How do I know its a 64.5 Mustang and not a 65?

Howdy.

Looking at buying a Mustang that is advertised to be a 64 1/2 but I think it might be a 65. Any way to tell from the VIN alone? Was there a specific VIN consecutive number that marked the switch over?

Or do I do i need to see all of the warranty plate codes to know for sure?

Thanks in advance,

You might see if any of these links will help: http://home.earthlink.net/~dgpl/ford.htm http://www.vintage-mustang.com/ (see especially http://www.vintage-mustang.com/trivia.html and http://www.vintage-mustang.com/topics/faq/64-65diff.html)

Here's a way cool site if your computer and data link are up to a lot of tricky Web stuff: http://www.fordheritage.com/mustang/index.html It claims that (a) Ford never used that term

Strange that they would say Ford never called them that. I was a hormone riddled teenager in 1965 and can still vividly remember drooling over the TV commercials where they were called 64 1/2 Mustangs.

I used to take a magazine called Mustang Monthly 20 years ago. If memory serves, they gave several clues to help indentify a 64 1/2. The wiring harness did not use multi-connector plugs. Each wire had a separate plug. Near the endof the run, some of the harnesses were mixed. I think they said the brake light was the last to change over. The windshield wiper posts are threaded and have one of those strange looking slotted nuts on it. On the 65's, a screw runs through the valance to hold the wiper shaft in place. The front brake cylinders are the same size as the 64 Falcon brake cylinders. They are smaller than the 65 cylinders. I found this out the hard way because I restored a 64 1/2 in 1981. By the way, the parts catalogs at the local parts store did not list that fact.

Assuming the driver's side door is original and intact, the warranty plate has a date code (build date). According to the decode book I have, the 2 digits are the day of the month and the letters indicate month as follows.

C March, 1964 D April E May F June G July

Mustang Monthly gave a date in July, 1964 that was supposed to be that last date a 64 1/2 was assembled, but I don't recall what it was. The 17th seems to ring a bell, but I could be wrong.

Hope this helps.

I used to work in a Ford dealership parts department. One other thing to look for is the first two alphanumeric symbols on the VIN number. Ford used a letter for the 10's and then a number So, a 64 would be a 'C4xx' C=1960's, D= 1970's, then the digit for the year 0 through 9.

Mark

the hood on the 64 1/2 and 65 were different one the outer edges were crimped and the other were left open, which one i forget

I have always heard that the 64-1/2s had a generator, and the 65s had an alternator. But, I am hardly an expert on Mustangs.