Vehicle Description
Vehicle to be offered for Auction sale WITHOUT RESERVE and SOLD to the highest bidder January 19th - 22nd, 2017 at Russo and Steele's 17th Annual Scottsdale Arizona Auction at the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Please contact us for more information.
Launched in 1964 as a mid-year model, Ford's sporty new Mustang created an overnight sensation and its landmark debut remains the most successful new-car introduction of all time. In fact, the Mustang's significance and its profound influence on global automotive culture simply cannot be overstated. In the recent book Mustang, the Original Pony Car, the Mustang's spiritual father, former top Ford Motor Company executive Lee Iacocca, was quoted as saying "For me, the excitement in the automobile business is to do something different; to pioneer a new concept and to win." He continued, "We reached way out, and the success that the Mustang has enjoyed is proof that Americans really like something which is entirely new and dramatic."
Reportedly, while Ford Motor Company's market planners envisioned first-year Mustang sales around the 100,000-unit mark, this conservative figure was reached in just four months following release! By 1966, one million Mustangs were on the road. The Mustang and its success immediately triggered competition from every major American car company, but none of them achieved the Mustang's enduring level of success, especially when one considers that the Mustang nameplate has been in continuous production from launch to the present day. Not even its closest rivals, GM's F-body Camaro and Firebird, can claim that honor.
Of course, during Ford's "Total Performance" era of the 1960s, the Mustang's option list included a wide range of powertrain combinations from inline sixes to several versions of the 289 V-8 engine. Both manual and automatic transmissions were available to suit any driving style. Soon, the Mustang formed the basis for Carroll Shelby's all-conquering GT350, purpose-built to wrest SCCA B-Production road racing dominance from Chevy's Corvette, which it did for three years straight from 1965 though 1967.
Now in its ninth major design evolution, the Mustang was a reassuring constant over the past five decades of massive political and social change, somehow managing to survive the early-1970s performance-car shakeout and the economy-oriented 1970s. By 1982, the Mustang regained its swagger and escaped a proposed switch to a front-wheel platform during the latter 1980s, maintaining its font-engine, rear-wheel drive roots to the present 2015 models. Of all Mustangs, though, the historic first-generation models continue to steal enthusiasts' hearts everywhere.
Handsome in red with a new white top, this 1965 Ford Mustang convertible was completely restored in 2014. Powered by a rebuilt engine equipped with a 600 CFM carburetor and Pertronix ignition, breathing through a custom-built dual exhaust system, the Mustang includes power disc brakes, new rear springs, a new fuel tank and assembly, a new grille and support, an aluminum radiator, and a new air conditioning unit. Interior upgrades include custom seats, a Grant wooden steering wheel, and a custom radio with speakers. Rounding out the Mustang are a new convertible top and assembly, new back-up lights, and a set of chrome wheels. As offered, it is a great first-generation example of an American icon, ready for enjoyment with top-down style!
