Ford Mustang - A Potted History

For a car enthusiast, the Ford Mustang is the car that brought sporting dash and styling at a price almost anyone could afford. The Mustang has never been an exotic car but that hasn't kept it from capturing the hearts of drivers for nearly 40 years with the first generation cars having the purest lines and more compact shape.

First Generation (1964 1/2-1966);  The production Mustang was shown to the public for the first time at the New York World's Fair on April 17, 1964. It went on sale at Ford dealers that same day. The "1964 ½" production Mustang followed two Mustang concept cars. Compared to every other American car then in production, except the Corvette, the Ford Mustang was gorgeously sleek. To make the Mustang affordable it needed to share much of its engineering with an existing Ford product, the Falcon.

Initially offered as either a notchback coupe or convertible, the Mustang's unibody structure was laid over a 108-inch wheelbase and stretched out 181.6 inches from bumper to bumper. While it shared its front double-wishbone/coil spring and leaf spring rear suspension as well as its overall length with the Falcon, the proportions of the Ford Mustang were different. Its cockpit was pushed further back on the chassis, resulting in a longer hood and shorter rear deck design, and both its roof and cowl were lower.

It's with those proportions — detailed with such iconic touches as the running horse in the grille, the side scallops along the flanks and the taillights divided into three sections — that the Mustang became a car people were instantly passionate about.  Engine choices started with the 170-cubic-inch (2.8-liter) OHV straight six that made just 101 horsepower; then proceeded through a 200-cubic-inch (3.3-liter) OHV straight six rated at 116 horsepower; a 260-cubic-inch (4.3-liter) OHV V8 breathing through a two-barrel carburetor and making 164 horsepower; a 210-horsepower two-barrel-equipped 289-cubic-inch (4.7-liter) V8; a four-barrel 289 making 220 horsepower; and, at the top, the famous "K-code" high-compression, solid-lifter, four-barrel 289 pumping out a lusty 271 horsepower.

A three-speed manual transmission was standard with every engine except the 271-horsepower 289ci, which was available only with the four-speed manual that was optional on other models. The Cruise-O-Matic three-speed automatic transmission was also offered. Even Ford was shocked at America's appetite for the Ford Mustang during '65. It sold an astounding 409,260 coupes, 77,079 2+2 fastbacks and 73,112 convertibles that year. That's a total of 559,451 Mustangs for the '65 model year and total sales of 1,288,557 Mustangs over just two-and-a-half years?

Our Ford Mustang has the 289ci V8 with automatic gearbox and front disc brakes with power hood, front inertia reel seat belts and non power steering..