CarBrandLogos archive · Ford Mustang · 1964

Ford MustangMustang (first generation)

Falcon underpinnings, a long bonnet, and an options list that let you build anything.

Photo: Kroelleboelle · CC BY-SA 3.0

The story

A defining chapter in Ford Mustang history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Ford Mustang Mustang (first generation), then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

The original Mustang was built out of parts Ford already owned. Gale Halderman's design won an internal competition, and it was wrapped around the compact Falcon's floorpan, front suspension and engine range — a decision that kept development cost and showroom price low enough for the young buyers Lee Iacocca was targeting. The proportions it established, with a long bonnet and a short rear deck, defined the shape of every pony car that followed.

1966 Ford Mustang T-5 tag · CZmarlin — Christopher Ziemnowicz, releases all rights but a photo credit would be appreciated if this image is used anywhere other than Wikipedia. Please leave a note at Wikipedia here. Thank you! · CC BY-SA 3.0

Design and engineering

What made it work commercially was the options list. A base 1965 car with a straight-six and a three-speed manual was cheap transport with sporting looks; the same body could be ordered with V8s, a four-speed, a limited-slip differential, disc brakes and handling packages. Three body styles were offered from the start or shortly after: hardtop, convertible and, from later in 1964, the fastback that most people picture.

1965 Ford Mustang 2D Hardtop Heck · Kroelleboelle · CC BY-SA 3.0

1966 red Ford Mustang convertible front side

In production

The performance versions arrived quickly and are the reason the generation is collected. Carroll Shelby's GT350 turned the fastback into a homologated club racer that won its class in SCCA competition, and the GT500 that followed traded sharpness for a very large engine. Ford's own Boss 302 was built to legalise the car for Trans-Am racing, where the Mustang fought Camaros and Javelins in the most watched American series of the period, and the Boss 429 existed purely to homologate an engine for NASCAR. The Mach 1 packaged the look with a range of V8s for buyers who wanted the appearance without the compromise.

1966 red Ford Mustang convertible front side · BrokenSphere · CC BY-SA 3.0

Legacy

The car grew steadily. The 1967 revision widened it to fit big-block engines, and by 1971 it was substantially longer, heavier and wider than the 1964 original — a response to competition that lost the lightness the concept had depended on. Insurance costs and emissions regulations then removed the engines that justified the bulk. Production ran from March 1964 to June 1973 across plants in Dearborn, San Jose and Edison, with assembly in Australia and elsewhere, and the generation remains among the most heavily restored, modified and reproduced cars in the world. The downsized Mustang II replaced it, which is where the argument about what a Mustang is supposed to be really began.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Designer

Gale Halderman

Body

2-door hardtop

Technical specification

The Mustang (first generation), in detail.

Production: March 1964 – June 1973
Class: Pony car ; Muscle car
Body style: 2-door hardtop ; 2-door fastback ; 2-door convertible
Layout: Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Designer: Gale Halderman
Assembly: United States: Dearborn, Michigan (Ford River Rouge Complex); Milpitas, California (San Jose Assembly Plant); Edison, New Jersey (Edison Assembly) ; Australia: Homebush West, New South Wales; Homebush (List of Ford facto
Manufacturer: Ford