Close



Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    FEP Senior Member FuturaGuy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Windsor, CT
    Posts
    835

    Default Mustangs Unlimited in Manchester CT closing?

    I heard an interesting rumor recently. One of my neighbors said he went to Mustangs Unlimited in Manchester and that they will be closing. He also said he talked to the owner who told him Manchester would close first, then the Atlanta store would follow. The first big event of the year is the Shelby-American meet held at M/U on the last weekend of April. No word on where, or if, it will be held this year.

    M/U started back around 1974, so if the owner was in his twenties back then, he's probably nearing retirement age by now.

  2. #2
    FEP Power Member 87gtVIC's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Whitestone, NY
    Posts
    1,065

    Default

    If true its a bummer. Been there a few times with my father picking up larger pieces for his 1985 mustang. What is really disappointing me is they not only catered to foxes but many generations of mustangs.

  3. #3
    FEP Senior Member Tigger's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Portland Oregon
    Posts
    718

    Default

    I was kind of wondering. I got a few emails recently about sales. I need a few things for my 67 and I could not find them on their web site. These were normal things like belt line weather strip and seat foam. I kind of thought it was the phone app at first. They have been around for a long time. I spent a lot of money with them in late 80's when I was restoring my 67 coupe.
    67 Mustang Coupe
    96 Tangerine GT
    86 Saleen #179

  4. #4
    FEP Super Member Bryan Knebworth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Lexington, MA
    Posts
    2,777

    Default

    Wild if true. Mustangs Unlimited in CT kind of "jumped the shark" by moving about ten years ago. They were in this kind of cramped location originally, but had all those cool car shows that New Englanders (and some New Yorkers) remember, starting in the 1980s. These extravaganzas took place every Spring & Fall! Very family-friendly events with grassy surfaces and shade trees, not to mention that popular seafood restaurant next door. Mustangs Unlimited moved a few miles down the road to this mega-huge place that wasn't at all inviting. Overhead was probably way higher too.
    Last edited by Bryan Knebworth; 01-21-2020 at 09:38 AM. Reason: text added

  5. #5
    FEP Super Member Ken P's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Woodstock, Georgia
    Posts
    3,213

    Default

    I thought they had already closed the doors. This info has been out for quite a few months / nearly a year.
    86 LX Coupe 4E
    84 SVO Watkins Glen Pace Car 1E
    85 SVO Hertz 4E
    85.5 SVO 2R orig owner
    86 SVO 7B
    66 Fastback
    55 Willys Jeep Overland Wagon

  6. #6
    FEP Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Villa Park, IL
    Posts
    707

    Default

    Yep, sure looks that way. They have discounted whatever parts they have in stock. A real bummer. I bought a lot of parts from them back in the late 80s/Early 90s.
    Bleed Ford Blue! '84 Grabber Orange SVO, '88 Saleen 1 of 4 w/Automatic, '89 Steeda, '71 DeTomaso Pantera GT5 Wide Body EFI 4.6 DOHC...soon to be a Gen3 Coyote and some Old Ford Muscle w/ BB power. 1.21 Jigawatts!!?? PETRO EXPRESS=CITGO=BOYCOTT!
    State of Illinois - Taxation without Representation!

  7. #7
    FEP Senior Member Realmongo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Western Mass
    Posts
    722

    Default

    Atlanta closed a long time ago. Opening that store is probably what killed them.
    We found out it would slowly be shutting down when we were at the car show there last fall.
    Last edited by Realmongo; 02-23-2020 at 09:40 AM.
    John
    2017 Convertible 6-Speed
    1984 GT 5.0 T-Roof
    1965 Coupe 4-Speed
    1964-1/2 Coupe C4-Auto
    MCA National Certified Judge 1964-1966 and 1979-1993

  8. #8

    Default

    Wow I'm just seeing this now as I haven't been on here hardly at all in years. But with another fox in the works I seem to find myself here a little lately. I didn't buy a ton from them over the years but I did attend many of the shows. The same thing happened to my mail order parts company employer last year. Bavarian Autosport was started by 3 guys about the same time as Mustangs Unlimited. Similar company but we specialized in BMW. We went through massive growth in the early 2000's and as it started to slow down we invested heavily in a new website. That bombed out of the gate. Then one of the original 3 owners passed away. That was a massive financial (they had to buy out his widow) and emotional loss to the company. Of the 3 he was definitely the most liked. I was in web content management for the last 10 or so years of the nearly 20 I was there. When I had to start removing out of stock products from the site from certain vendors I knew we were in trouble. As that list of vendors began to grow I knew it couldn't be long. A big round of layoffs had already happened right after Pete's death. One Friday we went in for a company meeting and that was it. We were done. Once the biggest name in BMW parts and just like that poof it was gone. There is a bit of a silver lining for me though. I now restore cars for a living.
    86 Notch under construction

    2011 4Runner Trail edition
    2014 Suzuki V-Strom 650

  9. #9

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by 85GT-79FJ40 View Post
    Wow I'm just seeing this now as I haven't been on here hardly at all in years. But with another fox in the works I seem to find myself here a little lately. I didn't buy a ton from them over the years but I did attend many of the shows. The same thing happened to my mail order parts company employer last year. Bavarian Autosport was started by 3 guys about the same time as Mustangs Unlimited. Similar company but we specialized in BMW. We went through massive growth in the early 2000's and as it started to slow down we invested heavily in a new website. That bombed out of the gate. Then one of the original 3 owners passed away. That was a massive financial (they had to buy out his widow) and emotional loss to the company. Of the 3 he was definitely the most liked. I was in web content management for the last 10 or so years of the nearly 20 I was there. When I had to start removing out of stock products from the site from certain vendors I knew we were in trouble. As that list of vendors began to grow I knew it couldn't be long. A big round of layoffs had already happened right after Pete's death. One Friday we went in for a company meeting and that was it. We were done. Once the biggest name in BMW parts and just like that poof it was gone. There is a bit of a silver lining for me though. I now restore cars for a living.
    When I was doing the E39 thing I ordered from BavAuto quite a bit, they were a good company.

    MU had their lunch eaten by LMR, CJ's, Summit, and a couple others so I wasn't surprised when they closed. Customer service (in store) was awful and always was, there was never a time when I would have said customer service was acceptable, even back in the late 90s... It seemed that Jim H (owner) wasn't present at the stores much, never saw him once in 20+ years and I was at MU sometimes 2-3x a month. I easily spent $30K with MU while they were in business. Sad that MU closed as they could have held their own against others, but their customer service and website allowed for the slow spiral downward.

    BavAuto seemed like a pretty good company and their website was good from what I remember. Did they just lose market share to ECS, Turner, and some of the other prominent online retailers?
    Last edited by Quikk86; 11-09-2020 at 10:32 PM.
    Mark

    1986 GT Hatchback (2R): 5spd, TFS FAC 170s, TFS Stage 2 Cam, Vortech SQ S-Trim, MM Suspension, SN95 5-lug conversion w/Fox 5-lug rear axles, 3.73's, 13" / 11.65" brakes, Moates QuarterHorse
    '88 LX 5.0
    '22 GT500

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •