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  • 1965 - 1973 Classic Mustangs -General/Talk-
  • Classic Mustang Specific Tech

i think my car is a 64.5

  • Thread starter Thread starter DukeGnarley
  • Start date Start date Jun 23, 2004

DukeGnarley

Member
Apr 2, 2003
597
2
19
Auburn/Ellensburg, Wa
Jun 23, 2004
#1
  • Jun 23, 2004
  • #1
what are the differences between the 64.5 and 65 cars? I just got what was supposed to be a 65 and am now thinking that it's a 64.5 because the window cranks are clip ons and there are a few extra slits in the radiator support. I heard those are 64.5 items only, but i'm not sure if the source was accurate. Also, was there any problems witht he 64.5 cars that were fixed by 65?
 

golf4283

Active Member
May 30, 2003
1,253
1
39
Orland Park, Illinois
Jun 23, 2004
#2
  • Jun 23, 2004
  • #2
Technically they're all 65's
 
R

Ronstang

New Member
Apr 4, 2004
1,294
0
0
Houston Texas
Jun 23, 2004
#3
  • Jun 23, 2004
  • #3
All 65s to my knowledge had clip on window crank handles. Does it have a generator...or at least a GEN light in the instument cluster?
 
T

TT670

Founding Member
Jul 10, 2001
360
9
28
Jun 24, 2004
#4
  • Jun 24, 2004
  • #4
Early 65's did have clip ons the laters 65 and 66's had the set screw. After all these yrs your doors may have been changed. The BEST way to tell an early 65 from a late 65 is the 5th digit of the vin, if its a T,C or A than its a late 65 or 66, the 64.5's( technically just early 65's) then it will have a U, F or D. The K codes were the same both early and late.
 

SadbutTrue

Founding Member
May 1, 2002
2,390
4
49
Granada Hills, California
Jun 24, 2004
#5
  • Jun 24, 2004
  • #5
If it has a generator, and a 260 cid/170 cid motor, then you could call it a "64.5", but they were all 65s and the whole "64.5" thing is way overblown.
 

MrBobMarley

Founding Member
Oct 7, 2002
460
0
16
Ft Myers, FL
Jun 24, 2004
#6
  • Jun 24, 2004
  • #6
I think they have interior color matched door locks too, and the 65's had chrome ones. And the generator should give it away, but I'm a little rusty on the specs right now.
 
6

65Mustang2+2

New Member
Jun 5, 2004
118
0
0
Connecticut
Jun 24, 2004
#7
  • Jun 24, 2004
  • #7
The Best way to tell if it's 64 1/2 is the Rad support, If It has gills on the passenger side. I think theres three or four of them, right in front of the battery. 65 dont have them and theres about a billion other things to look for.
 

WORTH

20+ Year Stangneter
Nov 18, 2002
2,166
44
98
Cape Cod, Ma.
Jun 24, 2004
#8
  • Jun 24, 2004
  • #8
I have an early and a late, the late has 4 vertical oval slots in front of the battery, the early has those and 3 vertical louvers cut out.
 

BobV

20+ Year Stangneter
May 18, 2003
474
0
16
Leavenworth, KS
Jun 24, 2004
#9
  • Jun 24, 2004
  • #9
Actually, there's one sure-fire, 100%, no exceptions way to tell - that's via the plant code & unit # from the VIN.

The 2nd digit is the plant code - F=Dearborn, R=San Jose, T= Metuchen. The last 6 digits are the consecutive unit number.

For Dearborn cars, anything less than 250000 is a "64-1/2", anything 250000 or greater is a 65.
For San Jose cars, anything less than 125000 is a "64-1/2", anything 125000 or greater is a 65.
ALL Metuchen cars are 65's - No 64-1/2's!


This method is sure-fire. Vin's can't (legally) change. I've seen radiator supports change (commonly wrecked or rusted). People upgraded from generator to alternator. The engine code mentioned above is accurate - except K-codes were used for both groups... Then, you have all the running changes - center-off heater, lock knobs, carpet, door cranks, spare tire holddown, etc. My 65 is a November San Jose car, and has many of the items commonly considered "64-1/2", but it's NOT!

The vin method listed above is 100% accurate, since Ford "skipped" about 20,000 numbers at each plant when they changed over.
 
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