Steve McQueen may have received top billing for the 1968 crime thriller Bullitt, but the movie really starred a pair of Mustang GT fastbacks, one built as a hero car for close-ups and the other constructed as a stunt car. While the history of the surviving Bullitt Mustang hero car is well known, the stunt car was long believed to have been scrapped, at least until it surfaced south of the border in a discussion on the Vintage Mustang Forum last week. Now certified as authentic by Ford authority Kevin Marti, the Mustang may well be restored in time for the film’s 50th anniversary in October 2018.

Both Mustangs, and a pair of Dodge Chargers, were prepared for the rigors of filming by racer, car builder and stunt driver Max Balchowsky at his Hollywood Garage. The Mustangs were stripped of their fog lamps, grille emblems, GT badging and even Mustang lettering, then beefed up with reinforced shock towers, heavy-duty front springs, Koni shocks, and a thicker anti-roll bar. The 390-cu.in. V-8 was enhanced with machined heads (presumably to bump up compression), a bigger carburetor and a hotter ignition.

One of Hollywood's first hot cars turns up south of the border. Care to guess how it go there?