Mustang Question

There are a multitude of features that signify a 64.5 Mustang - but many features carried over into 1965 as FORD used up parts - plus there has been a TON of mis-representation of these features.

The KEY things I look for are:

GENERATOR - ONLY 64.5 cars had them and the special wiring needed

BUILD DATE - The build date must be before July/August plant change-over - but there are a few late build cars out there - I do not know of a FRIM date when Ford switched

COUPE / CONVERT - There is NO documented 64.5 2+2 I've ever seen or heard about - people "talk" about one or two - but they usually end up just being very early 65 production

VIN - I'm no expert on the VIN sequences, but you can research the ranges for each factory - they are known pretty well and will tell you the approximately when the car was built.

2 speed heater motors, certain body features and sheet metal changes like the hood lip, the radiator core vents, or passenger side shock tower, etc can be misleading - yes they are features of early Mustang production, but they are not always unique to the 64.5 alone.

I hope this helps.

These will give you some info:

How to Identify a '64 1/2 Mustang... Mustang Monthly

http://www.mustangmonthly.com/thehistoryof/mustang_1964/

'64 1/2 List of Differences:

http://www.early-mustang.com/modules.php?na…=showpage&pid=7

Ditto on the occurence of carry over features. My November 64 San Jose car has clip on door and window handles as well as the two speed, center off heater blower motor.

Jack

The difference between a 64.5 and a 65 is the charging system, generator vs. alternator. The term "64.5" supposedly was first used by the Ford service parts department to identify generator parts vs. alternator parts since the wiring system and many components were different between the 2 models. Further... Ford acknowledged the change from early production to normal '65 model year production by re-starting the consecutive unit numbers. If you have a Dearborn car with a unit number BEFORE 250001, then it was generator equipped. Anything starting with that number and AFTER, was an alternator car. The same thing happened at San Jose, except the jump was re-started at 125001, since San Jose didn't start making Mustangs until July of '64.

Many early components, such as hoods, headlight buckets and other items were used well into '65 production as supplies ran out.

My cousin bought a new turquoise/black fastback 6 cyl auto Generator (i replaced the brushes) She bought the car in April or May (it was snowing on her new car she was pissed) of 65, I took my drivers test in August in the car 1965..

Was it a 64.5?

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My cousin bought a new turquoise/black fastback 6 cyl auto Generator (i replaced the brushes) She bought the car in April or May (it was snowing on her new car she was pissed) of 65, I took my drivers test in August in the car 1965..

Was it a 64.5?

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

Your information is kind of vague. If you took your driver test in August of 1965, then the car would most definitely have been a 1965 model as August of '65 would be right when 1966 model year production would have begun. I seriously doubt the car had a generator, and if it did, someone changed out the alternator for it(also seriously doubt).

Since you are certain the car had a generator, assuming it came that way, the car was a '64 1/2. However, it seems unlikely the car would have sat at the dealer for several months until sold in April or May of 1965. But that is always possible. It could have been a demo or dealer driven car... or who knows what?

Are you sure it was 1965 when the car was bought? Could it have been 1964? Because the car was built prior to Sept 1964 if it was a 64 1/2. Was your driver test the same year or was it when the car was a year old? That would explain it. May be some discrepancy in the dates cited?

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

My cousin bought a new turquoise/black fastback 6 cyl auto Generator (i replaced the brushes) She bought the car in April or May (it was snowing on her new car she was pissed) of 65, I took my drivers test in August in the car 1965..

Was it a 64.5?

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

1964½ Mustangs have 1964 production engines that were coded:

U - 170 6-cylinder

F - 260 V8

D - 289 regular-fueled 4V

K - 289 HiPo

1965 Mustangs have 1965 production engines that were coded:

T - 200 6-cylinder

C - 289 2V

A - 289 premium-fueled 4V

K - 289 HiPo

U, F, D were used with generators. F & D were 5-bolt (bellhousing bolt pattern) small block V8s. T, C, A were used with alternators. C & A were 6-bolt small block V8s.

Only the K-code was used in both years. 64½ K-code is a 5-bolt with generator. The 65 K-code is a 6-bolt with alternator. July 31, 1964 was a Friday and appears to be the last day of 64½ Mustang production at Dearborn and San Rose. When they came back to work on Monday, August 3, they began 65 Mustang production. Ford used the date 8/22/64 or 8/17/64 as the transition date in its literature, but it would be better to use a 8/1/64 scheduled build date as the transition.

The transition date is really irrelevant, even thought it did happen at the beginning of August '64. Consecutive unit numbers are all that is needed to differentiate a generator mustang vs. an alternator one.