This 1965 Ford Mustang coupe was purchased new by the seller’s aunt in 1965 and has remained in her ownership for more than 60 years. Per the seller, it was ordered in 1964 and delayed by a Ford labor strike before being delivered in California, where it has remained registered since. The car was used as her daily driver for its first 11 years and has been stored in a garage for all but approximately four years since new. It retains a 289ci V8, C4 three-speed automatic transmission, and other original equipment, and was refurbished in 1992 with a repaint in its original Rangoon Red. Driven over 230k miles since new, this Mustang is now offered at no reserve by the seller on behalf of his family with the owner’s manual, handwritten maintenance logs, original California documentation, an original set of keys, a spare set of keys, black California license plates, and a California title.

From the seller:

The car is a very early 1965 Mustang, having been ordered in 1964 and delayed by a famous Ford labor strike. My aunt bought the car new and has owned it for almost 62 years. The car was sold as a “Plain Jane” model, with the 289 V8, an automatic transmission, the radio, and power steering. She has kept it garaged for all but about four years of that time, and used it as her daily driver for the first 11 years. The car, with its original black California license plates and “pink slip” title, has lived in the state its whole life and has been garaged for almost all of it. The owner has driven it regularly every two weeks throughout the Mustang’s life. After that, a growing family required more accommodation, and the Mustang went into semi-retirement, being driven faithfully every two weeks for errands such as grocery runs and pickups from kids’ sports. Included in the sale, I have three spiral notebooks listing, at first, every fill-up, every oil change, and every car wash. Later, it focuses on lube, oil, and filter jobs, as well as larger maintenance items like tires, shocks, and power steering repairs. It currently has 234,000 well-documented miles on the odometer. It was repainted in its original Rangoon Red in 1992, possibly following a windshield leak. The front carpet and seat covers and the trunk liner were replaced around the same time. The trunk also has its original spare tire cover and matching tool bag and matching duffel with an embroidered Mustang logo. A few years after the repaint, the car was vandalized after the owner ran for and lost a school board election, twice. Someone keyed the passenger door and scrawled “Looser” in the starboard B-pillar. A body shop tried to repair the damage by buffing and lightly repainting the area, but a large yet shallow swoop is still visible on the passenger door as well as a faint “L” and “o” and what looks like a “c” on the right B-pillar. The C-code 289 short block was replaced at 120,000 miles in 1975 with a like unit built in 1967. In the early 1990s, she had the stereo replaced with a contemporary unit, but has since had the dashboard restored to original condition with a period AM/cassette player, though that now no longer works. Despite being rebuilt twice, the power steering needs attention again. Inside, original luxuries like the glove-box light and footwell lamps work as they should, as does the heater and all original accessories besides the radio. Save for the small seam separation in the driver’s seat, a small crack at the top of the steering wheel, and some pitting in the chrome, the interior gives the overall presentation of a new car. My aunt still drives it faithfully on short trips every two weeks to keep things operating, so mileage may increase slightly before the sale.

The car is finished in Rangoon Red and has tinted glass. The body was repainted in its original color, reportedly in 1992. A later vandalism incident resulted in a swooping scratch on the right door and faint remnants of lettering on the right B-pillar after a body-shop repair. Photos of paint meter readings are provided in the gallery along with close-up images showing the exterior condition.

The 14″ steel wheels wear full covers and are mounted with 195/75 Bridgestone Insignia SE tires. The power-steering bellows is blown and has leaked fluid over the front end and requires repair, and a mechanic has recommended replacement of the front-end bushings and ball joints.

The front carpet was replaced and the front seats have been reupholstered, while the dashboard was returned to its original configuration after a modern stereo and rear 6×9″ speakers were installed in the 1990s and later removed. An inoperative period AM/cassette player is fitted, and the seller notes that the sound system does not work, although it is unknown if the issue originates from the stereo or the speakers. The driver’s window crank has a dead spot near the top of its travel, and a video demonstrating this is included below. The steering wheel has a small crack, the driver’s seat cushion has an approximately 4″ seam separation, and the chrome displays pitting. The seller notes two bubbles in the paint on the lower interior portion of the left-side door, with one hole present on the underside of the door. This area is shown at the end of the gallery along with a photo of the right-side door for comparison.

Instrumentation consists of a 120-mph speedometer flanked by fuel-level and water-temperature gauges. The five-digit odometer has rolled over twice and now shows just over 34k miles. The fuel gauge does not work.

The C-code 289ci V8 was factory rated at 200 horsepower. A replacement C-code 289 short-block dated January 1967 was installed in 1975 at approximately ~120k miles. Oil drips are reported at the rear main seal and the front corner of the left head gasket.

The seller reports that the rear axle has a small leak.