Classic/Antique Car Repair: mustang gas tank problems, gm pickup trucks, all the hoopla

Question
I have a 67 Mustang. My wife does not allow me to drive my kids around in it because of the problem (real or imagined) with a possible rear-end collision setting the car on fire because of a faulty design in the Mustang gas tank. Is this true? If so, is there a fix? Thanks!

Answer
Your wife has confused the Mustang with the Pinto, which was famous for that problem.  The press made a BIG STINK about that back in the mid-80's and there were some horrible accidents with Pintos in rear end crashes.  I have never heard of such a design problem with Mustangs.  The Pinto was a very cheaply built car with almost no structure to protect the tank from damage in a collision.  

However, it is certainly true that any car with a rear mounted gas tank is vulnerable to fire risk from a rear end collision.  That design was used in probably 95% or cars until very recently, and I think the danger is greatly over estimated.  More recently, there was a similar uproar about GM pickup trucks of the 70s to early 90s, for the same reason, except that in this case the tanks are vulnerable to a side collision.  GM issued a $1000 rebate check to anyone who wanted to trade in their affected truck for a new one, after all the hoopla about it in the press, in the late 90s.  (I know, I got one of those checks!)  Again, that was all press hype, stirred up by a staged "accident" shown time and again on one of the major news networks. It later turned out to have been a fake setup, with fire deliberately set to make it seem as if the collision caused it.  GM sued the network for Millions - and WON!   Unfortunately, Ford didn't think of that in the case of the Pinto.

It is undeniably true that modern cars are MUCH safer than ANY old car - they have better brakes, better handling, air bags, and collision crush zones designed in - car passenger safety has improved tremendously since the late 60s - there is no getting around that.  But for around town use, by a prudent driver, and considering the enjoyment of driving with your family in an old car, I certainly don't let that issue affect my use of my old cars and I have much older cars than that - my grandkids like to ride in them, and I take them when I can, I just avoid heavy traffic, congested areas, and high speeds.

Dick