 Howard Forrest, an engineer and former midget car racer, designed and built a water-cooled four-cylinder engine in 1936.In 1941, Forrest built a motorcycle powered by the engine, and he commuted to work at Gladden Products on the motorcycle during World War II.Company president John Gladden had Forrest and co-worker Chuck Gardner design a commuter motorcycle based on Forrest's custom bike, and started Mustang Motorcycle Corporation as a division of Gladden Products.