the other Bullitt Mustang has come out of hiding. Last year a junkyard in Mexico was found to be hiding one, now, the one Steve McQueen tried to get back has finally been let out of the secret place it had been kept out of the world's sight

the surviving Bullitt car, the one McQueen had tried to buy back had been bought from the studio by
Frank Marranca, a police detective, who bought the car from the studio in 1971 with a letter from Ford certifying that the Mustang with VIN 8R02S125559 had been purchased by Solar Productions for the movie.

Marranca shipped the car to New Jersey, and along the way, the shift knob and the aftermarket wood steering wheel were stolen. When Marranca’s growing family needed a station wagon, he put the otherwise untouched car up for sale.

An ad on page 121 of the October 1974 issue of Road and Track magazine read: “1968 ‘Bullett’ [sic] MUSTANG driven by McQueen in the movie…Can be documented. Best offer.”

A man from Madison, New Jersey, saw the ad. He had always wanted a ’68 Mustang fastback, so he bought the Bullitt car for $6000

The third buyer, one Bob Kiernan, fell hard for his new car and when he got a company car, his wife drove the Mustang to her teaching job at a nearby school,

 yeah... that's right, the Steve McQueen legendary Mustang was a 3rd grade teachers daily driver, and could have been seen in a grade school teachers parking lot 5 days a week. Has me thinking that any one reading this that had Mrs Kiernan for a 3rd grade teacher were THIS CLOSE to getting to sit in this car if they had known, and asked nicely.

 In 1980, the car’s clutch went out, and with 65,000 miles on the clock, it was moved into the garage, for what turned out to be a long stay.

When Bob was relocated to Cincinnati in 1984, the car moved with him, and though the family moved again due to work, the Mustang remained behind at a friend’s place in Kentucky.

In 2001, the car was about to be fixed up for driving again with his son, but Bob was stricken with Parkinsons, and his son was getting married, and having a child born. So the car sat.

In 2008 the father son team tried to get the ball rolling on fixing the car, again, and once more, life went sideways, the was a 2nd child born, then a divorce, then the Parkinsons worsened.

In 2015 the ball finally got rolling in the right direction Marti was hired to authenticate, and then Ford was informed the owner would let it be back in the public eye, just in time for the 2018 newest of the Bullitt edition Mustangs grand reveal at the Detroit Auto Show. Just about then, March 2017, the Mexico junkyard Bullitt car was back in the world's attention. http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2017/03/marti-confirms-bullitt-mustang-found-in.html

Through the many years, several things have been stolen from this car, the shift know, the steering wheel, and the air filter housing. But the car remains in the garage, and Bob's granddaughter is 16. If you don't think she's going to drive the car, and be the 3rd generation Kiernan owner, I'm sure the only thing you'll believe is that it's going to get auctioned for the highest possible dollar amount, and then sit in a collection.

The trouble is, now that the world knows, will thieves try for it? When McG was making Charlies Angels, the movie, Drew Barrymore wanted it in the movie pretty bad, and that didn't get the car to change hands, but it did get the picture car coordinator to locate it.... as difficult as that sounds, and event the next door neighbor was willing to help identify it for him. So, once the secret is out, nothing is safe from the demands of the rest of the world. The world is too damn greedy.

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2018/01/14/mustang-bullitt-found-real-mcqueen

for a full production publicity event about this car, see http://www.automobilemag.com/news/molly-mcqueen-drives-2019-ford-mustang-bullitt/



tell me that does NOT give you the willies... Steve's grand daughter sitting in the car on the 50th anniversary of the movie Bullitt. Pretty damn cool huh?!

Also read https://theshopmag.com/features/mcqueen-s-1968-bullitt-mustang-back-story

According to the New Jersey detective selling the car, my father – Robert Kiernan – was the only person that ever called. We’re not exactly sure how much dad paid but it was around six grand. It was quite a bit of money back then for a used ’68 Mustang Fastback. In fact, it was about twice to four times the going-rate.

My mom (Robbie Kiernan) and dad were both just 26 years old. They had been married for five years and my sister Kelly was four years old. They lived in Madison, New Jersey about 25 miles from New York City.

Bullitt wasn’t a second car – it was their only car. Dad took the train every day to the World Trade Center where he worked in insurance. Mom drove Bullitt to St. Vincent’s parish where she taught third grade. The car was never modified – it has a straight exhaust and shook the pavement. God only knows what those kids must have thought. Mom must have been pretty cool.

On weekends, it was the family car and was driven to Maine and upstate New York numerous times. It must have been deafening. There was no sound-proofing because it had been removed for the movie. The trunk had a huge cut-out for a smoke machine. When it rained, I have no idea how the luggage stayed dry. We recently discovered the rear seatbelts hidden with Gaffer’s Tape. I guess my sister Kelly was never buckled in. Dad installed a pair of speakers in the back that are still there. With no air-conditioning, windows rolled down and the blaring AM radio, those Bullitt road trips in the 1970s must have been thrilling.