Mustang!  What a furor it caused in 1964 when it came out.  Everybody wanted one.  The coupe and convertible were first, followed by the fastback, or 2+2, which had a small folding rear seat.  My Air Force buddy, Craig, showed up with a red 2+2 one day, and I knew I had to have one.  Both of ours had the solid lifter 271 hp "High Performance" (HiPo) 289 engine, which carried only a 3 month or 4,000 mile warranty on the powertrain!  The only problem this caused was continual collapsing of clutch linkage - you knew you had a failure when the clutch pedal stayed on the floor!  Over time I strengthened the fulcrum in the bell housing by welding in a gusset, and welded reinforcements on the bellcrank.  These fixes cured the problem.  Never mind, it was a stout motor in a light car.  I put a Shelby high rise intake, four tube headers, and a light flywheel in, and turned 13.79 at the local drag strip.  This Mustang had the new disc brake option, without power assist and would stop very well.  This Mustang was really quick up to about 100 mph, beyond that the 69 Corvette would out accelerate it.  Just so there is no confusion, this Mustang was a sporty car, not a Sports Car!  The MSRP sticker below provides the details of the options on the car, and the price, $3,728.35!  I sold it when I had the opportunity to buy a Corvette and never looked back - except for now.

This is how it came from the showroom less the horse in the grill


The tape was on when I bought it


And I turned the white stripe on the Firestone 500 tires to the inside


Later I removed the ugly rocker panel molding, filled the holes and painted the repair,.
It came out looking very good, not at all noticable


The Mighty HiPo solid lifter 289 with 271 HP mill would rev to 7,000 RPM!

The dealer removed the console for me, I added oil press. gauge and flasher unit

With the seat folded, the way I liked it

The Monroney - notice the limited power train warranty, notice the $1100 of options


This little 35¢ book has a wealth of information
This little book explains everything about the entire line of Ford V8 engines produced in the early 60s.  Detail differences between the normal 289 and the HiPo 271hp engines are explained and shown in photos.



This is Craig's, the Mustang that inspired me to buy mine
 

Links
HiPo Mustang site

1965 Mustang Brochure
 

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