Parade Cars

A  Cherry of a 1972 Mustang Convertible

The Washington DC Jaycees and the Cherry Blossom parade committee contacted Ford for the use of convertibles for the annual parade held in early April 1972 to celebrate the blooming of the trees around the Tidal Basin.

It is not clear who decided to use Mustang Sprints.  Ford was pushing the Sportsroof and Coupes already as a tie in to the 1972 Olympic Games. The convertible was a natural for a parade vehicle. 

50 Identical Sprint Convertibles were assembled in March at the Dearborn plant. The VIN numbers for the “50 of a Kind” convertibles were sequential from 2F03F184256 to 2F03F184305.

A  Cherry of a 1972 Mustang Convertible

The Washington DC Jaycees and the Cherry Blossom parade committee contacted Ford for the use of convertibles for the annual parade held in early April 1972 to celebrate the blooming of the trees around the Tidal Basin.

It is not clear who decided to use Mustang Sprints.  Ford was pushing the Sportsroof and Coupes already as a tie in to the 1972 Olympic Games. The convertible was a natural for a parade vehicle. 

50 Identical Sprint Convertibles were assembled in March at the Dearborn plant. The VIN numbers for the “50 of a Kind” convertibles were sequential from 2F03F184256 to 2F03F184305.

50 of a Kind

The seat material was unique to these 50 convertibles and the trim code is blank on the VIN decal.

All the cars came with a 302 engine, automatic transmission, AM radio, deluxe interior and power steering and disc brakes.

After the parade, the cars were distributed to the Washington area Ford dealers and sold to the public for an asking sticker price of $3,272.22 or higher. A customer/dealer copy of a Special Equipment Parts List from FOMOCO dated March 3, 1972 lists 27 parts as part of the Sprint package.

No other options such as the B package were added to these 50 convertibles when produced.

Special commemorative Cherry Blossom Festival license plates that were sold in Washington DC were legal tags for the brief period of the festival.

Where Are They Now?

To date, 39 of the 50 original consecutively numbered red, white and blue convertibles have been located.

There are two convertibles in Norway, one found its way to Sweden, and another to Denmark. Many of these cars have been featured in Mustang books, magazines and newspapers.

Read about the history of the 50 convertibles in Rex Turner’s book “Cherry Blossom Sprint Mustangs -A History of the Fifty 1972 Ford convertibles.”

Rex Turner is the “Convertible Historian.” His goal is to locate the missing 11 cars with the help of other Mustang enthusiasts. If you know of anyone that owns one of these rare Mustang convertibles please contact Rex at [email protected] or 571-926-2928.

Where Are They Now?

To date, 39 of the 50 original consecutively numbered red, white and blue convertibles have been located.

There are two convertibles in Norway, one found its way to Sweden, and another to Denmark. Many of these cars have been featured in Mustang books, magazines and newspapers.

Read about the history of the 50 convertibles in Rex Turner’s book “Cherry Blossom Sprint Mustangs -A History of the Fifty 1972 Ford convertibles.”

Rex Turner is the “Convertible Historian.” His goal is to locate the missing 11 cars with the help of other Mustang enthusiasts. If you know of anyone that owns one of these rare Mustang convertibles please contact Rex at [email protected] or 571-926-2928.