salty-dog
Member
On this date, 50 years ago, Ford unleashed the wild horse to the streets. Its hard to believe that little pony car is this old.
The early release caused some confusion as the car was slated to be an early entry for the 1965 market, but due to changes made, the early cars became known as the 64 1/2. The changes were subtle and for the most part, unnoticeable. The early release was a direct response to Plymouth's release of the Valiant based Barracuda a couple weeks earlier. GM was caught sleeping on the crapper as they had no offerings right away except that joke called "Corvair". {I bought a 1968 Barracuda for a whopping $400 when I was 15. The guy was the original owner and I still have the paperwork for the purchase. He traded in a 1967 Sunbeam Tiger for it. That little Cuda was killed by my driver's ed teacher}
The 64 1/2 came with a fuel filler cap that often became lost or left behind at the pump. For the 65 lineup, a safety ring kept the cap attached to the car.
The 64 1/2' hood fold at the front was not bent upwards and that left the hood's sharp metal edge exposed to slice and dice the fingers when lifting the hood. For 65, that edge was folded and tucked neatly away making it safe to take a peak at the engine bay.
The 64 1/2 fender "Mustang" emblem was a slight different size than the later 65.
For the early models, the door lock knobs were color coded to the interior. The 65 saw those lock knobs in chrome only.
These are just a few differences.
Engines available were the 170 and 200 CID 6 cylinders, the 260 and 289 V8. The high performance 289 offered 271hp. Yes, 271 is laughable by today's standards, but that's OK.
The coupe and convertible were the only options until late summer of 64 when the fastback entered showrooms. There were no 64 1/2 fastbacks. { Technically, there were no 64 Mustangs, either as they were all marked as 65 model years.}
Notable Mustangs throughout history:
all 64 1/2 models
65 fastback
1968 GT/CS. This was the Grand Touring California Special. Only 4118 units were built and they were only marketed from Feb thru August 1968. About 250 of those were sold as High Country Specials in Denver.
The Shelby GT350H. This was a GT350 that you could actually rent from Hertz car rentals. How cool is that?? Rent a race car !!!
My personal favorite: 1968 Shelby GT500KR. The KR insignia meant King of the Road. Using a modestly stated 330hp 428 Super Cobra Jet { P.I.} engine, it could be had as a fastback or convertible. I'll take the convertible, please.
The Mach 1, Boss 302, 351 and 429 are note worthy, as well. Back in 1983, I bought a Boss 302 from a neighbor for $800. I later sold it as the car was very heavy for such a small engine.. I used the new cash to buy a 1966 Charger. { It was originally a 383 car, but soon had a 440HP from a fatally injured Road Runner}
The fuel crunch of the early 70's led to the demise of many true muscle cars and the Mustang felt the pinch.
The cars of the 70's were wimpy. They shared all the basics of the Pinto. Shelby came to the rescue and put together some 302 equipped Cobras. I had a 76 Cobra2 and literally lost the damned thing. Went party hopping with some friends over a July 4th weekend 1996. We partied from Jacksonville Fla to Charleston SC. Somewhere along the way, I parked it somewhere and couldn't recall where !! Dude, where's my car?? Jack Daniels WAS a friend until then.
Base Mustangs of the late 70's-80's, often referred to as Fox bodies, were weak like the the 70's models and Saleen stepped up the game. But also offered were the 5.0GT and GT turbo. These were the first of the breed to get metric designations for the engines.
This past weekend, I was in Tacoma for a George Strait concert. On the ferry to Port Angeles, the car next to me was a brand new GT/CS. I asked the owner if he could trade the new car for a restored 68 GT/CS, would he. He answered "No". I'm thinking I would-- quick, fast and in a hurry, even. Would you?
Ok, so there you are. Some useless info to clutter your mind.
What are your thoughts on the Mustang- new and old. Any particular model/year you'd want or have had? What are your car stories?
The early release caused some confusion as the car was slated to be an early entry for the 1965 market, but due to changes made, the early cars became known as the 64 1/2. The changes were subtle and for the most part, unnoticeable. The early release was a direct response to Plymouth's release of the Valiant based Barracuda a couple weeks earlier. GM was caught sleeping on the crapper as they had no offerings right away except that joke called "Corvair". {I bought a 1968 Barracuda for a whopping $400 when I was 15. The guy was the original owner and I still have the paperwork for the purchase. He traded in a 1967 Sunbeam Tiger for it. That little Cuda was killed by my driver's ed teacher}
The 64 1/2 came with a fuel filler cap that often became lost or left behind at the pump. For the 65 lineup, a safety ring kept the cap attached to the car.
The 64 1/2' hood fold at the front was not bent upwards and that left the hood's sharp metal edge exposed to slice and dice the fingers when lifting the hood. For 65, that edge was folded and tucked neatly away making it safe to take a peak at the engine bay.
The 64 1/2 fender "Mustang" emblem was a slight different size than the later 65.
For the early models, the door lock knobs were color coded to the interior. The 65 saw those lock knobs in chrome only.
These are just a few differences.
Engines available were the 170 and 200 CID 6 cylinders, the 260 and 289 V8. The high performance 289 offered 271hp. Yes, 271 is laughable by today's standards, but that's OK.
The coupe and convertible were the only options until late summer of 64 when the fastback entered showrooms. There were no 64 1/2 fastbacks. { Technically, there were no 64 Mustangs, either as they were all marked as 65 model years.}
Notable Mustangs throughout history:
all 64 1/2 models
65 fastback
1968 GT/CS. This was the Grand Touring California Special. Only 4118 units were built and they were only marketed from Feb thru August 1968. About 250 of those were sold as High Country Specials in Denver.
The Shelby GT350H. This was a GT350 that you could actually rent from Hertz car rentals. How cool is that?? Rent a race car !!!
My personal favorite: 1968 Shelby GT500KR. The KR insignia meant King of the Road. Using a modestly stated 330hp 428 Super Cobra Jet { P.I.} engine, it could be had as a fastback or convertible. I'll take the convertible, please.
The Mach 1, Boss 302, 351 and 429 are note worthy, as well. Back in 1983, I bought a Boss 302 from a neighbor for $800. I later sold it as the car was very heavy for such a small engine.. I used the new cash to buy a 1966 Charger. { It was originally a 383 car, but soon had a 440HP from a fatally injured Road Runner}
The fuel crunch of the early 70's led to the demise of many true muscle cars and the Mustang felt the pinch.
The cars of the 70's were wimpy. They shared all the basics of the Pinto. Shelby came to the rescue and put together some 302 equipped Cobras. I had a 76 Cobra2 and literally lost the damned thing. Went party hopping with some friends over a July 4th weekend 1996. We partied from Jacksonville Fla to Charleston SC. Somewhere along the way, I parked it somewhere and couldn't recall where !! Dude, where's my car?? Jack Daniels WAS a friend until then.
Base Mustangs of the late 70's-80's, often referred to as Fox bodies, were weak like the the 70's models and Saleen stepped up the game. But also offered were the 5.0GT and GT turbo. These were the first of the breed to get metric designations for the engines.
This past weekend, I was in Tacoma for a George Strait concert. On the ferry to Port Angeles, the car next to me was a brand new GT/CS. I asked the owner if he could trade the new car for a restored 68 GT/CS, would he. He answered "No". I'm thinking I would-- quick, fast and in a hurry, even. Would you?
Ok, so there you are. Some useless info to clutter your mind.
What are your thoughts on the Mustang- new and old. Any particular model/year you'd want or have had? What are your car stories?
