For those who may not be familiar with the Mustang, the car was introduced at the New York World's Fair in April 1964. In the first week, over 20,000 cars were sold. In the 1965 model year, sales of the Mustang exceeded 500,000 units making it one of the most popular cars ever sold in the US.
The original owner of the Mustang pictured here bought the car in February 1966 which was the middle of the 1966 model year. The car was built at the Ford automobile plant in Dearborn, Michigan and shipped to a dealer in Phoenix Arizona. The car is Silver Frost, has the original motor, interior, and other major parts. The first owner kept it for about about 25 years then sold it to a person who lived in Sun City Arizona, a retirement community. The Arizona State records show that in 8 years, the second owner drove the car only 4,000 miles (500 miles a year!) Until I brought it to New York in July 2000, the car was always in dry, rust free Arizona.
The State of Arizona maintains records of automobile mileage. The state title documents verify that the odometer reading of 33,000 miles (50,000 kilometers) is the true total mileage of this car! This is the lowest mileage Mustang I have ever seen. (Cars of this age typically have been driven over 200,000 miles (300,000 kilometers.) The very low mileage and the desert dryness of Arizona have preserved this car to near original condition.
OPTIONS
The car is highly optioned. It is a factory GT with black deluxe pony interior, factory air conditioning, power steering, central console, 3 speed automatic transmission, 2.80:1 rear axle, dual exhaust pipes, fog lights, high performance springs, wire wheel covers with simulated spinners, deluxe retractible seat belts with warning light, AM radio, heater, wire wheels with spinners. The car is Silver Frost with a black vinyl top and black GT stripes. Silver frost is a rather uncommon Mustang color. It was used on only 3% of '66 mustangs. (By comparison, 12% were painted Candy Apple Red.)
For those who want more detail: this Mustang has a 289 cubic inch (4.7 liter), 235 horsepower "A" code Challenger Special V8 engine with a 4 barrel Autolite 4100 carburetor. The radio is the original push-button AM radio. (There were very few FM stations in 1966.)
GT OPTION
The GT option needs some explanation. Soon after the Mustang was first introduced, buyers demanded improved handling and performance. One year later, in April 1965, Ford announced the GT option. GT comes from "Gran Turismo" or Grand Tour. The GT designation was used in the 1920's for cars that were outfitted for long touring events like driving over the Alps, across Africa, or Trans-American rallies. The first GT's typically had larger gas tanks, room for extra tires, drinking water tanks, heavier suspension and springs, better steering, larger engines with better cooling.
1965/1966 Vintage Mustang GT's came with dual exhaust pipes exiting the rear valence through decorative chrome trumpets, front fog lights, improved handling equipment including heavier front and rear springs, thicker front sway bar, faster steering ratio (16:1 instead of 20:1). Disc brakes replaced the standard front drum brakes.
Mustang GT's came equipped with one of the two larger V-8 engines, the "A" code (235 hp) or the "K" code (271 hp). No factory GT came with a "C" code V-8 (200 hp) or a "T" code (170 hp) I-block 6 cylinder engine. GT's had 4 barrel carburetors, a GT badge on each front fender, GT stripes below the doors in place of the chrome rocker panel strip. GT's do not have the simulated rear air scoop decoration on the rear quarter panels making what some consider to be a cleaner silhouette. Also, the two rear upright bumper guards are omitted to allow the dual exhaust trumpets to stand out. 1966 GT's had a special GT gas cap.
Vintage GT Mustangs are prized by collectors (and command a higher price) because of the upgraded equipment and relative rarity. Production records and educated guesses estimate that while about 600,000 Mustang coupes were made in 1966, only about 25,000 GT's were factory produced. Assuming about one-third of the cars have survived, there might be about 200,000 coupes remaining but only 8,000 factory GT's
"Factory GT" refers to Mustangs that were produced as GT's in a Ford factory. Some cars that were not originally GT's were later outfitted with some GT decoration. These cars are referred to as aftermarket GT's, GT clones, or non-factory GT's. It takes an expert to determine if a car is an aftermarket GT or a factory GT. Ford dealers sold GT equipment packages to allow owners of non-GT cars to make GT look-alikes. This included the front fog lights, dual exhaust pipes, GT fender badges, and the GT body stripes. Most of these aftermarket GT's do not have one of the larger engines, the disk brakes, heavier suspension or steering. It is a challenge to examine a car for sale advertised as a "GT" to see if it is an original Factory GT or an aftermarket GT. This can be important since the price can vary by several thousand dollars. Ford made it more difficult to tell a factory GT by not showing the GT option in the production codes of most cars.
Pony Interior Option
This car has what collectors call a Pony Interior or Deluxe Interior. The correct name is "Interior Decor Group." It is called "Pony Interior" because the front side of each seat back has an embossed design of a herd of galloping ponies inset with a simulated chrome bar. Pony seats are slightly larger than standard interior seats. Pony Interior upholstery color schemes differ from standard. Pony door panels have a curved shape with pull cups, decorative door handles, and a safety light on the bottom of each door. Deluxe interiors have simulated wood decoration on the instrument panel, glove compartment, door handles, and on the top of the central console (if the car has one.) The interior rear quarter panels are vinyl covered and fitted with chrome end-caps, the kick panels are carpeted. The steering wheel is of simlated wood design with a unique horn ring. (Many of the plastic wood grain deluxe steering wheels crack and need re-fininishing every few years. Because they appear only in GT's and are not very numerous, they are not available as reproduction items. A genuine replacement wood grain GT steering wheel can cost hundreds of dollars.)
Pony interior cars are not common and command a higher re-sale price. A look-alike pony interior can be installed in a standard interior car but the production codes on the car will show that the car originally had the standard interior.
The pony interior, the GT package, and styled steel wheels were all offered as separate options. There is some confusion that all GT's have a pony interior and styled steel wheels. This is not correct.
Vintage Ford Mustangs
I believe the Ford Mustang is the only car to sell over 1 million units in less than two years. Other Fords that sold over a million cars: The Model A Ford and the the Ford Fairlane. I believe that over one million Chevrolet Corvettes have been sold. It is a rare club for US marques.
Interesting to note that while Ford chose the name "Mustang" to reflect the sprited image of the P-51 US World War 2 fighter plane nicknamed the Mustang, the public immediately associated the car with the untamed wild horse of the American West. Ford quickly adopted the image of a wild galloping horse as the symbol of this classic car.
The Mustang symbol on the front grille is an image of a wild horse horse running from right to left which is opposite to the way race horses run in America. When asked why the horse was running in the "wrong" direction, a Ford designer said, "It's a wild mustang. It can run in any direction it wants to." After more than 35 years, the Spirit of the Mustang still runs wild.
© Richard Madison 2000