest was history. Sadly, many of these cars have disappeared, with roughly half being unaccounted for. We know the serial number range and options — the number starts with 118, and all cars were evenly split between two engine types, 351 Clevelands or 428 Super Cobra Jets, with equal amounts automatic and manual transmissions. They were also all finished in identical Grabber Orange with that iconic "Twister Special" decal, of course. But individual examples are tough to track down; the decals could've been changed by the owners, the cars simply disappear (like this example), and tribute models exist in the wild.

This specific Twister Special Mustang is an automatic 428 Super Cobra Jet example, one of 24 so-equipped — again, powertrain production is split evenly four ways. Being an all-original vehicle, it has all the usual options that came with every Twister: SportsRoof configuration, headlights recessed into a grille with a unique surround, fake air vents on the flanks, Shaker-style hood scoop for the SCJ engine, special taillights, hood pins, and that iconic contrasting paint scheme. Moreover, was sold as a one-owner car, not something you can say every day about something of this vintage.

The car was found by Mustang expert Jim Wicks, who contacted the owner about this incredibly rare vehicle hiding in a garage still sporting its 1984 Arkansas inspection sticker and plates. It was effectively buried under a mound of other stuff piled on top of it over the years, to the point where barely any paint at all was visible. That might've inadvertently helped to preserve some of the immaculate paintwork, which cleaned up nicely minus the flaking decals. The owner was apparently quite eager to show the car off, because the next time Wicks swung by, the Mustang was uncovered and cleaned up, ready for photos.

What's truly special about this car is, like many other barn finds, it's original to its time period. They say cars are only truly original once, and this is a perfect example of something in that condition. It's something no amount of restoration can replicate, which is why such rare vehicles often command six-figure prices at auction, like this Dodge Charger Daytona barn find that was still worth a fortune even in its rusted-out condition.