1965 Ford Mustang - The World'S 1St Pony Car

The first Mustang. Lee Iacocca gets a lot of the credit for bringing that car to market and while it may have been his vision, the person that was in charge of turning that into an actual car leading the development team was Donald Fry. Donald Fry was the head engineer behind the Mustang's development and the team that he put together assembled that car in only 18 months. There were three different teams working on three different designs for the new Mustang. They had some objectives the car needed to seat for. It needed to have front bucket seats to sell for less than $2,500. It needed to weigh less than 2,500 pounds. It could be no longer than 180 inches and it needed to be built on the Falcon platform. Ultimately elements from all three teams were combined to come up with the car that we know as the Mustang. On a side note, the Mustang was almost a four-door and it was almost called a Cougar. One disclaimer, we will not be covering the Shelby GT350. That car deserves its own video. So with that out of the way, let's take a deep dive into the world's first pony car, the Ford Mustang. Mustang, the bright new shape of total performance. The car everyone went wild for overnight. Mustang takes to your kind of action with all the V8 friskiness you can order. When you say move, it moves. You're in charge all the way. Mustang tracks sure-footed up to the high country and out to the far horizon. This is the new sports car spirit. A new breed of liveliness. The most exciting new car in a generation. The four-seater that moves away from everything else on the road. Discover all the thunder you can get at an unexpected low price. Mustang at your Ford dealers now. The new Mustang was introduced on April 17th, 1964 as a 1965 model. The Mustang launch was one of the largest in Ford Motor Company history. It was held at the Ford Pavilion at the World's Fair in New York City and simultaneously at Ford dealerships all across America. The new Mustang was sold to the public immediately. This launch was one of the most successful in Ford history, with four dealerships selling nearly 22,000 Mustangs the very first day. The Mustang showcased the long hood, short deck lid look that came to be known as the pony car. The Mustang was originally released as a hardtop and convertible only. The front of the Mustang featured an extended grille opening with a galloping horse inside a chrome bezel that would be known as the corral. Dual beam headlamps were located on either side of the car's grille. A thin wraparound chrome bumper with bumper guards separated the lower front valance, which housed two round turn signal indicators with chrome surrounds. The sides of the Mustang featured a reversed C-body line that began at the front fenders, ran through the doors, down the front of the rear quarter, and looped back around to the front of the door. The rear of the Mustang tail lamp panel featured chrome tail lamp bezels that separated the tail lamps into three vertical lines and a centered chrome gas filler cap with the Mustang logo. A thin chrome bumper was formed into the rear quarter extensions. It also featured bumper guards. This separated the tail light panel from the rear lower valance, which housed round backup lamps with chrome surrounds. The Falcon platform provided the unibody for the Mustang, however the Mustang wheelbase was slightly shorter and the width was slightly narrower. To stiffen the Mustang unibody, Ford rolled out the torque box substructure, which was an industry first. The standard engine was the 105-horsepower, 170-cubic-inch straight-six. The optional engine was the 165-horsepower, 260-cubic-inch V8, which was topped by a two-barrel carburetor. These could be paired to either a three-speed manual transmission or a three-speed automatic. The standard equipment on any Mustang included front bucket seats, a padded instrument panel, full wheel covers, full-length carpeting, a sport steering wheel with bright metal horn arms, a cigarette lighter, courtesy and glove box lighting, front armrests, seat belts, and a heater defroster. Optional equipment included power steering and brakes, air conditioning, a full-length console, an AM radio, two speed wipers, a tinted windshield or tinted glass all around, a remote mirror, a vinyl roof, deluxe wheel covers with knockoff hubs, wire style wheel covers, an accent paint stripe and rocker moldings, white sidewall tires, padded sun visors, a power top for convertibles, a rear seat speaker, a compass, door edge guards, a left-hand mirror, rear seat belts, and a spotlight. The Automotive Press gave positive reviews to the new Mustang. CarDriver Magazine stated, the Mustang rocks the automotive world by creating a new market segment for a stylish, affordable, four-seat sports car. Mustang. Mustang. Move into the cool world of Mustang. Now Ford brings you a third Mustang for 1965, the Mustang 2 Plus 2. The 2 Plus 2 looks and acts like a $5,000 sports car, but it carries a price tag that's thousands less. Mustang 2 Plus 2, available with front disc brakes, a 289 cubic inch V8, a special handling package for a rally tight ride. Mustang 2 Plus 2, full of surprises, like side louvers that work to keep fresh air flowing through Mustang's cockpit and a fold-down rear seat. Now there are three Mustangs for 65. See them at your Ford dealers Friday, September 25th. See why 1965 is the best year yet to go Ford. At the end of August 1964, just four months after the launch, Ford would revamp the Mustang again. The engine lineup was completely revised. The original drivelines and their generator electrical systems were all replaced. The new base engine was the 120 horsepower, 200 cubic inch straight six. There were now three V8 engines to choose from. The 200 horsepower, 289 cubic inch V8 with a two barrel carburetor, the 225 horsepower, 289 cubic inch V8 with a four barrel carburetor, or the 271 horsepower, 289 cubic inch hypo engine. This was a higher compression 10.5 to 1 engine that featured low restriction exhaust manifolds, a dual point distributor, an auto light 4100 carburetor, and other go fast tweaks. Ford introduced the manual four speed transmission as an option for any of the V8 engines. The two plus two fastback enters the lineup. Its fastback design was shown to the public in April, but not available for sale until the end of August. Besides its sporty looks, the fastback offers a fold-down rear seat that opens up the back of the car for additional storage space. The louvers on the seat pillars are functional and vent air out of the passenger compartment. Additional options and equipment groups are added to the Mustang's option list. They include the following. The GT equipment group, which included the four barrel, 289 cubic inch engine, dual exhaust with chrome tips, a heavy duty suspension, front disc brakes, fog lamps in the grille, a five dial instrument cluster, GT fender badges, bright metal hood accent molding, and a lower body tape stripe. The Mustang interior group. This package added the running pony seat covers, simulated walnut dash and glove box door, a wood grain deluxe steering wheel, courtesy lights, metal trim around the foot pedals, and the door panels have an integral armrest. Additional standalone options included the rally pack tachometer slash clock instrumentation, front disc brakes, a full width bench seat, 14 inch wheels, and low profile tires. Strong sales continued all throughout 1965, with four dealers delivering a total of 559,451 Mustangs for the 1965 model year. 409,260 coupes, 77,079 were fastbacks, and 73,112 were convertibles. A total of 15,079 of these cars were equipped with the GT package. A few years back, Ford savvied a need for a bold new breed of four-wheel steed, a car to stand out from the rest of the gang, a car born to fame, the Ford Mustang. Mustang, with a rakish new grille for 66, a spirited look, the high spirited performance of an optional four-speed transmission, a full 289 cubic inch V8. For 66, details that won't stop, and front disc brakes built to do just that. Inside, a sporty competition type steering wheel, five dial instrument cluster, optional pleated door panels, and two vinyl bucket seats. Mustang 1966, is your choice of two plus twos, hard tops, or convertibles. Put your brand on a Mustang at your Ford dealers now. Mustang 66. 1966 brings changes to the Mustang. In the front of the car, the grille became slotted, the corral was simplified, the side ornamentation was revised, and there were new wheel covers and a gas cap. The five gauge instrument panel and padded sun visors became standard equipment. New paint and interior color options became available, as well as an AM 8-track player, and an AM FM mono radio. Ford rolls out the C4 cruise-o-matic automatic transmission, and this is offered as an option on the two higher horsepower 289 V8s. Ford looked to sell the Mustang in Germany, however there had already been a German truck built by the Krupp company, and they copyrighted the Mustang name. The German company offered to sell the naming rights to Ford for 10,000 US dollars. Ford refused and removed the Mustang badges from the exported units, and named the car the T5. That was until 1979, when the Krupp copyrights expired. There are no other changes of note. Ford dealers deliver 607,568 Mustangs for the 1966 model year, 499,751 for coupes, 72,119 convertibles, and 35,698 in fastbacks. 25,517 were ordered with the GT Equipment Group. The Ford Mustang has been continuously built and sold by a Ford Motor Company since April 17, 1964. Few cars can claim that type of legacy. If you're an American, you either own, have owned, or know someone close to you that's owned a Mustang in your lifetime. What started out as a sporty, yet affordable car that could carry four people around, has become what most people, lay people, consider the pinnacle of Ford performance. Now those of us that dig into Ford's history know that's not an accurate statement, however that's not a bad reputation to be driving around in. Mustangs, they're tough. With the 1967 revision, the Mustang would get a little bit longer, a little bit wider, and we cover that in this video right over here. If you enjoyed this video, you're probably going to like that one as well, and maybe consider subscribing. I now have over 250 videos that cover Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury products. That's it for today, thanks for watching. Until next time, we'll see you.