1968 vs 2024 Ford Mustang GT: You’ll Be Surprised How Much The Pony Car Hasn’t Changed In 60 Years! 

Real gauges are way better than a screen.

"Brings me back to a day I wasn't around for." Great quote :-)

Agreed. Looks like they glued some tablets on the dash

I’m not a ford mustang fan but Ford has gained my respect since its the only American car manufacturer that will continue making V8 Muscle Car ( Mustangs ) with stick shift version available..

While the new Mustang is better in every aspect, there is something about that classic look! I’d still take that 68 over a modern pony as my just for fun car. Need a daily? Then modern hands down.

I’d gladly take the ‘68 with its “low V8 power” over the new one any day.

2nd seat belt buckle was for the shoulder harness (which seems to be missing on this car). You had to buckle both individually. I'll still take the '68 all day long! Ford's next redesign should be an exact copy of the 60's body design with updated chassis and engines.

I’m from the generation that bought these cars in 68. The solution for the exhaust was a couple cherry bombs. Whole lot cheaper than fancy factory exhaust.

Fun fact. In 1968 the GT/CS Mustang were called "High Country Specials" if they were sold out of the Denver Colorado District Sales Office. Ford opted to continue that name and badging for the Colorado market since there were special edition Mustang High Country Specials and Ski Specials in 1966 and 1967.

The 2023 has a much better looking and more functional dash than the 2024.

Great video. TFL is fast becoming one of my favorite car channels

I’m in Australia & I bought a lovely 1968 GT390 Fastback some 11 years ago. Still LHD & completely original. A beautiful weekend cruiser.👍🏼😎 I am also fortunate to own the 2018 Bullitt too, which is an on/off daily driver. I appreciate the vast differences from their 50 years apart.😍

6:00 Two big iPads on the dashboard 🤦🤦🤦

I weighed my GT/CS on a certified scale in 1974, about a year after I bought it from the original owner. It was dead stock when I bought it. When weighed, the 289 had a Torker intake, long tube headers, 2 1/2 exhaust with Walker Turbos, original power discs, a swap to manual steering, no spare in the trunk, and some gas. Without me, it came in at 2950 pounds. The weight advantage I had over other musclecars at the time was very apparent. Street raced at 8200 rpm shift point. Never at the track, but could edge out guys with low 13-second time slips. Better if I had my Blue Streaks on that night and BF-22's.

The screens are fine, but at least take some time to make them flow into the dash like the s550. They literally just look like pads slapped on an elevated dash. No design beauty at all......tfl you should have these 2 do more videos together. They do a nice job. My oldest son gets his license in just over 4 years, if he somehow gets this, yes that high school parking lot will have more rubber on it than a playground, lol.

You guys forgot another cool feature on the '68: the high beam indicator light on the dashboard. I believe it's a red lens in the shape of the Mustang horse.

Having grown up in the 70s and 80s, there was a time the old cars were definitely an upgrade in performance, but time and technology has revered that. Kids are lucky to grow up with the new technology in cars. Learning to drive in the 80s with the worst generation of cars ever kinda sucked. Now the old cars are great for nostalgia, and easier to work on, but the new engine technology really is great. Mom's cars of today blows away the hot rods of the 80s. Thanks CARB.

I understand you can only work what you've got...umm, I'll skip that this time...but this is apple to oranges. If you're going to use a a new GT then you should have looked for a 66 GT350 or at min a 4 speed 64 1/2 with the 289 HiPo 4V making 269HP. Also the GT/CS is more of a comfort & appearance pkg than perf. I'll give you guys kudos. For not growing up with any of the original Mustangs, you did a pretty good job.

I think 1968 was the first year for the shoulder seat belt that was probably taken out when they did the headliner.. I had a 68 fastback it had the shoulder harness as well as the waist one..

That California Special is amazing. I love the hubcaps, too.

Two great looking cars I love them both thank you very much for the information 😊from Sydney Australia

Okay there a few things that don't seem to ad up here. First the 289 V8 even in it's lowest HP set up in 1968 with the two barrel carb (which I guess this CS must have had) is 195 and 233 FTlbs torque. When you got onto the highway and "Punched it" I didn't hear the rpm change or any type of power delivery. Even a base 289 would have dropped a gear and revved up to a much more toque friendly gear. So I suspect something is wrong with that Mustangs automatic gear box set up and/or kick down switch and the secondaries that should have opened on the carb.

Those screens in the new one look like an after thought, they should have incorporated them into the dash better.

47 years ago I bought my 68 stang from the original owner. Lifelong Southern California car. 289 coupe, power steering, factory AC, automatic and the optional hood turn signal indicators. Light blue, white vynil top. with this same color interior, which 10 years ago I had completely redone in factory correct colors and grains. It looks exactly as nice as this one. One option my car doesn't have, is power brakes. Its has manual 4 wheel drums. Im sure that this car has the same. That would be why he felt he had to really push on the pedal.....no power assist. You get used to it! Im very glad I decided to never SELL IT when I bought my 1st new car in 1980. I use it for around town errands on weekends and to car shows. Its perfectly happy to cruise down the freeway at 70 mph. I was 9 years old when it was built. I remember well when a neighbor bought one in 68, I thought it was so cool. Didn't know then I would have one, and would be driving it for 47 years and counting! 😊

One of the seat belts is for the lap belt and the other is for the shoulder belt, which your cat seems to be missing. I used to have a 68 coupe and a 67 fastback.

The light/overboosted steering and underpowered brakes were standard for mid- and late-1960s Fords.

You are missing the shoulder harness that should be on the roof. Nobody ever uses them. I don’t think they have ever been down on my 68

Re: seat belts. In ‘68 you would have most likely had a shoulder belt that was “tied up” on the headliner, and would attach separately from the lap belt. I don’t see the shoulder belts installed in that one, anymore. Hence two per side.

Gf just said Alex sounds like Andy Samberg in parks and rec. 😂 "I found a log with a bunch of worms on it. I CALL IT WORM LOG."

Awesome love both of them .

Great video. I have a 2024 GT premium with active exhaust. I think it would be cool if Ford put all generations in it like they did with the fox body display mode.

Only one of those has a dash that isn't a video game console and deserves to be in a Mustang.

What I don't get is this current trend is of just slapping a couple of big screens clumsily on the dash surface without any attempt to integrate them in any way into the dashboard structure itself. It just looks like someone has grabbed a couple of iPads and retrofitted them ghetto-style onto the dash and in front of the existing analogue instrument cluster with Velcro or duct tape (I blame Tesla for starting this look). OK, the screen in the middle I get; many car makers install them this way these days, however the gauge-cluster screen in front of the driver too; maybe they're trying to go for that "tuner" look or something, where the drag guys will slap the screen for their Holley set-up bang in front of the old analogue cluster? I'm all for screens, but at least make some effort to attempt to integrate them into the interior design theme of the vehicle rather than just make them appear like a casual afterthought.

The 67-68 interiors are one of the best for any Mustang year 👍

7:50 lap and shoulder belts used to be separate

They sure messed up the dash by just sticking an iPad in front of the driver. They didn’t spare anything in the pricing though.

Interesting California Special, would have been quicker with a 289 Hi Po, although the Ford 2 barrels are pretty big the entire engine just runs different than the 4 barrel performance versions. you really weren't driving a performance variant of the car, more aligned with today's Ecoboost Mustang.

Hain't no competition, even tho the CA Special is a weird dress up package....

Give me the old one.

i dont care about the cons, disadvantages or issues with old muscle cars... i would pick them over anything... ANYTIME.

@tflclassics ...it's a good thing you pointed out the differebce in weight between the 64 & 24. It highlights how much unnecessary junk the automakers are adding to the cars as Standard equipment. You can't get rid of all that unwanted weight since it's now all tied into the entertainment junk. Anyway, I'd take any of the classics over the new junk made after 2009. Cheaper and easier to repair/maintain, wouldn't cost over $8K to fix or be listed as " a total loss" in a minor fender bender and wouldn't blow up if i put $3.67/gal 87 octane in it instead of $5.87 93 octane. BTW the 64 will still be running in 2050 and the 24 will be junked because you won't be able to get a 24 y/o microprocessor. 😂

What's was good about older is you had many PHYSICAL choices in horsepower and drivetrain configurations THAT WASN'T PLASTIC!

I think the old one would make a great daily driver.

I like how the fox body guage cluster is named "Cool as Ice"

You are lucky in USA! Here in Norway the new Mustang start at 134 129,- Usd!

I owned a 67 289 and a 68 390. The old Mustangs were nice cruisers, but a stock non-Shelby left a lot to be desired in the handling department.

They are both awesome cars. Doesn´t matter if the 68 is not powerful by today´s standards, they still move around nicely for cruising on car shows. The new ones are awesome cars, lot of fun to drive, very powerful and comfortable, and despite most fan´s dislike of the auto, the truth is that it is an awesome transmission that is faster than the 6 speed and makes for a great daily driver if you live in a big crowded city with stop and go traffic. The manual is NOT fun driving in stop and go traffic for an hour... I really hate the screens, my 2019 has a way better dash design than the new one. Maybe Ford should offer a version with the previous generation´s dash for us who prefer the analog gauges.

Love both Mustangs. I'm old, so I remember the 68 C/S and my new 86 5.0 LX 5-speed (had for 14 years and 160K miles). Someday I will own a Coyote Mustang 6-speed. Love the old cars, we had a 69 Cougar and modified it with a 428 SCJ. Still like the new ones as they are more reliable, faster and drive so much better.

Why would you pick a GT/CS for this comparo? The GT/CS was just an exterior cosmetic package on the base 'Stang.

3:32 "Just press this button" panel almost disappears.

Re: brakes - did that ‘68 have power brakes? Could have been an option. Non-power brakes will require a lot more effort to work those drums. Re: exhaust - the sound of that ‘24 exhaust really makes me want to go back to straight pipes on my S197. My glasspacks sound ok, but really quiet compared to muffler deletes. CA police were cracking down on exhaust mods, so I put mufflers back on about 4 years ago - much to the delight of my neighbors. 😅

R u guys familiar with the "passing gear"? As you're driving lift sharply off the accelerator and then slam the pedal to the floor. That will cause the transmission to down shift increasing revs allowing to accelerate quicker

The low end 289 was not really considered a fast ponycar in 1968. By then the Mustang was also available with the 390 and the 428 Cobra Jet.

I guess one thing no one ever mentions is just how the new car is so much safer than the old one, if you are in a head on crash with the old one at 40mph 99% you will not survive but with the new one it is 99% that you will and for me this is the biggest difference.

Those extra buckles are for shoulder belts !

68 Mustangs had optional shoulder belts that were separate from the lap belts. It is likely that the CS either had them and they were removed, or the wrong set up was installed at the factory.

Also, you gotta hear the purr and rumble of the 302 V8 with cherry bombs, headers and cams, oh man that purr and rumble will give that new Mustang a run for it's money 🤩🤩 soundwise...

I'll stick to our family's 1966 V8 Mustang that just became a heirloom 😅

...have a '17 GT350 and a '69 Dart Swinger (that was converted to BB in the late '70's). Both are fun & cool, but a different flavor

Both nice cars, but 68 for me ☺

Like the new one, even I prefer less screens in the interior.

No, the 2bbl 289 was not fast back in the day lol. They had FAR more capable motors that are still fun today when they're not in desperate need of a restoration

Cool comparison, but it would be even cooler if you had a straight comparison from trim levels to trim level.

You should have compared a 68 GT if youre comparing it to a 24 GT or even better a 1964 1/2 vs a 2024 standard 5.0 to celebrate the 60 years.

If I were in the market for a new Mustang I would find a used 2023. I hate the glued on screens of the 2024. Of these two mustangs I would take the 1968 all day long.

I'd like to see what is the modern day equivalent to the '68 Mustang as far as 0-60 and 1/4 mile times.

I hate screens, using them for the media center is one thing; but using them for the instrument cluster is incredibly stupid. That screen is a part that will break, a part that will go out of production and then what happens? You won't be able to keep that new Mustang running for 60 years the way the old one has, you won't even be able to keep it running for 20 years because 10 years from now the screen with your speedometer on it is going to break and 15 years from now Ford is going to stop making OEM replacements.

You guys should do a Honda b-series swap in the oldest mini you guys have like Mighty Car Mods did and race it against the other 2 mini’s that would be awesome suggestion 😊

The 68 any day for me. You're going to race a 2bbl cruiser against a street legal racer? You should find a 1st gen with a 428. At least that would be competitive.

The old one will always be cooler

You know when we talk about screens, it used to be about wind screens.

Consider the difference between the 1968 and a 1908 car. Slightly bigger difference.

A T handle shifter for the 2024 would be pretty nice.

My most boomer opinion is that my car shouldn't have a screen where my radio should be

I love the old car's I really do. But after reading some comments, here is my experience. Im 66 years old, and my first car was a 1966 Mustang 289 Hp. Trying to compare my 2019 GT A10 Whipple charged GT is like comparing me at this age to me at 18. There is no comparison. Run thur a puddle of water in a old mustang and try to stop. 😢 My 289 smoked, and broke oil pump drive shafts. Power steering problems etc. A old car had 12/12 warranty for a reason. The great muscle car error knew nothing of getting close to 100,000 thousand miles. BTY I've had a every generation of mustang except the pinto 1974/78. But opinions are like butts, everyone has one. 😅

$3,000 out the door vs $60,000 out the door.

Classic ❤

I aint surprised

Damn...could at least compared it to 4bbl 390 with a 4 speed and fastback. The 68' you have a secretaries car.

Pretty good comparison! Sure, could've found a 68 in better spec, but you get the idea of old versus new, and how much Ford has improved the car while following the original formula. It was the leading pony car back then, competitive race, and remains so today!

Buttons, and switches are better than screens. I would prefer the Cali Special.

The original having only 198 hp is what annoys me the most when I see alot of young people taking power for granted with modern cars. Like the new one has 480 and people will say it is slow until you supercharge it smh. Just about all modern cars are fast enough to have fun on the streets.

I think even a standard 289 with the higher output might have been closer to fair.

I’ll take the classic over any new stang

In 68 seatbelts were just an after thought they weren’t for safety they were there because they had to be lol 😂I come from the era where cars had 3 peddles we rode in beds of pick up truck on the highway walked around barefooted drank garden hose water when it was 110 outside throwing metal yard darts society has become soft and pampered the economy sucks an most of us can’t afford a 65,000 mustang ford has made them unattainable to the blue collar working class with that said I’d take the 68 any day over the 24 I own a 97 cobra I got 15 years ago for 8,000$ a true drivers car !🤘🏽🤘🏽

You kids should compare the 2024 to a 1967 GT500

I'll take the California Special over that new one any day!!! Also you should of compared a 68 fastback to the new Mustang, since the new Mustang kept the fastback bodystyle and convertible (no coupe) oh man that 68 fastback is a real beauty!!!

The guy in the green looks like Will Ferrells brother in step brothers 😂😂😂

If you got 100 more horsepower out of the 1968 mustang! 190 hp is pretty good for that size engine & the year! If it weighs 1000 pounds less and you add 100 or 120 hp to the 1968 mustang! The newer mustang would have a run for his money and it’s already out classed as far as looks!!

I love my classics, especially the Mustang. However, I'm gonna make some older guys pretty upset by saying I'd take the new Mustang. But I'm comparing these two _specifically._ If I had the choice to spec them to how I wanted... naw I'd still pick the new one. In terms of value, they are very close, but the new Mustang just edges out the old one. Plus, that 68 Mustang doesn't even have one of the more desirable larger engines, and a 3-speed? That's unfortunate. I'm very biased towards manual, but I know that the new 10-speeds in the Mustang and F-150 are absolute beasts. Additionally, in my current situation, any new (to me) car that I get would have to be a daily of sorts, and the 24 is just so much better for that. I'm also gonna be controversial by saying I prefer the new Mustang's look to the 68. A 1969 Mustang, though? That's a hard one.

0:50 Remember back then your insurance was set by the horsepower. To keep insurance low car manufacturers purposely under rated the horsepower. You also could go to the parts counter to buy performance upgrade parts, bring them home and install them. It’s hard to compare new to old. Back then you ordered the biggest engine, no options, radio delete. You wanted the car light as possible and fast. The new cars are crammed with luxury and unnecessary items, like the exhaust. Your 68’ is more comparable to a new V6 Mustang daily driver. But thanks for comparing

Hate the screens in the new one for sure !

$30k is a steal for a very unique Mustang - Only 4000 of those were produced. The Shelby coupe that never made production…

There WAS a 320 horsepower 390 4V V-8 option in 1968 for the Mustang.

Truly, that should have been a '65 or '66 for a good comparison, not a '68.

A C4 three speed slushbox on the drag strip will act as a time machine, sending these boys back to the Summer of Love. Can they get to Canada fast enough to avoid the draft? Dang! The good ole days weren't so good after all. Nope, they didn't make it. Off to Full Metal Jacket land. Here I am in Vietnam for Uncle Sam. Is the tech even solid state? :)

3:33 that button panel looks insanely cheap the whole chunk goes in like a space bar what do you mean the classic mustang isnt sophisticated? it has a loaded gauge cluster

Got to see the dark horse ( RHD ) here in vic Australia 17/03/24 from a Ford dealer display . I was a bit disappointed , didn’t like that plastic rear end . It looked great on tv , but up close it just looked plastic in a non muscle car way

2024 mustang any day. jk both of them are super cool. im just a tech fan so i like the new one

These two guys, the best TFL presenters