GT status

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>

I can hear the groans already.

So just a quickie - have been reading all day and am still confused.

Can any part of the dual exhaust system including floor pan and rear frame rail reinforcements, brake pipe support brackets be used to identify a factory GT ? or can these be had by other option routes ?

Car is 1965 April 13R Dearborn fastback.

Everything else checks out, just wondered if any part of the exhaust is a pointer.

Thank you

<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote></font id=quote><font face="Verdana" size=2 id=quote>

The only thing I know of is the crush plate in the frame rails for the two rear exhaust brackets. The plate is only used on dual exhaust equipped cars including GT's and "K"s (whether the "K" was a GT or not).

Jim

I also believe that you can look at things like the holes in the radiator support for the fog light wiring to see if they are punched(factory) or drilled, the holes for the courtesy lights in the doors are punched(factory) or cut, and the metal tags hooked on the seats inside are different than standard seats. There are subtle ways to see if it is real that many "fakers" forget about or don't bother with since they are usually "hidden" from plain view.

You can "make" a GT from any "K" 65 built after March, 65 or any 66 "K". Other than crush plates that are added, everthing else that is a permanent alteration is a removal (aka hole). However, fenders can be a problem because the difference in hole placement for the pony, GT badge and the letters for Mustang. Everything else is a bolt on or tape, and I can fake the punched fog light wire holes in the radiator support very easily. Just make sure you punch the right size holes.

Jim

There have been instances where the floor (actually it's the forward slope of the rear axle hump) reinforcement plates were not installed on factory GTs. The frame rail crush plate appears to be 100 percent present on factory dual exhaust cars in question.

Jim

Wow....no mention of the dash board "eye brow" cut out for the 5 dial dash? This was a GT or Pony interior only change in '65.

This is only valid for '65 BUT true GT and PONY cars had a unique dash from the regular '65s....you can cut a regular dash to fit the 5 dial gauge cluster, but the factory ones had a rolled lip.

As far as I can tell this and the fog light holes are the only unique differences between a regular K code metal build and the "GT" metal build.

I guess if you really wanted to "fake it" you could swap in a '66 dash......but why go to the trouble? I doubt most people would.

None of the exhaust stuff is unique just to the GT - only the dash was unique for a GT or PONY interior cars.

My 2 cents at least.

<img src=images/icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

I was hoping it wasn't too far off topic - but that is the only difference I've been able to find in 30+ years of looking at and working on 'stangs.

But re-reading your original post I want to adjust my response a little. Given that you have a mid April '65 car - it could be a GT.

IMHO

For a K code the only way to tell a factory GT would be the dash cutout - and then only if the car is not a pony interior car.

For an A code it will need all of the exhaust stuff - prior to the "GT" package only a K code Mustang could have dual exhaust from the factory. BUT keep in mind that Ford changed the exhaust several times and changed the mounting points and reinforcements as a result.

This has been discussed in detail here before - the "A" code factory GT cars appear to have used the same metal "buck build" as a K code - there is a great topic in the archive on this with a ton of pictures showing the K code axle plate on A code GT cars. If you think about this it makes sense - Ford wouldn't make multiple versions of the metal build if they had one that would work. They used what they had - this is plain common sense for factory efficiency and what the bean counters would have demanded.

SO.....you have to look at a number of things - build date, datecodes, and several metal features to pick out a factory GT - A code or K code - at least in '65. I'm not sure it is as easy in '66.

Based upon your comments it sounds like the car is a legit GT.

Plus it was built the day before mine! Cool!

<img src=images/icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>

Edited by - RalphJr on 09/28/2010 12:24:33

Something else to consider is the date stamp on the metal dash. The date format for Ford sheet metal is [month day shift].

For 65 the date stamp should be on or before the build date of the car and should at least be March/April 65 or later (what ever the agreed date is for the start of GT production).

I have a late May dash for the mid-late June 65 production date of my car.

Metuchen cars also offer the buck tag "PI" or "PIO" codes and the build sheet has a code which identifies a factory GT. Ask Caspian65 about this.

This post peaked my interest so I went out to look at my car. Scheduled build date of 23 March, 65, Dearborn FB. Original door tag shows 63B pony interior and the car has all of the GT stuff.

I have also wondered about the factory status of the GT but since my car is a factory pony car the rolled lip on the dash and 5 cluster instument panel would be there already.

I checked the metal stamp on the dash, it is 2 25 C 2, and the 5 cluster gauges panel has an ink stamp of MAR 3 1965. I am still confident of the factory pony status but short of a build sheet (have also searched and come up empty) I guess my factory GT status will remain a COULD BE.

Mark

Mark,

Do you have the original wiring harness in your car? Do you have the inline fuse in the underdash harness and the plastic blocks(2) where the two GT lighting pigtails (per light) exit the wiring harness in the front engine bay?

Does your GT lighting wires exit the engine bay (into the underdash area) under the firewall main electrical plug?

Went back out to the car and looked around some more. Not sure if the wiring harness is orignal, looks old. When I rebuilt the heater box and put an original AM radio into the car all of the plugs for the 65 radio pluged right into the harness. The harness did not appear to have been replaced. There are plugs for the fog light wires where wires come out of the harness. At the fire wall there is a plug for the harness and below that is a small hole (1/4inch) with a single wire (w/ rubber plug) running through it. It appears that wire comes out of the harness before the fire wall and then back into the harness on the other side of the fire wall. The dash switch was moved from the bottom of the dash to the more common location before I got the car. That switch has 3 wires that go to a connector then the wires the go to the harness. Those 3 wires have been spliced before the harness and I did not see an in line fuse.