Featured Car for August 15, 2024
Owned by Gail Sharpe, Komoka, Ontario
Gail’s son Robert bought this beautiful classic car for her six years ago when he surprised her at the Turkey Fest in Strathroy. Gail was absolutely amazed when she saw the car AND it had a big sign with her name on it in the window – and now she is the coolest grandma! Gail said it was the greatest surprise of her life – and special thanks to the Hyde Park Lions – this was her first show.
Because the first-year Mustang was introduced in the spring instead of in the fall, as new cars had been for years, Mustangs built before September 1964 are commonly referred to by fans of the breed as 1964-1/2 Mustangs, with cars built after being 1965 Mustangs.
A total of 121,538 early ’65 (a.k.a.: “64-1/2”) Mustangs were produced between March and August of 1964, with an additional 437,913 built as “late 1965” models. In June of 1964, the “Hi-Po” 289 V8 was unveiled.
The 1964-1/2 Mustangs are therefore much rarer and also hold the distinction of being the first production run of one of the world’s most successful cars. The special features of the “early” Mustangs include the fact that only the hardtop and convertible models were available.