1964 1/2 Ford Mustang

  1964 1/2 Ford Mustang

  This sports-car was an idea from the young vice-president at Ford, Lee Iacocca.  He was asked to bring back something sporty and similar to the two-seater Thunderbird.  The only stipulation was that it must be a four-seater.  The 1964 ½ production Mustang followed two Mustang concept cars.  The Mustang I shown in 1962 was a mid-engine two-seater powered by a V4.  The Mustang II show car first displayed at the United States Grand Prix in Watkins Glen, N.Y., during October 1963, was a front-engine, four-seater.  The Mustang II concept car was received passionately and generated a lot of excitement.  This in turn led directly to the first Mustang taken into production less than a year later.

In order to keep production costs down, many of the Mustang's components were taken from the Falcon.  The front and rear suspension was almost pure Ford Falcon: an independent front suspension and a live axle mounted on leaf springs.  The brakes were drum-type.

The 1964½, as it was later called, was available in only two models: the coupe and convertible.  Both models featured a lengthy hood and shortened rear, chrome wrap around bumpers, chrome grille with a running horse, and full wheel covers.

The interior was sporty, with two seats in the front and a little back-seat.  It had a deep shaped steering-wheel and a dashboard with a horizontal speedometer which looked very similar to the Falcon sedan speedometer.