here is what I have found so far.
Bluebonnet Special
Ford called it the Lone Star Limited, but in Texas it was known as the Bluebonnet Special Mustang
By Jerry Heasley
Photography: Jerry Heasley
It's not easy being green. It could be even tougher being Bluebonnet Blue if you're an early Mustang collector and historian like Don Smith. By day, Don works at Ford Country, a new-car dealership in Lewisville, Texas, north of Ft. Worth. For much of the last year, he's been gathering information on Bluebonnet Special Mustangs.
The saga began when Don went hunting for a car for his nephew. He ran into a history dig in the form of a '67 Mustang hardtop with a DSO of 61, followed by the digits 5160. The coupe was a basket case. Don recalls, "Ray Coleman was going to fix it up and paint it 'Resell Red.' "
Coleman restores Mustangs and figured, by the extended DSO, there was some history. He suggested Don might be interested. Coleman knew the project would take a purist like his friend Don. Thankfully, all the parts were there, and the two negotiated a price. Don recalls, "I ran the VIN and started getting with my guys at Ford. I found out it was a special-edition Mustang Ford called a Lone Star Limited. The more popular term for this car is Bluebonnet Special.
Luckily, the original data plate was intact. The paint code was blank, signifying a special-order color. Immediately, Don started searching for original paint, and he discovered a shade of original light blue, a match for the Texas state flower, the bluebonnet. He had something special here, for sure.
The problem with resotring a Bluebonnet Special has been finding original fender badges. Five Star Ford's Vic Lea saved the day when he contacted Don about some original badges he had from when the cars first came out.
"Mustang sales were a little soft in the winter of 1966-1967 in this area, so Ford wanted to boost them. And Texas Ford dealers were complaining because California got the California Special."
Actually, California had their California Special starting in 1966, as did Colorado with the High Country Special. In response, the next year Ford produced a special Mustang for the Texas market. "Ford said, 'We'll give you a Lone Star Limited, painted a unique color with special badges on it. And we'll deliver them to the Depot, the actual Dallas hub.' "
Don got lucky in the restoration. To date, the sticking point when restoring a Bluebonnet Special has been obtaining the original fender badges. Out of the blue, Don got a call from Vic Lea, an employee of Five Star Ford in nearby Carrollton. Lea, who has been selling new Fords since 1962, attended the "drive-away" and barbecue at the Depot on that spring day in 1967 when the Bluebonnet Specials were introduced. Incredibly, Lea had squirreled away four original badges.
