My 1966 Ford Mustang Convertible

1966 Ford Mustang Convertible

In 1966 Ford made a staggering 607,586 Mustangs!  72,119 were convertibles.  In the ensuing years thousands have been restored, some more than once.  Many are driven regularly just for pure enjoyment as well as to a cruze nite, car show or the ice cream shop.  These cars are appreciated by owners and admirers much as they were almost 50 years ago and so it is with Ken’s Candy Apple Red convertible.  Restored in 2000 and acquired by Ken in 2004 the car is as flashy and appealing today as it was when new.  The GT Package, white soft top, Pony interior ad to the visual appeal.  A quick glance at the Rally Pack Gauges confirms that the 298 Cu In V8 and automatic transmission are providing plenty of get up and go to make top down cursing delightfully carefree.  The white GT side body stripes, fog lights, chrome dual exhaust and rally wheels complete the alluring “sporty” look.

Without a doubt The Mustang was the most important car of its era.  Not only did it usher in a whole new class of automobile that was both sporty and practical, but more importantly it changed the way consumer products were created and sold. The idea of identifying a market and a set of consumer desires and then developing a new product specifically to fulfill those needs was a new concept. 

Mustang started as an idea in Lee Iacocca’s “black book”. He guessed that young buyers wanted something exciting and sporty to show that they were going somewhere; older buyers wanted something posh and luxurious to show that they had made it.    He felt that customers, even working-class buyers on tight budgets, were as concerned with what their cars said about them as they were with price or practicality.  When the T bird was discontinued the public missed the sporty little two-seater.  Many could only miss “the idea” of the car since most couldn’t afford one in terms of cost or practicality. At the same time imported sports cars high on image, sportiness and cost; like Jaguar, MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey were selling about 80,000 cars a year in the US. Iacocca was convinced that there was a market for a small, roomy, affordable sports car for the masses.  Still smarting from the Edsel fiasco Ford was not eager to undertake another risky project but consented to do market research to mainly disprove Iacocca’s idea. The research proved Iacocca’s gut hunch to be right and the project got a green light. Projected sales in the first year were for a modest 100,000 cars.

To cut down the cost and meet strict development timelines the Mustang was based heavily on components from the Ford parts-bin.  Much of the chassis, suspension, brakes, steering, engines, transmissions, dash and drive train were derived from the Ford Falcon and Ford Fairlane. There were durability problems with the unitized platform-type frame taken from the 1964 Falcon. This led to the engineering of an industry first “torque box” structural system that greatly stiffened the Mustang.  The improvement contributed to better handling and ride, especially in the convertible. 
Mustang’s body shell and sheet metal on the other hand were completely new. The long hood and short deck, shorter wheel base, wider track, lowered seating height and sleek lines gave it European sports car like styling.  The result was a stunningly beautiful car that looked more expensive than it was. 

Mustang production went into high gear in the Dearborn, Michigan assembly plant on March 9th, 1964. The car was previewed at the New York World's Fair on April 13, 1964 and on the heels of an unprecedented advertising campaign, Mustang sales began on April 14th, 1964.  22,000 cars, at about $2,400 a copy were sold on the first day. Sales forecasts projected less than 100,000 units for the first year but so strong was the demand the number was surpassed in the first four months. And the sales kept coming, 418,000 in the first year and the 1,000,000th Mustang came off the line two years later in March of 1966, a record that has yet to be equaled or surpassed. The 121,538 Mustangs built between 3/64 and 8/64 are considered 1965 Mustangs and titled as such although they are commonly referred to as ‘641/2 cars by most Mustang enthusiasts.

For many years it was thought that the inspiration for the “Mustang” name was the North American P-51 Mustang fighter of World War 2. However, according to Holly Clark, the Mustang name was actually suggested by her father, the late Ford designer Phil Clark, who also designed the distinctive pony emblem. Holly says both name and emblem were inspired by the wild horse, not the fighter plane.

Taking a “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”  approach for 1966 Ford made only moderate trim changes in the grill ornamentation with the removal of the side arms  and slightly revised body side trim.  Perhaps the biggest change was in the gas cap which had a new emblem. The choice of available interior colors and styles were increased to 34, adding to an already endless list of options. To further separate the Mustang from its Falcon roots, the gauge cluster was redone, and the 260 cid V8 was replaced with 2 and 4 barrel versions of the 289 cid V8.

Vintage good-condition Mustangs continue to be sought after as collector cars. They are among the easiest to restore and maintain, since a comprehensive array of reproduction and NOS (new old-stock) parts are readily available for almost every component. Just as it did in 1964, the Mustang still strikes a responsive chord in a broad spectrum of buyers.  Like never before or since the original Mustang combined sporty fun and practicality at an affordable price that appealed to everyone.

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