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1965-1970 Ford Mustang Fuel Tank Fire Hazard

by Byron Bloch, Auto Safety Consultant to CBS News

The Ford Mustang was introduced in April 1964 and quickly became a hot-selling sporty car, and has become a "classic" with hundreds of thousands still on the road. Yet, unknown to the public and to Mustang devotees is the fact that the fuel tank system has hidden dangers that cause the fuel tank and filler tube to be ruptured and torn in rear-impact collision accidentsÂ…often expulsing fuel and flames immediately and directly into the passenger compartment.

The hidden dangers include the fact that the top of the fuel tank is also the floor of the trunk. The fuel tank is simply bolted into a large hole in the trunk floorÂ… thus its nickname of the "drop-in flange-mounted" fuel tank. There is no separate sheetmetal trunk floor over the fuel tank, to help isolate any expulsed fuel below it. Nor is there any metal partition between the trunk and the passenger compartment. The rubber filler tube and cap, located in the middle of the panel between the two tail-lights, is often torn off its attachment to the fuel tank, creating another major source of expulsed gasoline directly into the trunk and passenger compartment.

• Ford's own "Confidential" rear-impact crash tests, typically at 21 or 31 miles per hour, indicate the danger:
• Crash Test 301: "Fuel Tank: Severely deformed, ruptured."
• Crash Test 371: "There was a leak in the fuel tank caused by the bumperette brace being driven against and fracturing the fuel tank."
• Crash Test 377: "The fuel tank was deformed and leaking."
• Crash Test 396: "Filler neck came off at tank causing fluid in neck to leak out."
• Crash Test 571: "The fuel tank and floor pan deformed severely. A five-inch tear occurred in the fuel tank at the rear seam, with a resultant discharge of fuel greater than one ounce per minute."
• Crash Test 720: "Contact between the muffler holding bracket and the fuel tank ruptured the fuel tank at both front corners. The filler neck connector was loosened by the forward movement of the fuel tank."

Finally, beginning with the 1971 models, Ford replaced the "drop-in flange-mounted" fuel tank with one that was strap-mounted beneath the trunk floor. Owners of the "classic" 1965-through-1970 Mustangs have never been warned by Ford Motor Company of the dangers of the extremely vulnerable "drop-in flange-mounted" fuel tank, the easily-dislodged filler tube, and the lack of any barrier between the fuel tank and passenger compartment to keep the fuel and flames from instantaneously reaching the occupants.

As the years go by, these classic 1965-1970 Mustangs have been involved imany rear-impact collision accidents that have resulted in an immediate fire that quickly penetrates into the passenger compartment and engulfs the driver and passengers. Product liability lawsuits have been filed against Ford, many have settled, and quite a few have gone to trial. In some Mustang fuel tank - fire cases over the years, I have personally testified as an auto safety expert to explain the fuel tank design defects to the jury.

If you now own a 1965-1970 Mustang, there are very few options to try to improve your survivability in a rear impact. Consider having a metal firewall barrier welded between the trunk compartment and the passenger compartment. Consider replacing the thin sheetmetal fuel tank with one that includes a tough-skin "fuel cell" bladder liner within the metal fuel tank (similar to what General Motors has done for the Corvette since 1975, and also similar to what Ford itself has previously recommended years ago for Mustangs that may be used in sanctioned racing events). Such fuel cells often include an anti-surge valve that also helps reduce the fuel expulsion problem if the filler tube is ripped off the fuel tank.

FOOTNOTE: President Bill Clinton and Congressman Newt Gingrich both own classic Ford Mustangs with this vulnerable "drop-in flange-mounted" fuel tank. There are also thousands of devoted owners of classic Mustangs, many who are in Mustang clubs across the nation. The fire danger to these owners of classic Mustangs will continueÂ… unless and until Ford Motor Company assists in some constructive program to upgrade their safety by installation of a metal firewall barrier, a safety fuel cell, or other measures to finally correct the hazard that has been concealed for so many years. In the meantime, the needless toll of burn deaths and burn injuries will continue.

Visit Byron Bloch's Web Site www.AutoSafetyExpert.com