1964 1/2 Mustang Collector Car (Mar 18th, 1964 build date)

This 64.5 Stang's production date is March 18th, 964. That's only nine days after production began and one month before the first Mustang was sold! So, his beauty is one of the very first Mustang convertibles to ever roll off the assembly line and a full factory-original restoration has just been completed. Since the car is a uni-body I can't technically call it a "frame-off" restoration, ut the degree of workmanship and detail put into this project over the past 5 years is no different than a frame-off. In other words, his classic was stripped of every nut and bolt, edia blasted then correctly reassembled with the same imperfections a purist would expect to find right off the assembly line. Now it's time for this practically brand spanking new pony to find a new corral.

The car is a Wimbledon White, alomino interior, -code classic with an automatic transmission, ower steering, ower top, actory air conditioning and a freshly rebuilt numbers matching 260 V-8. The transmission is brand new but the original will also be included with the sale.

VIN (5F08F101908). Considering the first production Mustang (sequence #100001) and this car were both built at the Dearborn plant, his has to be one of the earliest Mustang convertibles ever built as the 1,908th car off the Dearborn assembly line. I base this on two facts: 1) Dearborn was the only plant producing Mustangs during March, 964 and; 2) the preceding 1,907 cars included an unknown quantity of Mustang coupes as well as other Ford models such as Fairlanes and Falcons. One can only assume there were plenty of those other models rolling off the Dearborn line during the first nine days of the Mustang production. Research also shows the early Mustang records were destroyed for an unknown reason, erhaps by fire. Therefore no one knows, ith 100% certainty, he exact number of Mustangs convertibles produced ahead of #1908. I was able to find an unofficial online registry with a considerable number of early Mustang owner entries. The best I can conclude from that data is there are 61 known convertibles that rolled out before this one. 17 of the 61 were Wimbledon White, of those were F-code automatics but none of the 17 had the Palomino interior. So, his car is not only one of the first few Mustang convertibles built, t is possibly the "first" Wimbledon White convertible produced with a Palomino interior.

DESERT PONY VERT #1? Considering the color combinations, he aforementioned registry, he factory a/c and the Phoenix DSO, would venture to say this car is possibly the first convertible configured with extreme desert heat in mind. Based on the title trail of previous owners, think it's also safe to say #1908 spent most, f not all of its life in the American southwest as evidenced by the rust-free original floor pans and sheet metal still on the car today. The only corroded metal replaced during restoration was the battery tray!

OTHER HONORABLE MENTIONS. Much of the chrome trim is original. All glass is original. Radiator support was replaced at some point during the car's life and the driver's rear quarter was replaced during restoration with a factory OEM fender but all other metal is original. A/C is all original with correct parts unique to the early 64 ½ to include the compressor, ower steering brackets, dler pulley and the 6-blade radiator fan. Also has the engine data plate and window sticker provided by Marti Auto Works.