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1964 ½ Mustang: Original Paint

645mustang

Barn Finds reader Charles H. sent in a very special and possibly unrepeatable find: a true survivor-grade example of the rare 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang, listed on eBay with an $18,600 Buy-It-Now. What’s perhaps even more incredible is the condition the car has survived in: original paint, near-perfect interior and the only obvious deviation from stock being the factory mag wheels (don’t worry, the originals are included). And don’t think it’s been sitting in a bubble all of its life – this early Mustang has 80,000 miles on the clock, making its original Wimbledon White paint all the more incredible. I think this car is worth every cent of the asking price, but the option does exist to submit a best offer. How likely are you to find a car like this that isn’t already in a museum?

Comments

  1. Avatar JW

    I was under the impression that the early Mustangs 64 1/2 and maybe 65 260 V8’s valve covers and air cleaners were painted gold from the factory.

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    • Avatar jeffryh

      289’s i think were gold.

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  2. Avatar JW

    Also this car has a alternator when it should have a generator to be correct for 64 1/2.

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    • Avatar 365Lusso

      Sure looks like a generator in the engine bay photos to me…..

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  3. Avatar jaygryph

    Look at the door jamb shot. There’s what looks like white over paint chip divots. I’d say it’s a respray. It’s probably still worth it, but from the crazing on the emblems and little hints of where things have been painted without removing trim, I’d say it’s not an original paint car. Looks like the outside paint does not quite match what’s sprayed in the jambs either. There’s white overspray on the door latch bolts.

    I don’t buy that the engine is an 80k motor with that rich a paintjob on it. My car is an 08 with 90k and the engine already looks grungier than that with heat cooked off paint. It’s been dolled up.

    Nice, yes. Worth it, probably. All Original, doubt it.

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    • Avatar Mark

      Don’t forget back then engines ran a lot cooler than your 08 does. They didn’t have all of the anti-pollution garbage hanging off them that generate excessive engine heat. I seen a couple cars of about the same age with engines that looked that good.

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      • Avatar jaygryph

        It also says in the ad the engine was detailed, so they did paint it. I’d missed that info when I made my first guess. This mustang has had a lot more work done to it than they are letting on.

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  4. Avatar Dan

    If it was a fastback coupe maybe…I passed over an original owner , 30,000 mile car last year just like this for $14,000…….260 and an auto….

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  5. Avatar bcavileer

    Look at the fender bolts. Tooth marks from the lock washer clearly evident. A respray for sure. Nice car though, just tired of the ‘survivor’ BS.
    Tell it like it is.
    And yes, that is a generator.
    289 Windsors were gold covers and filter even in 1965. That motor looks very fresh. Which is OK. Just say so.

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  6. Avatar Vince Habel

    Did not think these wheels were on a 64.

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  7. Avatar Joeinthousandoaks

    260 had blue valve covers. That is the correct generator and oil filler tube for an early 260. The date code is June so while not a really early car it is a 64 1/2. It’s very hard to believe original paint but anything is possible.

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  8. Avatar Keith

    Last year for Ford generators was ’63. I had one in my Fairlane 500 Sports Coupe with the Hi-Po 289. THOSE had the gold valve covers and air cleaner. Otherwise it’s Ford blue.

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  9. Avatar Vince Habel

    64 Mustangs had generators

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  10. Avatar Bruce

    Wow. It is amazing to read all the comments from the arm chair enthusiasts. In order to really be judging this car you would need to check it out in person. I think that the Barnfind guys are on to something for having a inspector go and check out cars for you. Especially if you can have guys that are really into each mfg.

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  11. Avatar Jim Marshall

    It’s hard to believe a 50 year old car with 80 K clicks in it could look that good without being repainted and reworked to some degree.

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  12. Avatar JW

    My mistake definitely a generator.

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  13. Avatar Dolphin Member

    For me there’s no question that this car is not original, with just the engine detailed as the seller states.

    I have owned cars that I tried to preserve as perfectly as possible, but you put heat cycles and miles on it and it shows in ways that won’t detail out, especially under the hood. I have never seen an unrestored 50 year old car with 80,000 miles that didn’t have evidence of that kind of age and road use in the engine bay. All that heat and road dirt swirling around in there would have left some evidence, but I don’t see any on this car. What I see is a car that’s been refurbed at the least, and probably more than that, maybe not to 100 point standards, but I think it has received some work to make it look like this, including some paintwork.

    Lack of any history would be a problem for me if I was interested in buying. Too bad, it’s a really appealing Mustang. Maybe it will sell for the asking, if not now, then sometime. But for me, not on the claims made in the listing.

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    • Avatar PRA4SNW

      Agree 110%.
      Nice car, but a survivor it isn’t. The seller would be better off just admitting that the car has been restored, inside, outside, and underneath.

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  14. Avatar stillrunners

    There’s clearly a pic with an Alternator…..and then some funky cover stuff over what might be a generator….looked hard for the vents in the radiator support….64 1/2 only on a Mustang – for that generator….nice car….not a survivor….just my view….

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  15. Avatar Dennis

    I’m sure the car had to have a respray, plus the undercarriage is way to clean for a 80,000 mile car from Canada. A white coupe is not the most desirable color for a Mustang and if he gets $18,000 that’s for sure all the money.

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  16. Avatar patrol

    Oooky i think i see the problem!
    How come Richard in “fast and loud” bought a simillar mustang 64and 1/2 for some $70k and sold it for $200k ?????
    What is going on ? I need to Solve this before hitting buy it now. We have only 18 hrs left

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    • Avatar Hoos Member

      The one from Fast and Loud was a one owner 64 1/2 K code, also red and a convertible, with factory chalk marks.
      (Not that I ever watch the show)

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      • Avatar patrol

        That explains the 180k diffrence. Thanks

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  17. Avatar Bruce E

    I’d say worth every penny of the asking price. This car is CLEAN for it’s age, and I don’t care how much you nit pick it. Go buy a rusted hulk of the same vintage and restore it to the condition of this car and see how many $$$$ you have sunk in it. Somebody obviously took exceptional care of this car and if that isn’t a “survivor” I don’t know what one is.
    We’re not looking at a 5 million dollar Bugatti , we’re looking at a 18,000.00 Mustang….

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    • Avatar Dolphin Member

      Bruce, agreed this Mustang looks really good, and it’s probably worth the $18,600 asking price to someone who wants a really good looking 1964.5 Mustang coupe. Maybe it will sell for that price, but so far there has been no sale or evidence of an offer with 8 hours to go in the auction.

      I think the reason for that might be because the seller’s claims don’t ring true. This just doesn’t look like an original, unrestored 50-year old 80,000 mile car. There’s no documentation offered (old photos, service records) so that’s also a problem in a time when originality and history count for so much in the collector car world, especially with the most significant cars offered at top-of-the-market prices, like this Mustang.

      One of the best automotive tech writers I know says that when you are buying any car, but especially a special car offered at a top-of-market price, you should be evaluating the seller as much as the car to know whether you want to put down hard earned money. I think that’s what a lot of the commenters on here are doing in looking at the claims made for this car.

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      • Avatar Bruce E

        ****It sold for “best offer accepted”, and I would guess that would be in the 15 range. I would say somebody got a nice car for not a lot of money. ( By today’s collector car prices…) For 15 grand, it can be driven and not wrapped in a bubble.

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  18. Avatar Jim Marshall

    I had one of these Mustangs new in 1966, 289, automatic, power steering and brakes the famous Ford Gold with a black interior. I only kept it 6 months as car was not comfortable and suffered cold weather starting problems that Ford couldn’t seem to correct. Traded it in on a 67 Galaxie 500 coupe with a 289. Car ran like a champ.

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  19. Avatar grant

    Those are 65 GT wheels, known in Ford speak as “styled steel” wheels. Not “Mags.” Has anyone even built a magnesium wheel in the last 50 years?

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