Early-Mustang.com (Germany)
Mustang Monthly's 64½ vs. 65 Articles
64½ vs. 65 Mustang Differences
By Jason Zimberoff
Compiled from lists by Klaus Schaefer, Mark Dorner, Christopher Duffyand the book Mustang & Ford Small Block V8 by Bob Mannel (Go Buy It!)
Special thanks also go out to Charles Turner, and Steve Grant.
Please See the DISCLAIMER Below
Exhaust & Transmission
Date codes used in this list are as Ford used in 1964 and 1965:
Jan. 1965 = A
Feb. 1965 = B
Mar. 1964 = C Mar. 1965 = Q
Apr. 1964 = D Apr. 1965 = R
May 1964 = E May 1965 = S
Jun. 1964 = F Jun. 1965 = T
Jul. 1964 = G Jul. 1965 = U
Aug. 1964 = H Aug. 1965 = V
Sep. 1964 = J
Oct. 1964 = K
Nov. 1964 = L
Dec. 1964 = M
First Mustang had build date of 05C (March 5, 1964)
(Note: Build date was not always exact. Some cars were
built 2 or 3 weeks after the original scheduled build date.)
DISCLAIMER
Q: What are the differences between 64.5 and 65 Mustangs?
A: This is an attempt to create an exhaustive list of the differences.
Please contact zim@svs.com if you have any additions, corrections, or comments.
Note: many changes came before the cut off date for 64.5 production (Sometime in early August, 1964.) and many came well into the regular 65 production.
Ford did have a shutdown period for retooling of the Mustang lines in early August, 1964. This is when the switch from generators to alternators was made. When they started back up, the VIN numbers were rounded up to 5FXXX250001 at Dearborn, and 5RXXX125001 at San Jose. To those of us in the hobby, this is the point when the 64.5's ended and the 65's started.
For the purposes of this list, the early version of a difference will be called "64.5" and the later version will be called "65". This does not mean the the items were only found on pre-shutdown or post-shutdown cars. There was a lot of overlap before and after the shutdown.
We will try to note when the change occurred if it is known...
There is also a growing community of people who like to study the earliest Mustangs, including the prototypes and the very beginning of the production cars. There have also been some differences found that are unique only to these cars. As this info becomes available, we will also try to add it.