When is a half a half? Throughout the years many cars have made mid-year introductions. The 1970 1/2 Camaro and Firebird come to mind. There are others too, like when Chevrolet re-introduced the 1977 1/2 Z/28 when performance was all but dead in America. But one introduction, now more than 40 years ago, is likely the most famous of all, and the car is still being built today, granted in many ways different due to a changing world.
We're talking about the 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang, probably the most successful new car debut in history and certainly one with a wanting public. There's a saying "if a car is popular when it's new, it will be popular when it's old." The original Mustang is a restorer's dream. Just about every part to fix up a rusty old example is available from a variety of suppliers, many of them found in the Mustang section of Hemmings Motor News.
HISTORY
Lee Iacocca is credited with creating the Mustang and started to sell his idea to Ford execs in September 1962. There were, of course, many others involved in creating the Mustang, but he seems to get the accolades. The car was designed to break through the boring barriers of conservative design and appeal to the many young buyers who were now flooding the marketplace for a new car.
Iacocca was given the task of studying buyers' moods and his research showed the market was ready for a new, luxurious smaller car to compete against the growing import market in the early 1960s. His solution - build a car with a shorter wheelbase, lengthen the hood, shorten the rear deck and lower the roofline. But first build an affordable car and offer a buyer as many options as possible. Ford's established parameters included that it not be more than 180 inches long, weigh no more than 2,500 pounds, cost under $2,500, and have a standard six-cylinder engine.
The first Mustang rolled off the assembly line March 9, 1964, and it made its national debut on April 17. With a list price of $2,368, by the weekend, 22,000 cars were ordered and some 303,408 were built that first year. Through 1966, Ford sold more than 1.4 million of them. There were up to 70 options available. Initially offered only in hardtop and convertible models, a new model was introduced in September 1964, the Fastback 2 + 2, which debuted as one of the three 1965 models.
Model year 1965 took off just like 1964 1/2 did with more than 550,000 sold. So, why change a good thing? The 1966 model was basically a carryover and on March 2, 1966, less than 24 months after its introduction, the one-millionth Mustang was built. Certainly Ford made up for the Edsel fiasco.
In 1964, the standard engine was the 170-cu.in. straight-six with 101hp and had a 8.7:1 compression ratio. There were three optional V-8s beginning with the 164hp/260-cu.in. engine and a 210hp/289-cu.in. V-8. The top performer was the 271hp/289-cu.in. V-8. This engine featured 10.5 compression, four-barrel carb with manual choke, solid lifters and dual exhaust. The original Mustang came standard with a three-speed manual floor-mounted transmission. An optional 4-speed was available, as was a Cruise-O-Matic automatic, except with the 271hp V-8.
The front suspension featured coil springs, ball joints, strut-stabilized lower control arms and a rubber-bushed ride stabilizer. The rear suspension was comprised of longitudinal leaf springs and diagonally mounted shock absorbers. The rear axle was a semi-floating hypoid and featured permanently lubricated wheel bearings. The steering was recirculating, ball-type with an overall ratio of 27 to 1 and a turning diameter of 38 feet. Brakes were self-adjusting drums, fore and aft. Standard tires were blackwall rayon cord 6.50 x 13. The overall length was 181.6 inches, width was 68.2 inches and height was 51.1 inches. A hardtop weighed in at 2,562 pounds and the convertible was a little heftier at 2,740 pounds.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
Those who own these first-generation Mustangs said when they were new the cars handled great and stopped on a dime. But that was the technology available at the time, and several owners admit in contrast to newer Mustangs, there is no comparison in handling and braking capabilities. The older Mustangs had reliable engines, both the straight-six and V-8, and performance is good because the cars are light. "They are actually very nice cars to drive; you just have to be alert with the brakes and handling. We're used to disc brakes and ABS now and there is a world of difference," said Tony D. Branda, who has been in business 30 years in Altoona, Pennsylvania, as founder of Branda Mustang and Shelby Parts.
MAINTENANCE/SUPPORT
People in the know, like Branda, say there likely isn't a part that's not available for Mustangs, old or new. "I can't think of anything that isn't available. You can build an entire car from scratch, just about." In addition to thousands of aftermarket parts from numerous suppliers, one can find rare NOS parts by scanning the pages of Hemmings Motor News, where you can routinely find at least a dozen pages dedicated to Mustang parts and services from various restoration shops. And for technical assistance, there are numerous Mustang clubs available to help. The largest is the Mustang Club of America, which has more than 8,500 members in more than 150 regions. Branda says some of the hardest parts to find are original AM/FM radios and convenience options such as a tissue dispenser and factory compass.
CONSIDERATIONS
As with practically every car produced in the 1960s, one of the biggest caveats in buying an early Mustang is the rust problem. Rust is prevalent in the floors and front and rear frame rails, say Branda and Mustang restoration expert Fred Glazier, who in 30 years has restored more Mustangs than he can remember at Glazier's Mustang Barn in Souderton, Pennsylvania. Branda adds that the base of the cowl can have hidden rust as well as the inner fenders. "These cars are getting quite old and always need something. Most of the suspension holds up pretty well, but rear leaf springs tend to wear out faster than some other parts." Glazier echoes Branda's sentiments. "You have to remember these cars are now 40 years old and, more times than not, they've been repaired over the years and some so long ago the cars were not considered collector cars and the repairs were shoddy and the cars just patched up and cobbled together," Glazier says. "That's the biggest problem we see, cars that have been poorly repaired and need to be done over." Glazier says all the parts needed to repair the common rust-prone areas on early Mustangs are available, such as floor pans, frame rails, shock towers, aprons, trunk lids, fenders and quarter panels. About the only parts not available are the cowl, windshield frame and B pillar where the door latch would be. He adds it is getting harder to find good 1964 to 1966 Mustang restoration candidates.
Another area of concern is the original manual transmission shifters, but Glazier says many of them were thrown away and wrongly replaced with a Hurst shifter when new bushings and a few other parts would have fixed that sloppy shifter. "The Ford shifter was a good one, but what did wear out was the shifter handle. There are bushings, springs and trunnions that wore out. By replacing them, you had that brand-new tight feeling again. In fact, the entire cars were very well made. Ford never intended them to last, say, more than seven or eight years, but how many are still around."
If contemplating the purchase of an early Mustang, Glazier stressed "originality." "Just because someone tells you it's a 1965 K model with the original engine, don't believe it. There are reproduction door tags available and people can make a car other than what it was originally. The problem with the 1964 to 1966 models is the Ford records are lost. It is very important to ask for documentation. Convertibles are now selling for up to $40,000, so it pays to do your homework." The original door tags were riveted at the trailing edge of the driver's door and show the car's VIN, body style, color code, trim code, build date, domestic special order district or DSO code that denotes which district ordered the car. For example, 23 would indicate a car was ordered from the Philadelphia area. There were 42 possible numbers including Canada, government, Home Office Reserve, American Red Cross and export cars. The door tag also indicates what axle and transmission were in the car with numbers. The VIN also was stamped into both inner fenders, adjacent to the hood opening.
The engines in the first-generation Mustangs are practically bullet-proof, says Ray Bohacz, who has built many Ford engines during his automotive career. "There really isn't anything that breaks on those old engines. Of course, they had to be maintained by having frequent oil and filter changes and changing the coolant." Bochaz says the six-cylinder and Ford V-8 engines are easy to work on, the parts are relatively inexpensive, except for high-end speed parts. "They were very reliable engines. There are no real issues with them." Glazier agrees, but says after, say, 150,000 miles, they will need re-boring, but cautioned against going over .030 because the engines then tend to overheat. As for actual restoration work, Glazier says the early Mustangs are relatively easy to work on and there are no computers to deal with, he adds. He says their popularity will never go away and that a 1965 Mustang still looks somewhat modern. "They still have visual appeal and don't look antiquated."
DESIRABILITY
Early Mustangs were well-made, good-looking cars with simple mechanicals and their restoration parts, in contrast to, say, Corvette or Mopar parts, are cheap. Secondly, just about everything needed to restore a Mustang is available, Good, restorable cars are getting harder to find, but they are out there. Remember to shop smart, ask for documentation and if you don't know what to look for, take along someone who does if you are considering a purchase. Prices of early Mustangs have always been stable and rarely, if ever, fluctuate.
VALUES
Early Mustangs have always been popular and are an American icon. And while not as pricey as, say, Corvettes or anything with a Hemi under the hood, values of early Mustangs, especially convertibles, are gaining steadily. Prices of 1964 1/2 Mustang hardtops range in price from about $6,000 to $25,000, with the average value being $18,000. Certain options such as a four-speed transmission increase its value $1,000 and if it has 289/271hp V-8, add another 30 percent. Convertibles are more pricey with a range of about $9,000 to $34,000, depending on options.
Prices for 1965 models are about the same with hardtops fetching between $5,0000 and $20,000, 2+2 Fastbacks bringing between $7,000 and $30,000 and convertibles the most with a low of $10,000 and a top end price of about $34,000. The 1966 prices, for whatever reason, are substantially lower with hardtops bringing between $5,000 and $18,000. A Fastback is worth about $7,000 to $28,000 and convertibles, of course, bring the most from $9,000 to about $25,000. Having a four-speed transmission and factory GT wheels and GT package add about $3,000 to the final tab.
PARTS PRICES
Battery tray - $8
Carpet set - $99
Dash pad - $149
Decal kit - $17.50
Door handle kit - $59
Exterior door handles - $25/pair
Fender - $155
Floor pans - $140
Front bumper - $84
Front end rebuild kit - $169
Fuel tank - $139
Seat covers - $114
Quarter panel - $180
Rear package shelf - $16
Shifter repair kit - $24
Wiring harness - $495
CLUBS
Mustang Club of America
3588 Highway 138 PMB 365
Stockbridge, Georgia 30281
770-477-1965
Dues: $40/year; Membership: 9,000
Early Mustang Club
PO Box 21706
Denver, Colorado 80221
303-430-0433
Dues: $25/year; Membership: 150
