1969 Ford Mustang Grandé: Equine Luxury
I’m listening to The Supremes as I type this. It seemed appropriate. What a time to be alive, 1969. The moon landing, last chance for suicide-door Lincoln Continentals, supper clubs all over the place, amazing music. And a mind boggling assortment of brightly hued pony cars and muscle cars!
This week, I read the final Chevrolet family car, the Malibu, is being put out to pasture. If you told someone in 1969 that was going to happen, they would have laughed and laughed. And they’d have gotten a chuckle, too that the 2024 model was available only as a four door sedan. A rather attractive sedan, sure, but in 1969 you also could have gotten a coupe, two-door hardtop, four-door hardtop, convertible, and station wagons in several degrees of trim, right up to a fancy schmancy one with Di-Noc woodtone side paneling.
Wait, we were talking about Mustangs, weren’t we? Apologies for the digression, but as a die-hard sedan man, I bemoan the state of sedan availability today. Not everyone wants an SUV.
And back in the late ’60s, not everyone wanted a sedan. Coupes and convertibles were still wildly popular, and pony cars were near the top of a lot of wish lists. In 1969, the Mustang offered three basic body styles as usual—coupe, fastback (newly dubbed Sportsroof for the model year), and the two-door hardtop.
And in addition to the Mach 1, Boss 302, and Boss 429 performance models, there was also the Grandé—the luxury Mustang. It was available only as a two-door hardtop, and no convertible or Sportsroof Grandé was ever catalogued.
While the standard Mustang hardtop was priced at $2618 with the six cylinder and $2723 with the base V-8, Grandé pricing came in at $2849/$2954. As you’d expect, it had a nicer interior and more exterior chrome trim, in addition to wire wheel covers.
The 1969 Mustang brochure made it overwhelmingly clear this was the fancy Mustang. “Sheer Luxury. All planned to reflect your lavish mood.
“As you can see from its very handsome styling and attractive appointments, such as wire-style wheel covers, dual racing-style mirrors and neat two-tone narrow tape stripes, Grandé says here it is the elegant Mustang.” However, despite all that marketing praise, the Grandé still came standard with the 115-hp 200-cubic inch inline six.
Of course, several V-8s were available, but the big draw for this trim was the plush interior with special door panels with integrated courtesy lights and reflectors, a rim-blow steering wheel, where you could sound the horn by pressing on the inner steering wheel at any spot, an electric clock, simulated teak wood trim, and vinyl and hopsack cloth upholstery.
In total, 22,182 Grandés were built for the model year. 299,824 1969 Mustangs of all trim levels and body styles were sold. The Grandé was the second lowest-selling Mustang; only the convertible, with 14,746 made, was more scarce. Most popular, unsurprisingly, was the base two-door hardtop, with 127,954 built.
And now that I think of it, I don’t recall seeing many 1969 Mustang convertibles, despite the many shows I attend every year. As for Grandés, I have seen a couple, including the fantastic metallic dark green ’73 I wrote up a couple years ago, but this was the first 1969 version I’d seen up close that hadn’t had all its Grandé specific trim and top removed.
This car was at the 2024 Loafers car show in downtown Hannibal, Missouri. It is held every Mother’s Day weekend, on Saturday. I met up with my friend and fellow car nut, Jason Shafer, and we spent a couple of content hours checking out all the cars. The Loafers show has a wide variety of cars, something for everyone.
I initially walked right past this car without a second glance, with my brain automatically reporting, “red Mustang, disregard.” But as we were walking by again, I thought, whoa, it’s a Grandé! And immediately started gawking at it and taking many, many pictures.
So many of these were turned into faux GTs or customized Mustangs, which is a shame. I salute the owner for preserving it as it was orignally built, as a Grandé. So many don’t.
Though I do need to mention it is not precisely as sold new. The window sticker and Marti report were on display in the trunk and it was originally Silver Jade, a gorgeous metallic color that I personally prefer over Candy Apple Red, but to each their own.
This car was originally sold new at Crater Lake Motors in Medford, Oregon. Among other options, it has the Stereosonic tape player, 351 CID V-8, tinted glass, power steering and power front disc/rear drum brakes. Total selling price was $3971.48.
And as previously mentioned, wire wheel covers were standard Grandé equipment, and likely 99% had whitewall tires too, but these styled steel wheels are correct for a 1969 Mustang, and far prettier than many modern aftermarket wheel choices. (I’d still want the wire caps and whitewalls, ha ha.)
It was still a really pretty car, and I was thrilled to see it at the show! Mary Richards would approve.
Where is the center console?
Center console was a option on the Grande, standard in the Mach 1
But it’s right there on the Option sheet: Console $53.82.
So yes, where is it?
My 69 is a base model. One of the odd options it has is the “rocker panel moldings”. I almost never see a 69 with them and they are stored off of my car at the moment (I am not a fan of them). I also don’t like the fake rear quarter scoop these got (one of the only for-1970 improvements I like to the exterior of the car).
The subject car is missing the console. I have a version of a 69/70 Mustang console that I have thought about, but never have, put in my car. It just slides around the shifter as pictured in the article. Not the most robust construction (the one I have is cracked and missing a chunk of the side) and if the Grande one is unique I could see that being a pain –not sure all the Grande stuff is reproduced?
I have always thought the clock going on the passenger side of the dash looked a bit goofy. I often like fake wood grain (inside or outside) but not in 69 Mustangs. The Grande seats are okay but the basic vinyl of 69 or 70 is high back buckets is more to my personal taste.
Pretty sure Grande had a 3-spoke steering wheel and the subject car looks identical to my base model wheel.
I have also never like vinyl tops. When Klockau classics shows us the smooth-roof versions of cars I never saw like that, those are the ones I get most excited for (i.e., some of the Caddies… all had the roofs around here).
Looks like the rim-blow steering wheel is gone (the wheel has a horn ring).
Not sure about Ford products, but on Mopar rim-blows the flexible cover over the metal contacts would deteriorate, rendering the horn inoperative and leaving the steering wheel unsightly and uncomfortable. Interestingly, on Mopars the horn insert was available as a service repair part, so the whole wheel didn’t need replacement.
Mary Richards had a beautiful 1970 white hardtop. For me the opening was the best part of the show. In late 72 , but maybe 73 , there was an episode with her browsing a 73 brochure. When she went to the dealer and looked at a yellow and tan convertible, she thought the price was too high. But in later episodes, she has a 73 blue metallic convertible, white top and interior. Maybe it was the yellow / tan ???? Anyway. I convinced my grandmother to get me the 73 brochure at Globe Ford after that episode. lol.
I’m pretty sure Mary’s ’70 was a base model six cylinder. Isn’t there a shot of it in opening the credits where you can see the side of the car…and the dog dish hubcaps?
I think the idea was to show her as a young-ish (30!) woman starting out on her own in life, with only the basic of necessities, like a new car her parents probably bought her, or co-signed for.
Regardless of the producers’ motives, I always thought she should’ve had a convertible…even in Minnesota.
Center Console was optional.
Not according to the Marti
You are correct it was listed as a purchased option and is missing. The three spoke steering wheel is also missing and the outside Grande stripe.
When I was in high school in the 70’s, a friend’s mother drove one of these…nice looking car then and now….
I’ve never seen the Grande trim before. Looks good.
Why a Grande at all unless you want a 6 banger? Go get a Cougar, the real lux pony class car. I bet a run down the option sheet to make equivalent cars- the Merc would be just a few hundred more bux and so much more classy.
Depends at least partly on which car you prefer the appearance of. I like 1967-68 Cougars a lot, but 1969-70 less so; I never thought the Buick-esque sweepspear looked very good on the Cougar.
In late summer ’82 I bought a ’70 Grande for $150. I was just shy of my 16th birthday. The car was a mess and my parents were okay with it as my friend Kevin next door was going to help me with all the work. The summer before we entertained the neighborhood by fully dismantling his Dad’s old ’68 Nova in his driveway, replacing the six with a 307. Most were amazed when that car finally rolled again.
Anyway, I had no idea what Grande meant, nor did I care. The interior and vinyl roof were intact and looked pretty good, but the body was rusted, the engine block was cracked – didn’t learn that until winter. And the tires were rusty. Radials worn so badly the steel cords were showing. A lot of junkyard parts came home in the trunk of Kevin’s Nova.
Finally completed it nearly two years later, a few weeks before I went to boot camp. Gave it to my sister. A year later she traded it in for an ’87 Dodge something.
Often forgotten is the GT option group for 1969, the last year it was available for all body styles. Ford did very little promotion of this equipment group, focusing more on the new Mach 1. I think you’d find them rarer than the convertibles. Most 1969 GTs were produced in the early production year as the touted Mach 1 and Grande where the new darlings.
I bought and restored a 69 Grande, white top over “winter poly blue” body with a light blue interior. Could not save the cloth seat inserts and the repro part is all vinyl, unfortunately. The 302 is original and runs great. Makes a nice spring and fall companion car to my 69 candy apple red summer convertible. I get more comments from people passing by about the Grande than the ragtop. I had a Mach 1 too, but sold it as it was always in the shop for something. This Grande was actually my second, first one bought and sold in the 80s.