Happy Birthday Ford Mustang !!!

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?
 
my thoughts - it used to be an "ok" muscle car, but they've turned themselves into the go-to sports car for middle aged soccer moms.
 
my favorite still to this day is the 91 lx fastback... damn they were fast n powerful for there size... they should bring back that design..photo-1389stang.jpg
 
The new models are OK, but what I appreciate most about them is they brought back some of the old flair of the originals. The new Camaros and Challengers use the same idea- new tech, older styles. To my notion, taking this step backward is a step forward. Too many cars that all look the same so its refreshing.

Imagine if we still had Plymouth, Mercury, and Pontiacs--- New Cuda's, Road Runners and GTX's. New Marauders and Cougars. New GTO's...... I wonder what a new version of the Superbird would look like.

I was glad when I heard the Charger was being revived but severely disappointed to see they stuck the name {and legacy} on a four door grocery getter. Bad move !! Of course a new Dart GTS would be sweet if they didn't screw it up.

I'd take a new Mustang, but prefer the 64 1/2-66 models. If I could do it, I'd buy the new GT500 and GT/CS in hardtop and convertible configurations and tuck them away with no miles logged. The limited production numbers are a promise of huge future gains- far better than any bank could offer in way of interest. In 1968, a GT500KR sold new for about $4400. One recently sold for $230,000. In short, they are an investment, not an automobile. Of course it would be sweet to have a couple tucked away and one or two for driving, but you have to be of considerable wealth- the base model GT500KR costs $80,000. Yea, my future doesn't forecast this. Danggit. The GT/CS sold for about $2000 in 1968. The new model is about $35,000.

I think I need a better paying job.
 
I learned to drive on a 65 Mustang that my dad bought new in 65 from Olson Motors, which later became Peter Pollen Ford. We still have the car, less than 70,000 miles, garage kept since day one, red coupe, 289' black interior and rally wheels. It is completely original including the paint. It looks like a new car. And is probably the nicest original 65 coupe in town. Fun to drive because of the looks it gets, strong small block power but handles worse than my Dodge Ram diesel in the curves. Handling and brakes and tire are the biggest improvements over the years. I do like the 2005-09 GT's. Like the front end of the 2010 and newer but hate the butt end of those same years. I don't like the beveled corners on the quarter panels.
 
I learned to drive on a 65 Mustang that my dad bought new in 65 from Olson Motors, which later became Peter Pollen Ford. We still have the car, less than 70,000 miles, garage kept since day one, red coupe, 289' black interior and rally wheels. It is completely original including the paint. It looks like a new car. And is probably the nicest original 65 coupe in town. Fun to drive because of the looks it gets, strong small block power but handles worse than my Dodge Ram diesel in the curves. Handling and brakes and tire are the biggest improvements over the years. I do like the 2005-09 GT's. Like the front end of the 2010 and newer but hate the butt end of those same years. I don't like the beveled corners on the quarter panels.

Lucky you !! Not many folks can say they learned to drive in a 65 and that the car is still in the family !!

I agree with you regarding the 05-09 models. The rear end could have been shaped better to reflect the original models more closely.

A friend of mine has a son in law that is a regional manager for Ford. On one trip into town, he brought a Mustang proto/demo that had the full glass roof. Being a convertible and targa top fan, I took a liking to it right quick. It was slated as an option for the following year but for some reason, had to wait for a year beyond anticipated launch date. I felt fortunate to have been in that particular car. At that point, only 6 were made for the regionals to show to dealerships and I got to drive that thing. I hope Ford did not destroy those cars and that they were made publicly available. They were late 06 cars and the option wasn't offered until the 09 model year. Those 6 proto/demos would be worth quite a bit now and a purty chunk later.
 
I've always loved the 60's Mustangs and the 1979-1993 Mustangs for style.... But the handling of the new ones are awesome to bad I can't stand the body styles. Till they went back to the 5.0 I wouldn't even look at a Mustang and consider it a car. Who wants a 4.6 Mustang? Who ever came up with that one should of lost his or her job.
 
I owned a 67 Fastback with a 390/auto. Fun car to drive but would have killed myself in it if I kept it longer than I did. To young, to stupid, to much engine and poor handling with all the cast iron big block up front. I do agree that the 67-68 Fastbacks were the best overall design. If I had the money I would like to have a 68 Shelby GT500 Fastback in my garage right beside the 427 AC Cobra and the Ford GT.
 
I've had two fox body mustangs. One had about 450 rwhp. They were fun. The new 5.0 is nice to drive, I could see owning one one day. I love the gt500's. Pulley, cold air, exhaust, & tuner and you have a driveable 700+hp car that won't blow up easily.
 
I bought a 2012 GT convert a couple of years ago and have been having a blast with the car. Civilized when you keep the rpm's low but blows the cobwebs out when you put your foot into it. Added a set of Rousch axelbacks to give it a decent roar (factory is way too quiet) and love the sound. That 5.0 is a nice engine!

Oh yeah, my fave would be the '68 fast back, for sure.
 
I bought a '66 when I was 18 in high school (2004). Still regret selling it when I finished college. It was a rust bucket POS and I put a twin exhaust and painted it flat grey, so all the true "pony car guys" probably thought I was sacrilegious… I loved that car, the sound of a 289 and the smell of old leather are still etched in my mind.
 
I was 15 when that 64 1/2 hit the street, I had to stand back to keep from drooling all over it. My dad's buddy had a rag top with the 260 and floor shift, I believe a 3 speed. What a sweet car.
I have to agree with some of you regarding the handling of the early pony cars. Bias ply tires, family sedan suspension in a light car with increasing horsepower was a recipe for disaster but hey all we wanted to do was leave the stop light in a big hurry. Big blocks made a bad situation worse. I watched a slalom course being run at a Mustang/Cobra owner's meet at Westown Ford in Edmonton (remember Peter Pocklington?). An original 427 Cobra, the sound made the hair on my neck stand up, was almost 2 seconds slower than a 289. With that much power and weight on the front end he had to back off so the car would turn.
 
I had a 1968 Shelby GT500. 428 SCJ fastback. Got a little under 5 miles to the gallon, of course that could have been my driving style at that time. Was in my early 20's and we went on strike. Choice was payments and food or keep the car. Now I think I should have just lost a few more pounds and camped.
It did get me out of a few speeding tickets because the locals always wanted to poke around and have a look at it. It was Midnight Metallic Blue and at night under the lights it just looked silver.
I still have a 68 Cougar GT 302 4bbl in the garage. Not the same but another great pony car.
 
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The 2015 will grow on people....it always does.

I have more than one Mustang...no intention of selling them...no need no reason.

There's just something about them which grows on you. Perhaps it's the carefree feeling you get when you bust out of work for the weekend, the open road on the weekend, the admiring glances of appreciation...the raw unadulterated feeling of torque which pushes you back in your seat...or ?
 
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