Test driving a '65 Mustang in 1985

[cfz2882]

white and blue fastback,289 2v 4 spd. Teenager evaluating first car choices Car ran pretty decent with that distinctive small block Ford sound with the little skip in the exhaust note.Base v8 with 2 barrel and power robbing rigid fan, no ball of fire but stickshift and only about 3000 lbs, got around decent enough and would squeal out good Car had Falcon style linear speedo instead of delux round speedo, and stock AM radio. liked the car,but they were asking $2500....These early mustangs were morbidly unsafe in accidents,but have fond memory of the test drive. Got a '74 nova instead-$500.

 

[wayupnorth]

I had a '66 Mustang convertible with the same 289 V8, 4 speed. By the time I got the car, it had 120K on it and had been rode hard and put away wet. It could not pass the Maine Inspection due to the amount of rust. Sold it for $75 and next owner put alot of work and money trying to restore it.

 

[phillymatt53]

Back in the 70's I had a 1968 Mustang 289 w/auto trans.
It was red, red interior, with a powered white convertable top.
Boy oh boy, that car was a fun thing to drive. - party time!
It had it's issues of course, rusted floor spots, which I patched up with sheet metal and pop rivets.
The damn thing liked to overheat, and the heater core was clogged.
But nevertheless, I ran it for about a year or so, then got a 67 Chevelle w/307 small block.

 

[circlew]

Friends of the family in Dearborn, MI got one of the first Mustangs in 1964. It was a bronze color convertible. The husband was very high up in the Ford Motor Co., and got it for his wife Elizabeth. By the late 1980s, it was getting in kind of rough shape. The husband had the car totally refurbished, which included him contacting some of the original parts manufacturers, and having certain items made. He told my parents he spent nearly 10 times the original price of the car.

My high school art teacher Doris M. had a 1966 Mustang in dark green. She had it for several years before getting a Torino.

 

[cfz2882]

Those very early Mustangs still used a generator instead of alternator of '65 models

 

[jmm63]

ALWAYS has been and ALWWAYS will be one of my dream cars. 65- 73 Mustang convertible, don't care. i was just in Detroit last week and saw some of the Woodward Dream Cruise, could not believe how many wonderful cars I saw.

 

[jmm63]

ALWAYS has been and ALWWAYS will be one of my dream cars. 65- 73 Mustang convertible, don't care. i was just in Detroit last week and saw some of the Woodward Dream Cruise, could not believe how many wonderful cars I saw.

Here's a link to pics from the Detroit Free Press

https://www.freep.com/picture-galle...oodward-dream-cruise-best-photos/85683945007/

 

[phillymatt53]

ALWAYS has been and ALWWAYS will be one of my dream cars. 65- 73 Mustang convertible, don't care. i was just in Detroit last week and saw some of the Woodward Dream Cruise, could not believe how many wonderful cars I saw.

Just keep in mind......
Performance, and Reliability are the fundamental things to strongly consider with anything.
However, consumers strongly tend to focus on the superficial aspects of products.
It's human nature.

 

[cfz2882]

A friend has a '73 convertible he is fixing up-floorpan has fatigue cracks from the body flexing-must be a few miles on it. 71-3 longer and much heavier than 64.5-66 version-do not know if those early ones flex as much.The subject '73 convert has a simple little 302 2v/ 3spd stick for reliable cool daily cruising

 

[phillymatt53]

Here's a link to pics from the Detroit Free Press

https://www.freep.com/picture-galle...oodward-dream-cruise-best-photos/85683945007/

Classic cars!
I always adored the styling of them!
The "cookie-cutter" boring and common styling of today bores the hell out of me.

When I was 13, 14, my father used to take me out with our family car to learn how to drive.
It was a 1956 Pontiac Chieftain.
He would take me to a local cemetary to practice my skills.
I asked him why he took me there, I wanted to go on a real street.
His answer was: "The cemetary has winding roads and is good for learning how to steer and maneuver, besides, if you hit something, don't worry, they're all dead anyhow".

 

[phillymatt53]

And my First Car.... a Midnight Bronze Metallic 1972 Chevy Nova 307 - customized by me.

 

[vacerator]

My grandma's first car was a 1955 Pontiac Chieftan.

 

[phillymatt53]

My grandma's first car was a 1955 Pontiac Chieftan.

Funny you mention that.
My father had a 55 Chieftain too - sky blue and white, then the pictured 56 model in maroon and white.