When Ford lifted the covers on its new Mustang on April 17th, 1964, it could never have known that it was revealing a car that would rapidly become a motoring icon. Buyers couldn’t hand over their money fast enough to get their slice of excitement from Ford. Our feature car is a 1964½ Convertible featuring a D-Code V8 under the hood. It is an unfinished restoration project, but it appears the heavy lifting has been completed. I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Zappenduster for spotting the Mustang listed here on Craigslist in Castle Rock, Colorado. The seller set their price for this classic at $18,000.
Considering the timing of its introduction, it is impressive that Ford sold 121,538 Mustangs during 1964. That figure represented a strong starting point for the new badge, and a sales frenzy saw 1,288,557 Mustangs gracing our roads by the end of 1966. By any rational measure, that proves that Ford had a sales hit on its hands. The first owner ordered our feature Convertible fairly early, electing to cloak its panels in Prairie Bronze paint. This appears to be an unfinished restoration, with much of the exterior wearing Gray primer, and the body sporting a range of new Dynacorn panels. It is unclear why these were changed because the seller includes the original steel in the sale. They don’t mention the presence of rust in prone areas like the floor, although since the car is in a dry climate, it may be rock-solid. The trim looks acceptable for a driver-grade build, and the power top works as it should.
Powering this Mustang is its numbers-matching D-Code 289ci V8. This engine was unique to the 1964½ model, with this one sending 210hp and 300 ft/lbs of torque to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual transmission. Performance would have been considered quite impressive when the Convertible was new, and the indications are that it should remain so today. The only non-original items appear to be the valve covers, but sourcing the correct ones for a more “stock” appearance should be possible. The seller doesn’t mention verifying evidence for their claim that this classic has a genuine 73,000 miles on the clock, meaning that this must be taken at face value. However, the Mustang runs and drives well, seeing regular use in its current form. That will allow the buyer to indulge in some instant classic motoring gratification, completing the build at their leisure.
Apart from the valve covers, the interior shots reveal the other significant changes performed during this build. The seller confirms that this Convertible left the factory with its interior trimmed in Black vinyl. However, they recently fitted a new Pony trim kit that looks nice. It makes a positive initial impact, with the painted and upholstered surfaces looking excellent, and the carpet appearing perfect. The only visible flaw is a cracked wheel, but it wouldn’t take much effort to locate a replacement. Otherwise, this interior has no obvious needs.
It is disappointing that the seller has made changes to this 1964½ Mustang Convertible because it would undoubtedly command a higher future value if the refurbishment had been faithful. However, none of those changes are irreversible if the buyer feels that returning the car to its factory form is appropriate. It will be fascinating to gauge your opinions on two factors. The first will be whether that should happen. More importantly, are you tempted to be the person to do so by becoming the Mustang’s new owner? So, it’s over to you.
No, 19641/2 Mustang !
I laugh every time I hear or read that it’s a 1964 1/2. There are early and late production 1965’s. The VIN confirms it.
But it’s much easier and we all know what is meant by 64 1/2.
Black vinyl interior on a hot sunny day in a convertible is a real pain in the butt! The lighter colour is a good change.
Car is too early to have pony interior. Any D-code car is too early. It would have not only been black, but it would have been the standard interior.
Also too early for fog lights.
It looks good but from a value perspective, the $18k entry cost may fool you. Today a decent paint job ($12k) could run this car up to $30k. Then there will be other things and before long you may have $35-40k in a car that does not have (m)any original body panels. May be best with the new sheet metal but for collectors and resale, it hurts the value.
It is said by those who have done it, buy the best condition you can find and afford. Otherwise you will want better and spend more to get the improvements. It looks like the seller has figured that out and is ready to exit the project instead of complete it. When assessing the sunk cost, he is cutting his losses, not making any money, but not wanting to sink any more.
Yeah agree on original panels. Funny thing is a lot of what he replaced with aftermarket is readily available as good solid used parts.
The interior looks clownish, what with the red seat belts and what looks like red faded carpet- maybe. Not sure what that color is. If all the original body panels are there, why were they replaced?
No underside shots, a definite must. Finally, there is no such thing as a 1964 1/2 Mustang (ask Hemmings), it is only a cult/nerd designation with no basis in fact. I’d rather have the later built Mustang anyway, they had improvements over the early models – which aren’t even that rare.
All Mustangs built in 1964 are titled as 65’s