lamp lenses read “ALT.” Alternators keep the battery charging even at low engine speeds. By contrast, a generator’s more limited charging ability can lead to a dead battery after prolonged periods of idling with the lights, heater blower motor, radio, and windshield wipers operating simultaneously.
33 The nifty gas cap used on early 1965 Mustangs was a big hit with the scoundrels at Midnight Auto Supply. To prevent pilferage, a rugged braided steel tether cable was introduced as a no-cost running change.
Why did Ford add a tough braided steel retaining ring to Mustang’s sculpted gas cap? Fact No. 33 reveals the klepto-thwarting reason.
34 Standard front bucket seats were a core ingredient in bolstering Mustang’s sporty image. But knowing that a certain segment of the market would balk at the reduced passenger capacity, Ford offered an optional front bench seat on convertibles and coupes. Priced at $24.42, the bench featured an uninterrupted bottom cushion and a fold-down center armrest. Roughly 2 percent of customers went for the bench.
What’s different about this 1965 Mustang’s front seat? See Fact No. 34 or get benched!
35 The driver-side front bucket seat of early 1965 Mustangs mounted to a sliding track with 4½ inches of travel. Unfortunately, the passenger-side bucket seat simply bolted to the floor in a fixed “best average” location. Lanky rear seat passengers were relieved when Ford added the adjustable seat track to the shotgun seat for cars built after August 18, 1964.
36 When Mustang was introduced, a certain percentage of the population hadn’t yet been sold on the desirability of seat belts. These diehards (perhaps not the best choice of wording) were offered a seatbelt delete credit of $10.76. Although the lap-only belts of the day could cause spinal cord separation, the greater issue of vehicle ejection was reduced by their presence.
37 Early 1965 Mustangs used simple eyebolts and hinged clasps to anchor the seat belts to the floor. Similar to the Life Guard (the two-point, quick release seat belt option first seen in 1956 Ford), the anchors were designed for easy installation with a drill. Knowing that federally mandated seat belt laws were coming into play for 1966, Ford standardized the Mustang’s seat belt anchor points to accept stronger hex-head machine bolts. Safer three-point shoulder harnesses weren’t available until the 1968 model year.
38 Carroll Shelby knew buyers of his GT350 Mustangs needed better protection than the stock 2-inch-wide seatbelts could provide. Thus, each of the 561 fastbacks shipped from Ford’s San Jose plant to Shelby’s Venice modification center were ordered with the seatbelt delete credit. Shelby used the Mustang’s federally mandated anchor points to install 3-inch racing belts made by Ray Brown Automotive (RBA). Late in the 1966 GT350 production run (2,378 built), Shelby switched from RBA belts to similar 3-inch units made by Impact. Each supplier stitched specific manufacturer identification labels into the webbing. Impact metal attachment hooks are slightly longer than those provided by RBA.
39 Early 1965 Mustang hoods differ from later 1965 and 1966 stampings. They have a sharp flange near the headlamp edge that could cut skin if fingers groped for the latch release mechanism. Adding a small amount of metal to the pre-stamped hood skin so the area could be rolled under during manufacture eliminated this hazard.
40 The special scooped hood used on the 1965 and 1966 GT350 was a constant headache for Shelby’s conversion team. The earliest hoods were all fiberglass with an 8-inch-diameter circular air-inlet hole that trapped pebbles precariously close to the carburetor inlet area. Within months, the air passage hole was enlarged to match the footprint of the centrally located scoop to eliminate the debris trap. Both of these fiberglass hoods were prone to warping. So, a third hood design replaced the fiberglass underhood brace with a standard Mustang steel brace. Fiberglass mat and resin held the dissimilar materials together. These hoods cost Shelby a hefty $65 each.
This fiberglass-on-steel GT350 hood was one of several configurations Shelby used as he battled quality control problems. Fact No. 40 has the full scoop.
41 Another move intended to prevent warped hood skins was the elimination of the hood hinge lift-assist springs on the later 1965 and most 1966 GT350s. A simple metal prop rod held the hood open for service. Ironically, the “kinder, gentler” 1966 models were the largest recipients of this decidedly race-only touch.
42 The first Mustang’s compact and sporty automatic transmission floor shift unit enjoyed a production run that lasted well into the 1980s aboard such varied Blue Oval machinery as the Pinto, Fairmont, Granada, and Bronco. Although Ford shuffled the material and color, the same basic ratchet mechanism and button-release T-handle has become a common sight atop the transmission tunnel. Precise and efficient, early Ford Mustang Funny Car drivers even used the unit to control their C6 automatics at race speeds nearing 200 mph.
43 Ford took some lumps from magazine critics who noticed the poor fitment of Mustang’s grille and headlamp components. Exposed screw heads, misaligned panel intersections, and uneven gaps were the result of cost-cutting measures. Ford solved the issue by making the headlamp surround a simpler, one-piece item starting in 1967.
44 As a mass-produced car, Mustang factory paint jobs often contained some runs, surface grit, and other blemishes. Sure, quality control inspectors did their best to sidetrack glaring offenses, but it’s a fact that a trained eye could pick out a flaw within a minute of looking. To get an idea of the conditions in the Ford spray booths that churned out nearly 700,000 1965 ’Stangs, Google the Martha Reeves and the Vandellas’ “Nowhere to Run” music video. Watch (stunned) as the trio dances through an active spray booth. The stunning detail is that none of the workers wears any sort of breathing protection whatsoever.
45 Ford came very close to reviving the 1957–1959 retractable hardtop roof as a Mustang option for 1966. Styling studio archive photos depict a fully functional prototype built with company resources by Ford’s Ben Smith (the man behind the original Fairlane 500/Galaxie 500 Skyliner program). A disagreement between Smith and Ford terminated the project. Smith wanted the articulated steel roof panels and trunk cover to be manually operated while the Ford marketing team demanded a more elaborate electro-hydraulic lift apparatus. A total of 48,394 full-size Skyliners were built (20,766 in 1957, 14,713 in 1958, and 12,915 in 1959). The whereabouts of the 1966 Mustang retractable hardtop prototype are unknown, although it was quite probably crushed, as were most dead-end styling exercises of the day.
46 Had Ford green-lit the 1966 retractable hardtop roof program, Mustang would have been the only pony car offered with four body configurations (standard coupe, fastback 2+2, soft top convertible, and retractable steel hardtop convertible). By contrast, Mustang’s chief competitor, the 1967–1969 Camaro/Firebird was offered in only two body styles (hardtop and convertible). The 1967–1969 Plymouth Barracuda matched Mustang’s coupe-fastback-convertible menu; the 1967–1968 Mercury Cougar and 1968–1974 AMC Javelin/AMX were single body style propositions. The Cougar was capped with a single fixed hardtop roof (a convertible was added for 1969), while the AMC pony offering was fastback only from start to finish.
47 To accommodate the folded steel roof within its trunk compartment, the rear quarter panels of the Ben Smith/Ford 1966 Mustang retractable prototype were stretched 6 inches longer than stock. Even though the 108-inch wheelbase was unaltered, the lengthened tail compromised the Mustang’s long-hood/short-deck formula with mixed results. The rear-hinged clamshell trunk panel (similar to the configuration employed on the 1957–1959
