The Petersen Museum in Los Angeles is an excellent place to check out rare and otherwise fascinating vehicles, like the one millionth example of the Ford Thunderbird along with a selection of race cars built and driven by rally legend Ken Block. Recently, the Petersen Museum offered an in-depth look at one of its other Blue Oval models, the 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang.
While this Ford Mustang is referred to as a 1965 model year pony car by Ford itself, most collectors and historians default to the 1964 1/2 model year classification. The owner of this particular example chose it because they wanted to fly under the radar but still drive a powerful muscle car. They ordered the high-performance 289 ci model, which featured special modifications to its powertrain to make it that much more powerful than the rest of the lineup, churning out 271 horsepower, a lot for its size.
Under the hood, the engine looks quite similar to the 1965 model year version, but there’s one important distinction: it features a generator, not an alternator. Generators aren’t as efficient as alternators, which is why Ford swapped for the 1965 model. Its true model year is also given away by the “GEN” light on the dash.
Another standout feature for this 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang is its baby blue color – a “very ’60s color.” Officially called Powder Blue, the color was one of the more popular colors of the era. Beyond its color, this Mustang’s original buyer opted to make it look sporty on the inside while staying relatively unremarkable in terms of exterior styling.
They didn’t opt for the pinstriping or other accents; in fact, the only giveaway that this is more than a run-of-the-mill Ford Mustang is the “high-performance 289” badge affixed to the fender. Inside, though, it’s kitted out, featuring all of the top-of-the-line options that the original buyer could have chosen. And, 60 years later, it’s still one good-looking machine.
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Awesome example.