1965 Ford Mustang Race Car
Consignment # 39-1111
VIN: 5R09A169059
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The first production Mustang rolled off the assembly line in Dearborn, Michigan on March 9, 1964, and was introduced to the public at the New York World’s Fair on April 17, 1964, then via all three American television networks on April 19 and in a final big splash, made an appearance in the James Bond film Goldfinger in September of 1964. The multi-faceted marketing thrust combined with popular appeal for such a car resulted one of the most successful product launches in automotive history. As a result, the Mustang sold over one million units in its first 18 months on the market. By its creation, it created a new "pony car" class of cars by adapting the "long hood, short deck" look of sports cars to compact sedans.
First conceived by Ford product manager Donald N. Frey and championed by Ford Division general manager Lee Iacocca, the Mustang prototype was a two–seat, mid–engine roadster. This would later be remodeled as a four–seat car penned by David Ashe and John Oros in Ford’s Lincoln-Mercury Division design studios, which produced the winning design in an intramural design contest called by Iacocca. To cut down the development cost and achieve a suggested retail price of $2,368, the Mustang was based heavily on familiar, yet simple components. Much of the chassis, suspension, and drivetrain components were derived from the Ford Falcon and Fairlane. The car had a unitized platform–type frame, which was taken from the 1964 Falcon, and welded box–section side rails, including welded crossmembers. Although hardtop Mustangs were the majority of the sales, durability problems with the new frame led to the unusual step of engineering the (necessarily less rigid) convertible first, which featured the industry’s first "torque box" structural system. Overall length of the Mustang and Falcon was identical, although the Mustang’s wheelbase was slightly shorter.
Defining it more as a sporting car compared to its sister Falcon, the Mustang featured not only a lower seating position but also lower overall height. Shipping weight, about 2,570 pounds with the Falcon’s 170 cubic inch inline–six–cylinder engine putting out 101 horsepower with the three–speed manual transmission, was also similar. The GT model could be equipped with the optional $443 "Hi–Performance" (HP) 289ci V8 rated at 271 hp and weighed about 3,000 pounds with its "mandatory optional" four–speed. Despite its runaway success, some automotive experts could muster only qualified enthusiasm for the Mustang as most of the mechanical parts were taken directly from the Falcon, but the new car ushered in an era of automotive personalization that was key to its success and the numerous options contributed to the gross profits for Ford Motor Company. Competition variants would follow, with the gamut running from the fleet of Indianapolis 500 Pace Cars to Carroll Shelby’s GT-350R models with a host of privateer modified cars in between.
Raced for the last 8 years, the exceptional race-prepared 1965 Mustang featured here was prepared and maintained throughout its competition life by Dave Dralle Engineering at the famed Willow Springs racetrack in California. Built and improved throughout to full vintage racing standards inside and out, it is currently a known and sanctioned car with VARA, HMSA, General Racing, and HSR West. During its competition life, the car has run not only at its home course of Willow Springs but also farther afield, including Thunderhill, Laguna Seca, Buttonwillow Raceway Park, Phoenix International, California Speedway and Las Vegas, receiving 4 top placements as-prepared with an enthusiast amateur driver. Should you wonder about this car’s applicability to SVRA or other sanctioning bodies throughout the United States, rest assured that its current logbook will allow it to compete anywhere classic muscle comes to let loose; from Watkins Glen to Portland International and every track in-between, this exceptionally well-prepared first-generation Mustang fastback from the golden era of the pony car will not disappoint.
