1965 Ford Mustang Fastback: Throttle Therapy

Very similar to my story. I bought a ’65 Mustang fastback at age 16 in 1977 for $450.00. The car had a very hard life before I got it. Pittsburgh winters had taken a toll on the body requiring gallons of Bondo and fiberglass . It spend my sophomore and junior high school years in various shades of primer while the work continued.

There were no reproduction parts back then so everything had to be sourced from parts cars and scrap yards. I replaced the interior with the Pony upgrade from a car purchased for $100.00 and finally saved up enough for a MAACO paint job in my senior year in Vintage Burgundy over a black and white interior.

A few weeks after graduation I ran into the back of a brand new Chevy wagon that had stopped on a highway entry ramp. The Mustang was sold to pay for the damages to the Chevy. The search for another Mustang didn’t pan out and I bought a ’69 Olds 442 to take to college.

Many cars later in October 1997, I found a ’64 1/2 Mustang convertible in the hands of the sister of the original owner with 160k on the odometer. The car had been a daily driver all its life and needed everything

Stripped down to the shell and 9 months of work and my modified Mustang was ready with a rebuilt 289, T-5 Motorsport 5 speed. Upgrades included a color change from Rangoon Red to Midnight Turquoise, a new Pony interior, GT fog lights and exhaust, reproduction Styled Steel wheels and a nice stereo. twenty years since it was finished and I still drive it
every chance I get.

It sure is a lot easier to do one now than it was i the ’70s.