Ford Mustang 1964 1/2 Explained | Stop Buying Fakes

Welcome to my YouTube channel. You might be wondering why people call the first Mustang a 1964 and a half. In this episode I will talk about the story behind this weird annex and how to identify a real first generation Mustang. What the heck is it all about this half and what should you know to identify a real 1964 and a half? The Mustang was presented at the 1964 World's Fair in New York by Lee Iacocca, already a 65 model, even though it was only spring. In the car industry, the new model year typically begins after summer holidays in August or September. Because the new Mustang was already available in spring, it calls 1964 and a half. To be clear, the 1964 and a half Mustang has always been a 1965 Mustang. There is no model year 1964. On the first weekend of the World's Fair, 22,000 cars were ordered and 300,000 were built in that first year. The first batch of the Mustangs, the so-called 1964 and a half, were therefore the start of the Mustang hype that kept going from April 1964 until today. Because of that, the 1964 and a half Mustang became a cult vehicle, very desirable and often with higher prices than other models. Buyers have to know what is a real 1964 and a half before they pay too much and get cheated on. In this episode, I will explain the differences between the 1964 and a half and the regular 1965 model. First, 1964 and a half Mustangs are part of the model year 65. There is no model year 1964. 1964 and a half is just an expression for the first batch of the early Mustangs. It all started on March 9th with the production of the car and launch at the World's Fair in New York. The car was the main attraction on this day. Due to high demands, Ford started production on the West Coast in San Jose, California on July 1964. These cars can be identified, which I will explain on the next slide. The first production run only included hardtops and convertibles. There is no 1964 and a half Fosbeck, be aware of that. Let's get an overview about the production month. A letter stands for the month, starting with A for January. As mentioned in the previous slide, manufacturing of the Mustang began on March, that means C. Therefore, 1964 and a half cars are produced from March to July with the production codes CD, E, F and G. In August, the official 1965 model year has started with H, J, K and L as production dates. How to identify the production date codes and what does the number mean? Let's see an example. The door tag shows 23E, means E for May and 23 for the specific day in May. Production day of the car therefore is May 23rd in 1964. The date plate can be found on the driver's door, but beware, they are easy to fake. Therefore, you have to check the original documents such as the owner manual, if available, the range of the VIN numbers, explained on the next slide and, very helpful and only valid for 1964 and a half cars, the body panel number. If you find body panel stamped with the letter before July, your car is unmistakably a 1964 and a half. In that case, you have a jackpot car, because this car has still original body panels. Body panel numbers are explained in a special video on this channel. Check it out! All cars with production date codes C, D, E, F and G are 1964 and a half cars. It starts with the production date 05C, March 5th and ends with 31G, July 31st. Now let's check if the production number does fit into a range of a Mustang 1964 and a half. It all started in Dearborn, code F for Dearborn production facility, with the number 1 for the first car and ended in July with the number 220317. If you have a car that is produced in San Jose, code R for the production facility in San Jose, the number can't be higher than 104363. If it is higher, it is not a 1964 and a half car. The production number is part of the win number and stamped in the frame of the car. Besides the production number, the win number also shows the production place, F for Dearborn and R for San Jose, as well as the model year, type of body, part of convertible or fastback and the engine number. I will quickly show you the location of the win numbers in the engine compartment. The first apron shows the win stamped visibly on the fender cutout area. There are two additional win stampings located on the fenders but not visibly if the fenders are installed. To be sure and especially if you are looking for a rare collector's car, such as the 1964 and a half, K-Code, GT or Shelby, I strongly recommend you don't shy away from the effort of checking that. Let's proceed with other characteristics to identify the 1964 and a half. The engines. There are basically 4 engines that can be found in the first 6 months of a Mustang production. There is the 6-cylinder, 170 cubic inch displacement, which was originally used on the Ford Falcon. This inline 6-cylinder engine with 101 horsepower is commonly known as the U-Code. Then we have two V8 engines. One is a very early F-Code with 260 cubic inch that was borrowed from the Ford Fairlane. This V8 Ford Windsor engine comes with 164 horsepower and a 2-barrel carburetor. And secondly we have the 4-barrel carburetor V8 that came around May-June and is known as a D-Code. The D-Code was a 289 cubic inch engine with 210 horsepower. Both engines can only be found in a 1964 and a half Mustang. Finally we have the legendary K-Code. K-Code engines came in June and started in production throughout the model year 1965. All K-Codes or so-called Hypos are in general very rare and often fake. Even rarer is a K-Code Mustang 1964 and a half. Such a K-Code car must be produced in June or July 1964 and therefore must come with the date plates F and D only. F for June and D for July. Yes, many codes I know, but you can always press stop during this video or re-watch what you find is most important to you. The only engine that stayed in production throughout the model year was the K-Code. Up from August 1964 the D-Engine was superseded in the 65 model by the A-Code and the 2 barrel carburetor was replaced with the C-Code. To summarize shortly, A and C-Code V8 engines are NOT 1964 and a half engines. These engines belong to the regular 1965 models. Only U, F and D-Code engines can be found in 1964 and a half cars. The Colors Now it gets even more complicated. Your dream Mustang could have been ordered in 15 colors back in 1964. On top of that there were also a variety of interior colors and extras available for customers. The truthfully golden 60s in terms of industrial production and customer satisfaction. To be 100% sure in terms of a 1964 and a half car, focus on 7 colors that were available until July only. If you have one of these color codes together with other 1964 and a half characteristics, you own the holy grail. Some additional colors came with the model year 65, some were replaced, some stayed. Let's come to an end and summarize. Five relevant date codes, C, D, E, F and G, 3 engines from 1964 and a half cars only, U, F and D-Code and one engine up from June, the K-Code. Two assembly plans, Dearborn, Michigan and San Jose, California, with the very important number range as displayed. Two body styles, the hardtop and the convertible, 7 colors out of 15 for 1964 and a half only. So I hope you now have some insights on what makes a Mustang a real 1964 and a half. Check all these characteristics that I mentioned. These should help you with not being cheated on or prevent you of paying too much. Examine the history and origin of the car. Documentation, paper or even picture from the early days are very important. Verifying the history of the car is key. Research, research and research. Try to be patient, take your time. Also get a pre-purchase inspection or a second opinion from an expert. And don't be afraid to ask for advice in the community. Have fun with the car and by the way, all cars from the first Mustang generation, meaning from 1964 and a half up to 1966 are something special to drive and own. Please leave a comment if you have more important details to share or clarifications. There are more videos on my channel with insight of the car, the car during classic car shows and road trips.