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Original Radio or Modern Upgrade?

What to Check Before Installing a Replacement Head Unit in a Classic Mustang

A classic Mustang radio is not just a source of music. Sitting in the center of the dashboard, its chrome faceplate, dual knobs, and pushbuttons are as much a part of the interior’s identity as the steering wheel or the gauge cluster. That is exactly what makes replacing it such a loaded decision. Swap it out carelessly and you are not just changing how the car sounds. You may be changing how it looks, how its wiring behaves, and how easily a future owner, or a future you, could ever put things back the way they were.

At the same time, an original AM or mono radio was never built with Bluetooth, phone audio, or navigation instructions in mind. For owners who use their Mustangs regularly, that gap between period charm and everyday usability is real. A long highway run deserves music you actually want to hear, and a factory radio from the 1960s was never designed with modern connectivity in mind.

The good news is that the choice is not limited to keeping everything original or ripping it all out. Several routes add modern functionality while preserving very different amounts of the car. Choosing before buying protects the dashboard, wiring, speaker locations, and the possibility of reversing the work later. Working through the options saves both money and regret.

Start with the car, not the radio

Start with the radio opening. Is the original metal intact, or has a previous owner widened it for an aftermarket unit? Are the original shaft holes still present, and is a replacement faceplate hiding earlier cutting? An opening that looks respectable from the front can tell a different story once the trim comes off. Returning an enlarged early Mustang opening to original dimensions may require welding, finishing, and repainting.

Next, identify what is installed: the car’s original radio, a period-correct replacement, a later aftermarket unit, or something non-functional nobody ever got around to sorting out. An original radio belongs to that car; a period-correct unit may be the right type and age without being the one it left the factory with. Check whether the harness is intact or has been spliced and taped, and note any centre-dash, kick-panel, door, rear-deck, or concealed speakers.

Finally, decide what kind of Mustang this is. A concours restoration, a sympathetic driver, and a restomod call for different compromises. Permanent changes do not automatically reduce value, but they can matter to future owners and make a return to the original layout more difficult and expensive.

Knowing where your car and your priorities sit on that spectrum makes every decision that follows much easier.

Option 1: Keep or restore the original radio

Keeping or restoring the original radio preserves the factory dashboard more completely than any replacement: no opening to adapt, no substitute faceplate to make convincing, and no question about whether the knobs and lighting look right. For an originality-focused build, that may matter more than any feature list.

The trade-offs are real. Many original units are AM-only, with mono output, limited power, and aging components that may need specialist attention. Reception can be inconsistent, and Bluetooth, phone audio, USB, or an auxiliary input require modifying or supplementing the system.

None of that makes the choice wrong. A classic car does not have to double as a modern entertainment system, and some owners are perfectly happy with a radio that mostly looks correct and occasionally crackles out an AM station on a summer drive.

If that describes you, there is nothing to apologize for.

Option 2: Modern internals inside an original or period-correct radio

An internal conversion keeps the original or period-correct case, faceplate, and knobs while replacing or supplementing the electronics inside. Depending on the specialist, it may add Bluetooth, an auxiliary input, USB, FM reception, modern amplification, phone audio, or hidden switching through an existing control.

From the outside, the radio still looks right and the dashboard opening can remain untouched. The compromises are internal. The unit is no longer fully original, quality depends heavily on the specialist, and future repairs may require knowledge of that particular conversion. Owners who want to preserve the car’s original radio can convert a suitable period-correct donor and store the original untouched. The factory controls may also make pairing and source selection less intuitive, while a stronger amplifier can expose the limitations of a tired speaker.

Previously covered a period-looking radio using a modern audio circuit and a 3.5 mm input, later paired with a hidden Bluetooth receiver.

Option 3: A retro-style modern replacement radio

A retro-style Mustang radio takes a different approach: rather than modifying an original unit, it replaces it with a purpose-built modern head unit designed to resemble the classic twin-shaft look while running current electronics underneath. Depending on the product, features can include AM/FM, Bluetooth, USB, an auxiliary input, hands-free calling, preamp outputs, and support for modern speakers, though exactly which features are included varies significantly, so the specifications for the specific model matter more than assuming they all behave the same way.

Done well, this route offers a genuinely appealing balance: designed to fit the original-style opening, it tends to be far less visually intrusive than a conventional touchscreen head unit, while still delivering the connectivity a modern radio in a classic car is expected to have. Installed without cutting original metal or wiring, it can also be fairly reversible.

That said, it is not genuinely original, and a digital display, modern lettering, unusual buttons, or the wrong style of lighting can still look out of place against an otherwise untouched dashboard. Build and sound quality vary, and some units need separate Bluetooth modules, microphones, amplifiers, or other accessories to provide every advertised function. A claim that the radio “fits a classic Mustang” may refer only to the front mounting arrangement. Connector position, case depth, heater components, ducting, brackets, and existing wiring can still create problems behind the dash. Treat any fit claim as a starting point for measurement, not permission to order first and investigate later.

Option 4: Hide the modern system and leave the dashboard alone

A hidden audio system places modern equipment out of sight while leaving the visible radio and dashboard untouched. This can take several forms: a small hidden Bluetooth amplifier tucked behind the dash, a headless receiver with no display or physical controls of its own operated through a phone or small remote, a concealed auxiliary or USB input, or a separate modern audio unit hidden in the glove box, console, or trunk. In every version, the original radio can stay exactly where it is, either still functioning or simply serving as a correct-looking display piece.

The appeal is straightforward: the dashboard can remain visually untouched, the system may be reversible, and there is more freedom to choose amplification and speakers than an internal conversion usually provides. The word “may” matters. A hidden amplifier screwed through an original panel and connected through cut factory wiring is no longer a no-modification solution simply because nobody can see it.

The limitations mostly come down to control, wiring, and access. A system operated entirely through a phone or small remote is not always as immediate as a physical knob, so volume and basic controls should be positioned where they can be used without handling a phone on the road. Pairing behaviour, charging, start-up, and source selection all need to be considered before the installation is finished.

Service access matters too. A beautifully concealed component loses some of its charm when half the interior has to come out to reach a fuse or reset button. Hidden systems benefit from labelled connections, a clear wiring plan, and a mounting location that is discreet without becoming inaccessible.

Option 5: Install a fully modern visible head unit

For some cars, a fully modern, visibly modern head unit is simply the right tool for the job rather than a compromise to feel apologetic about. It makes the most sense when the dashboard has already been modified, the car is being built as a restomod, or originality is not a major priority and the owner wants a touchscreen, built-in navigation, camera integration, advanced phone controls, or direct access to a wider range of audio settings and sources.

The disadvantages are most obvious in an otherwise period-correct early Mustang. A modern screen and control layout can clash with the dashboard, and some installations require irreversible cutting of the original opening. If original metal is removed, returning to an original-style radio later may involve welding, finishing, and repainting rather than simply buying the correct faceplate. Larger screens can obstruct nearby controls or look disproportionate beside the original gauges, while amplifiers, multiple speakers, USB charging, and other accessories may place additional demands on the wiring, grounding, and charging system.

None of this means a modern radio always damages the dashboard. Plenty of installations rely on adapters, custom consoles, or dashboards already modified before the current owner got involved, and in those cases a fully modern unit can be a perfectly sensible, low-drama choice.

What to check before buying or installing any replacement radio

Once you have an idea of which direction fits your car, a handful of practical checks apply no matter which option you are leaning toward.

Dashboard opening and dimensions

Confirm the shaft spacing or other mounting arrangement, faceplate dimensions, available depth, and any rear support. Check clearance around heater controls, ducts, brackets, wiring, and accessories behind the dash. Find out whether cutting or drilling is required and whether the correct adapter, faceplate, and support bracket are available. A unit that lines up at the front may still have nowhere sensible to go at the back. A product photograph or vague “fits classic Mustang” claim is no substitute for measurements from the car itself.

Electrical system and wiring

Confirm the voltage and polarity for the exact car, then inspect the existing wiring rather than trusting decades-old insulation. The unit needs correct grounding, a properly fused supply, and correctly identified switched and constant power where required. Also consider charging-system capacity and whether an adapter harness can avoid cutting original wires.

There is no universal wiring diagram for every classic Mustang and every previous repair. If the wiring is altered, overheated, damaged, or poorly documented, use a qualified auto electrician rather than guessing. Previously documented original wiring that was far worse than it first appeared, a useful reminder that old wiring is not necessarily safe simply because it still works.

The radio is part of the car’s electrical system, not a self-contained box, and any installation plan should treat it that way. My previous owner had wrapped tin foil around the fuse, which can be seen in the image above, that unsafe practice set fire under the dash. causing a total loss of dash wire loom and the headlight loom under the hood.

Speakers and realistic sound expectations

Upgrading the head unit while ignoring the speakers is one of the most common ways to end up disappointed with a new install.

 A better head unit cannot compensate for unsuitable speakers. A car still relying on one center-dash speaker will have limited stereo separation, and an aging speaker may not suit a modern unit’s output. Impedance and power handling must match the radio or amplifier, while a compatible dual-voice-coil center speaker can sometimes retain a single visible speaker location.

Kick-panel, door, rear-deck, under-seat, and concealed speakers each trade sound against appearance and reversibility. Any new cut-out is effectively permanent, so think before reaching for a hole saw. What worked in another Mustang is not automatically right for yours.

And it is worth admitting, with a small smile, that in a V8 Mustang the engine and exhaust may still win the volume contest no matter how good the new system sounds.

Antenna and radio reception

Check the antenna connection, cable, adapter requirements, and grounding before blaming poor reception on the radio. The original plug may not connect directly to a modern unit, while corrosion, a damaged cable, electrical interference, or a weak ground can produce much the same symptoms. I have previously covered this Fitting Semi Automatic Aerial

Total cost

The price tag on the radio is only the opening bid. Depending on the option chosen, the full project may also involve speakers, wiring, adapters, a specialist conversion, an amplifier, an antenna adapter, antenna, installation labour, dashboard repair, replacement trim, and the inevitable troubleshooting that comes with any older car. Budgeting for the radio alone, then discovering the rest of the system afterward, is one of the more common ways an upgrade ends up costing more than naively expected.

Be careful when buying a used modern head unit

A used OEM head unit, meaning a radio originally produced by the vehicle manufacturer rather than an aftermarket product, whether sourced from a donor car or a salvage yard, can be a tempting shortcut, but it carries its own risks. It may be incompatible with your specific car despite looking similar, arrive missing wiring or accessories, require programming before it works at all, or come with an unknown service history that makes troubleshooting harder later.

Some later OEM radios use an anti-theft code after losing power. This does not apply to original 1960s Mustang radios, and not every donor or aftermarket unit is code-protected. Before installing a used OEM unit, confirm whether it is security locked and make sure its serial number is available. For supported radios, FindRadioCode.com is an online service that can look up the required unlock code using the unit’s serial number, which can save a real headache if you end up with a locked radio and no paperwork from the original car.

Which option suits which type of Mustang owner?

With the main routes and practical checks in mind, it helps to think about which direction actually fits your car and your priorities, rather than which option sounds most impressive.

An originality-focused restoration, particularly one aimed at judged shows, tends to favor retaining or professionally restoring the original radio, since nothing else preserves the correct dashboard appearance as completely. An owner who wants modern convenience without ever looking at a modern radio is usually best served by an internal conversion or a hidden audio system, both of which keep the visible dashboard essentially untouched.

A classic that gets driven often, where usability matters as much as looks, may benefit most from a direct-fit retro-style radio that offers real functionality without demanding a fully modern appearance. A restomod, or a car whose dashboard has already been altered, is often a natural fit for a fully modern system, since much of the originality argument no longer applies. And a car with genuinely damaged wiring or an already-cut dashboard deserves to be assessed as a complete project, with the electrical and bodywork addressed as part of the same plan rather than choosing a radio first and discovering the real scope of the job afterward.

None of this should be read as a rigid rule book. Your own priorities, the actual condition of your car, and how much you value reversible versus permanent work should guide the final decision more than any general framework.

The best replacement head unit for a classic Mustang is not necessarily the one with the longest feature list. It is the one that delivers the convenience you actually want without creating dashboard damage, wiring problems, or visual changes you will regret once the excitement of the new gadget wears off.

Before buying anything, take the time to inspect the dashboard and wiring honestly, decide how much originality genuinely matters to you, and lean toward reversible work wherever the option exists. Plan the wiring and speakers as part of the same project rather than an afterthought, and if you remove any original parts along the way, keep them somewhere safe. Radios get swapped, upgraded, and swapped again over a car’s life, but original parts, once discarded, rarely come back.

Whatever you end up installing, it is worth remembering that in a V8 Mustang, the most authentic sound system in the car was never really the one in the dashboard at all.

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Trial & Error

For a few years I have been doing some tweaks here and there on the car, one of those bigger projects was the LED bulbs all round. At the back of the car the rear licence plate bulb was the biggest pain to source one that would fit in the original factory housing. I tried many variations some were close others not so. The left pic below is the now dedicated draw now allocated for bulbs, the right pic shows the original bulb (copper bottom) in the middle, with the other trial and errors bulbs around it. Some were too long, too wide or the bulb glass (plastic) to bulbous to fit under the lamp holders glass cover itself. Then there was front focussed light, 360o light shine, light pattern, colour temperature, brightness, bottom housing fitting, wattage etc etc. Some bulbs what I thought would look good were in fact quite poor lighting options when plugged into my dummy rig to see what they would look like before I took the holder off the rear bumper and started making a mod to the wiring loom.

I spent many an hour making mods to a couple of the bulbs that had potential with the Dremel in a vain attempt to make them fit. A slight slip of the Dremel grinder ruined a promising bulb that was just a bit to wide, luckily those bulbs came in pairs.

The before and after of the grinding was fine, there was no cover for these LEDs themselves which shouldn’t be to much of a problem as the bulb sits behind a opaque glass bowl if you like. To make the bulb fit under the glass properly it would need more work on one side of the bulb fitting, in doing so it would be getting dangerously close to the LEDs themselves. Before I got carried away I quickly put it back together with the glass cover sort of half in place held by a bit of clear tape to see what it would look like at night, it wasn’t good. There was so much white light I could expect a pull over from the local plod in their donut cars as you’re not supposed to show white to the rear in the UK. This bulb was on another level and would be more like towing a WWII search light behind me.

That bulb was discarded and the original put back in for now. After many, many searches and I eventually found a match same size bulb and voltage. Best of all it was a comparable wattage to the original bulb, I placed the order which was shipped from China (of course) to the UK.

The new bulb was still quite bright, but I figured it should be OK.

This LED bulb thing is all a little bit of a moot point as I tend not to drive at night anyway. However, if I needed to, then the LED bulbs are a significant improvement for safety. The reason I mention all this now is because of a recent trip trip to Mustang Maniac where I watched as they were making a custom fit LED board for a customer’s car. They had to make bulbs from bulbs and then set the brightness. I wasn’t aware that it could be done to that degree and spent some time with Mark to see how I could make their ideas work for me.

I purchased a box of various resistors taking on board the advice I was given. This box is complete overkill of 350 pcs, I only wanted one or maybe two variations of a resistor. The complete box was the cost only a large coffee so I couldn’t complain.

There’s a lot to understand about resistors; basically wattage and resistance describe two different, but connected processes a resistor performs in a circuit. First is Ohms (Ω) tell you how much the resistor limits electrical current, a higher Ohm value means more resistance and less current flow. Second is Wattage (W) tells you how much power the resistor can safely dissipate as heat without burning out. So the Ohms value sets the electrical behaviour, while the Watt rating sets the physical durability. A resistor with the right resistance but too low a Wattage may overheat, whereas a resistor with the correct Wattage but wrong resistance will change how the circuit works. You can also fit a resistor either direction as they aren’t polarised. If you need a specific Ohm rating you can add one after the other to achieve the correct rating.

As the licence plate bulb only has a single live feed, the earth is handled via the bodywork. The live feed just needs an inline resistor so the LED’s bulb brightness is reduced as a result.

In the trunk the live is taken from the rear drive lights feed via a T-junction split and a connector. The wire then passes behind the rear bumper to the lamp holder out of direct line of sight. This will be a quick task to make up an insert male and female fitting at each end to connect it back up again. If I don’t want to use the resistor, I can just remove the inserted resistor and reconnect the original wire back to the normal live feed voltage.

When I rewired the car I didn’t use all the options of the American Autowire kit, that left me with various amounts wires of different colours and a number of connectors to go with them. A short clip from one of the coils of wire I used was the same gauge as the live feed about to be modified.

The short wire was cut in half and each end of the wire was tinned with the soldering iron. My American Autowire crimps were pulled out of retirement and used to secure the male spade connector and protected with heat shrink.

The resistor I chose was a 330 Ohms which should roughly half the output. In order to make the resistor lay flat inline; wrap the wire leg of the resistor around a small jewellers screwdriver the same size as the gauge of wire to be used forming a tight coil. I didn’t realise the picture was out of focus (sorry), but you get the idea. Trim the coil flush to make sure no sharp parts are sticking up and potentially cause a short.

Thread the new wire into the coil and add some flux, fresh solder on the iron and tap it onto the join you just created. Before the last female spade connector is added slide over the shrink wrap and then repeat the process and solder the other end of the resistor. Add a spade protector on the female spade connector and crimp. Once completed and fully heat shrunk, I checked the resistance with a multi-meter to make sure connections were solid and working.

To create the inline project that I wanted, the live feed wire needed to be modified to add the additional spade fitting rather than a direct solder of the resistor, my fail safe if you like. This additional could then be re-joined in seconds to the main loom if needed, or connect another resistor inline back to the main rear end wire harness. I remade the duel spade (T-junction) split along with the new single connection needed for the lamp holder.

With the new inline resistor in place it only added a couple of extra inches so the extra length could easily be hidden back behind the filler cap support. Here the fittings are in place to recreate the original look before I added the resistor.

With everything in place the garage door was closed and turned the lights off. I turned the car’s lights on and I could see that everything was working fine. Once the door was open again I could finish the job by wrapping the wire loom up with some cloth OEM look wire loom tape, but not on the resistor section as that may need to dissipate heat, not that it gets that hot anyway. The resistor section is insulated by the heat shrink and the rubber spade fitting covers.

Until I can get a good view in the dark and out in the open I wont be able to see if the light output is adequate or still too much. The results so seem to be what I’m after and not far away from the original bulb output, all be it a cleaner light.

With that in mind while the soldering iron was still hot and the resistors were out, I repeated the process for another inline with a resistance of 220 Ohms which will allow a little brighter light than the installed 330 Ohms. It will only take seconds to swap out which is the beauty of this idea. If the result still isn’t what I’m after, I can just knock up some more variations until I’m happy. There is no after picture of the rear loom as it’s all hidden away again, and nothing to see.

The only visible difference is the cool white light instead of the dull orange glow of the original incandescent bulb. The change to the lighting type of the cool white light picks out the silver lettering from the black background of the licence plate better for more effect.

Before & after comparison of the resistance hack:

A short and sweet little project from something that was in the back of my mind that needed addressing at some point. It’s funny how a chance conversation can lead to these little projects, all sorted for now.

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Why You Should Drive Your Classic Car

There is often a myth that keeping a car covered up with a dedicated fitted breathable cover in the garage will look exactly as it did when you get it out as when you put it away. Visually that may be true, apart from dust and visible debris on the dust cover. But what about the rest of the car? Providing the environment is ideal, like humidity, temperature, sunlight and wind all should be as it was and prevention is the better path than rectification. My dehumidifier which is always on, is set to the optimum range of 55% to 60%. In addition to that I have a dedicated radiator controlled by a thermostat valve in the garage which is set at a minimum low temp to keep damp and cold away in the winter. Some call it excessive or a waste of money, but it will help protect the car. It took me while to convince the wife, but she did see the point, in the end. The garage walls are insulated along with the roller door witch has a good rubber seal to the floor to stop drafts. Even insulating the concreate with dedicated garage floor tiles on the standing area can make a big difference to that prevent cold and damp rising up from the floor causing unseen damage under your car.

Humidity and temperature swings are two of the most underestimated threats to a classic car. Even when a vehicle is stored indoors like a garage or workshop, the air around it is constantly expanding, contracting, and carrying moisture. That moisture could settle on cold metal surfaces, creating condensation, the perfect starting point for rust. Brake lines, fuel tanks, exhaust systems, and even internal engine components can begin to corrode long before you see any visible signs. High humidity will accelerate the deterioration of rubber components, causing hoses, belts, and seals to soften, swell, or crack. Over time, this could lead to leaks, poor running from split vacuum hoses, or brake servos not working correctly, failures that seem to appear out of nowhere. The longer a car sits in these type of environments the more exposure to problems. Carburettors and fuel systems suffer as moisture mixes with old petrol, forming varnish and sludge clogging jets and making cold starts a nightmare. Electrical connectors oxidise, creating intermittent faults that are notoriously difficult to trace. Even interior components aren’t safe — dashboards can crack from heat and direct sunlight, vinyl can warp or split and adhesives can fail when exposed to repeated hot‑cold cycles. If there is no air movement in the car then you are inviting mould and damp to cause havoc. I always leave my windows a little open to allow the air to move. My dehumidifier not only keeps the humidity where it should be, but it also circulates the air and gives of a certain amount of heat from the motor, so my garages never gets cold as such. The main point is to avoid the extremes in your storage location what ever that may be. At weekends I open the garage door to either potter around or clean the cars, this will give a change of air and keep things fresh.

Classic cars have a charm that modern vehicles simply can’t replicate, the raw driving feel, the analogue simplicity, the unmistakable character ageless looks and even the smell. But beneath that nostalgia lies a truth that every classic owner eventually learns: these machines need attention. Not just the occasional polish or Sunday run, but real, regular mechanical care. Ignoring the mechanical side of a classic car is one of the quickest ways to turn a cherished vehicle into a costly headache. Just because you don’t use it, doesn’t mean things don’t go wrong. For reasons explained above being just some of them.

Even if a classic looks immaculate on the inside and out, its mechanical components could still decades old. Rubber hardens and cracks, seals dry out, and metal corrodes quietly out of sight. A very dear friend of mine, who has a one of the very first 64 1/2 Mustangs once said to me “Even with all this prevention in the garage, I can hear my car rusting in the house”. These problems are especially true with some modern and cheaper after market parts. A brake hose that looks fine at a glance can balloon under pressure and fail without warning sending you straight to the scene of an accident. Fuel lines can become brittle and leak, turning a simple start‑up into a fire risk. Gearbox seals could leak meaning no drive leaving you stranded. Suspension bushes degrade slowly, transforming a once‑tight ride into something vague and unpredictable. These aren’t dramatic failures, they’re the natural result of time, temperature changes, and materials that were never designed to last half a century.

It’s easy to assume that a classic car kept tucked away in a garage is safe from harm, tyres can develop flat spots, batteries sulphate and lose capacity, and clutches can seize to flywheels, brakes can get stuck to drums or discs. Even exhaust systems rust from the inside out as condensation collects and never burns off, the rubber hangers can perish and the next bump or pothole could dislodge the hanger and your exhaust is ripped from the car in the best case, in the worse case it cause huge damage under the car. The phrase “it ran perfectly when I parked it” is often the start of a long list of repairs.

After all those horror points above, the good news is that most of these issues are preventable with regular checks and a bit of mechanical sympathy. Running the car up to temperature, exercising the brakes, and keeping fluids fresh all go a long way. Replacing ageing rubber components, before they fail is far cheaper than dealing with the damage they can cause. Above all, driving the car — even just a short, gentle run — keeps everything moving, lubricated, and healthy.

Classic cars reward the owners who look after them. A little attention now keeps the big problems at bay, preserves the car’s value (which was the main winning point to the wife for the radiator), and ensures it’s always ready for that next drive making you smile and not grimace.

Why do I mention this again? Because a scenario happened to me. I always inspect my car, when cleaning it, especially before a new car show season and take my car down to Mustang Maniac for a full on once over and MOT. I a nice day was forecast during the week and the car was taken for the first drive this year. On the first drive out, it’s always careful and steady to make sure all is well before I start the sixty mile journey to Mustang Maniac. Over the winter I always run my fuel very low so it doesn’t go off or hold moisture. To get to the Mustang Maniac yard I would need a fill up at Shell V-Power which cost me £85 to fill up. Have I mentioned that our robbing government applies 53% ‘fuel duty’ onto every litre of fuel and then add another 20% VAT (Value Added Tax) onto that initial cost after the fuel duty as well, that’s tax on a tax!

The drive down was fine, a little clunk now and again on some parts of the road, every so often a little vague on the steering. A I pulled into the yard the car was lifted straight up into the air for the underside pre MOT checks.

The car was now filthy underneath on arrival, Adam and Mark checked things over as I freaked out trying to clean around where they weren’t checking. Mark did make a comment, not that I can repeat his comment on a family blog, but it was along the lines of; please can you get out the way 😂 He was right though, I was getting in the way, dirt was upsetting my OCD and I had to clean the white bits and the more difficult bits to get to when the car is on the floor. A large bag of new car cleaning white towels were taken with me just for this purpose along with some degreaser and detailing products.

Meanwhile inspections moved from the back to the front of the car where Adam found some play in the lower control arm ball joint on the passenger side. It was a very short discussion to replace it. Adam returned a couple of minutes later with a new boxed one. Since being restored eleven years ago now, the car has only done 7,000 miles since then. Why this particular ball joint failed we don’t know, it has always greased and there was no reason for it to have failed, but it had. This goes a long way to prove a point that I made at the beginning, you can’t take it for granted that if it looks new and not used, the car is actually road worthy!

The lower arm separated easily and wasn’t too much of a job, this part doesn’t need a geometry reset as it can only go back in one place. The offending arm unceremoniously hanging in the wind here as the cross member had to be partially loosened to get the main bolt out.

While everything was being bolted back into place at the front, I started to work on the rear brakes. The drums came off where the shoes and drums were checked over for any unusual wear or damage. Things still looked great after a little brake cleaner and a compressed air blow through.

The rear shoes were backed off, the drums and wheels put back on. The car was be lowered to the ground onto it’s own weight so that all the wheels could be torqued up correctly before being lifted back up in the air to adjust the rear brakes properly.

After everything was adjusted I took the car for a little road test and back to the yard as the guys wanted to know all was good before they let me take a longer drive. Adam called the MOT guys to say I was on the way, a little later than expect due to the suspension fix. The MOT centre was a quick drive some fifteen miles away. I arrived and was directed straight into the garage where I handed the keys over to the MOT guys to do their thing.

The car passed the test with flying colours and I’m all set for another year of safe motoring. The car needs a proper good ol’ clean now and a service of oil and checking of fluids once again. After the MOT I called back into Mustang Maniac as I have to basically drive past it. Adam gave me an old box to put my failed control arm in as I wanted to take it apart when I get a moment which was today.

I cleaned the arm up noting there was plenty of grease about which you can see and around the top of the ball joint. The rubber was in perfect condition and not perished.

I cut the rubber off the ball joint which was still substantial and needed a few cuts all the way round to get it off.

I cleaned all the grease away to expose the top of the ball joint, nothing out of the ordinary struck me, apart from the fact it was extremely notchy and stiff.

The grease nipple was removed and I checked the grease depth with a thin screwdriver which was full of grease and fresh grease at that.

I tried to take a couple of photos to show inside where the grease can just about be seen.

I turned back to the rubber and spotted one small point, a section inside the gator was dry, no grease there at all, but there was full grease elsewhere. Very odd, you can see the dry part where I just happened to make the vertical and slanted cuts.

Reverting back to the control arm I had another up close inspection, There top of the ball joint was scared marked with the arrows on the stud at the base (left side of the pic below). To the right there are a couple of arrows that are pointing to a sharp lip which looks to have broken.

The tolerances on that side of the collar (below left) are bigger than the tolerances on the opposite side (below right).

All I can think is that perhaps I have jammed my car down a pot hole, which I don’t remember as I always drive around them. Or I have caused damage driving over a crappy field or two to park up for a show, that I do remember, frequently. I did squirt some Gibbs Brand Lubricant into the grease nipple hole and around the top of the ball joint. Letting Gibbs penetrate for a while I could start working it around which did eventually free up and was movable by hand again, but it did still feel very grindy.

The only thing I can think of is that a piece has lodge somewhere and cause a seizure that I can’t see causing the wear and the eventual failure. The movement was notchy and what felt does feel like a score mark somewhere. But I can’t really see any thing glaringly wrong with the part in the first place.

Tips for greasing the control arms.

Locate the grease fittings on the control arms, bushings and ball joints. Wipe each fitting clean before attaching the grease gun; forcing grease through a dirty fitting can push grit into the joint. Pump slowly until you see the old, dirty grease begin to purge out of the boot. That’s your signal that the cavity is full and fresh lubricant has displaced the old material. While you’re under there, look for cracked rubber boots, torn bushings, or joints that won’t take grease at all, those are signs the component may be worn or damaged.

Never over‑pressurise the joint; if you keep pumping after the boot is full, you can rupture the rubber and shorten the life of the part. Never use the wrong grease for suspension components which typically need a high‑quality chassis grease, not general‑purpose or lithium‑complex greases meant for other systems. Never grease a joint that’s clearly damaged in hopes of “quieting it down” as lubrication won’t fix a worn ball joint or bushing. It goes without saying that driving on a failing suspension component can be dangerous, potentially lethal.

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Taking you back to the beginning of this post, older cars like to be driven. If these classic cars and not just American muscle, any classic car is standing for a length of time especially outside, don’t take it for granted everything is fine next time you get back in it. Always give the car a full check over before a new season starts, typically when many classic cars come out to play, or when you get the car out from any sort of storage. The annual oil change is an ideal time to climb around under the car, check the rubber bushing and grease everything. Check for oil leaks, or fluid leaks. Always check the brake fluid, transmission and radiator fluids, washer bottles etc. Take mechanical care to maintain your car and not just for the looks of it. Even with all that said, I still had a failure for no logical reason at all, as all initial inspections looked fine. Would driving my car help in this control arm failure instance? I very much doubt it, but something failed and a serious mechanical part at that. What I mentioned at he beginning is still very relevant and you really should pay attention to it and make it a best practice every year. After all that?

Bring on the first car show!

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Spotless Washing?

It’s known that I’m a bit of car cleaning weekend warrior. Not just my Mustang at car shows, but my daily drivers too. There is a problem with wet washing which drives me mad, hard water. In my area of the country the water is notoriously bad. I will explain this in a bit more detail as I have been looking into various water filtration options, so this post and an article all in one. Hope its not to long.

​What Exactly Is ‘Hard Water’?

​In simple terms, hard water is the stuff that comes out of your mains water supply with a high mineral content. While rain water is naturally soft, as it percolates through the ground into our reservoirs and aquifers, it picks up bits of calcium, magnesium, and sometimes even chalk or limestone. By the time it travels through the pipes, get treated at water plants and add chlorine to that as well, it then travels down miles of pipes and reaches your household taps and your garden hose, it’s a mineral cocktail.

​While some minerals might be fine for you, they are the absolute nemesis for a clean car. When you spray that tap water onto your paintwork and let it dry, the H2O (water) evaporates back into the air, but the minerals stay left behind. They can bond to the surface, creating those stubborn unsightly “water spots” or “limescale” marks that we all dread as car detailers, or even the weekend warriors who just want a shiny car. This is a reason why car detailers carry their own water around to make their life easier and avoid those water marks. Sometimes these marks looks like a small octopus has climbed over your car, the rings look exactly like that, but whitish. ​Most people think water spots are just an aesthetic nuisance, a bit of white dust that can be wiped away. ​The real danger lies in what happens when those minerals from the mains water are left to bake in the sun. Calcium and magnesium (also bird mess) are alkaline. When they sit on your clear coat (or your single-stage paint if you’re still running an original classic paint), they begin a process called etching. It’s like a tiny, slow-motion chemical burn taking place. The minerals actually eat into the surface of the paint. If you run your finger over a bad water spot, you might feel a slight indentation. That’s not dirt sitting on the paint; that’s the paint itself being damaged. Once it reaches that stage, no amount of washing or polishing will fix it.

​Damage Control: Removing Water Spots Without Killing Your Wax

​If you’ve found your pride and joy covered in these white rings, you need to be careful before diving into removal. Most people reach for household remedies, but if you’ve spent all Saturday applying a high-quality carnauba wax or a high-tech sealant, the wrong “fix” will strip that protection off in seconds.

​1. The Chemical Route – The Professional Way

​Before you start rubbing the paint, try a dedicated Water Spot Remover. Products like CarPro Spotless, Gtechniq W9, Chemical Guys Heavy Duty Water Spot Remover Gyeon Q2M water spot remover etc. are all specifically formulated with mild acids that break down the bond between the mineral and the paint while being as gentle as possible on the underlying surface.

​2. The Vinegar Dilemma

​A 50/50 mix of white vinegar and distilled water is the classic “old school” fix. The acetic acid in the vinegar is great at dissolving calcium.

​The Catch: Vinegar is an acid. While it’s great for the spots, it is brutal on car wax. If you use vinegar to clean your spots, you are effectively stripping away your wax protection. It leaves the paint naked as such and vulnerable to the next lot of hard water or UV rays. If you do use this method, you really should re-wax the area immediately.

​The “No-Go” List: Chemicals That Destroy the protection of your wax and sealants while fighting hard water, avoid these like the plague:

​All-Purpose Cleaners (APC) & Degreasers: Many people use these to “boost” their wash. Don’t. High-alkaline cleaners are designed to break down oils and waxes. They will leave your sealant patchy and ineffective.

​Dish Soap (e.g., Fairy Liquid or Dawn Ultra etc.): These are an ultimate sin, yes they clean, but often have elements of salt as a stabilizer. We know what salt can do cars – rust! Dish soap is designed to strip grease from pans, it will strip every bit of wax off your car, leaving the paint dry and prone to more severe water etching. Addition of salt that could be left behind, you are making things worse.

​Bleach-Based Cleaners: Never let anything containing bleach near your car. It will dry out your rubber trim and chemically attack the clear coat.

​Aggressive Household Limescale Removers: Products meant for your bathroom tiles are far too acidic. They won’t just remove the water spots; they can stain the paint and permanently dull the finish.

​Alcohol-Heavy Sprays: While Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) is great for prep, using it as a “quick fix” for water spots, it will also instantly dissolve any wax or polymer sealant you have on the car. Good for starting from scratch if you want to rewax your car to remove old tired layers of wax or sealants.

Abrasive Pads: Dish scouring pads or bathroom cleaning pads, you know the sort with the sponge and a layer of plastic nylon to get seriously aggressive with stubborn cleaning jobs. They will destroy your paint and can even lead to having a respray, DON’T do it. Polishing pads used by professionals are virtually always foam, sometimes lambs wool for deep cutting or heavy paint correction. I don’t need to mention steel wool pads either do I? That is obviously, down to bare metal stuff.

All of this now leads into what I’ve just bought to save me time and effort to remove water spots; ‘Prevention is better than correction’. I have been looking into the ‘Spotless’ washing systems. This is treatment of the water that you put on your cars which will stop the water spots appearing in the first place. My purchased was a Spotless water system by ‘SpotBye’ and I’ve used it to create a review. I have created that page here, or click the link below for the complete setup guide, and a review of the results. Spoiler alert, it’s a game changer!

https://onemanandhismustang.com/spotbye-water-deioniser-system/

​If like me you’re stuck with hard water from the tap, you have to change your strategy. You can’t really just drench the whole car and then dry it at the end, well you could, but it won’t be a great finish. This is especially true on my black cars that shows the world and his mate for any marks what so ever. Try working smarter, not harder with a couple of tips from me:

​The Sectional Wash: Work on one panel at a time. Wash the roof, rinse it with the hose, and dry it immediately. This prevents the tap water from sitting long enough to evaporate and leave minerals behind. Move onto the hood, then the fenders and doors etc. Work your way down the car, the dirtiest part of the car is always lower down.

​The “Sheet” rinse: Take the nozzle off the hose. Let a steady, gentle stream of tap water flow over the panels. This “sheeting” effect leaves much less water on the car than a high-pressure spray which will leave droplets on the surface of the paint.

​Drying Aids: (A useful process I often use). While the car is wet, spray a product like Chemical Guys After Wash, Gyeon Q2M WetCoat, Meguiar’s Hybrid Ceramic Wax, Dat Wax Hydrophobic Protective Sealant or a quick detailer etc. These products lubricate the surface and help neutralise the minerals, making them much easier to wipe away before they can bond or dry out on your paint.

​Use a good quality microfibre cloth: A plush “twisted loop” drying towel is essential like Chemical Guys Woolly Mammoth or Slim’s Drying Towel. These towels are designed to pull the moisture and the minerals from the surface of the paint in a single pass rather than dragging them across the surface.

My new setup:

​There are multiple ways to soften the water, that will save you time and effort in the long run. There are canister style, an inline tube, wall mounted, dual filters all the way up to the professional pumped options.

Before I show you the setup and use, this is NOT a sponsored post, the product was purchased with my own hard earned money. I have been trying to talk myself into this for a couple of years now. As I now have two black daily driver cars, this turned out to be a quick discussion and I didn’t put up much of an argument with myself after struggling to keep the cars presentable. I did my research and I bought ‘SpotBye’ canister system. Depending on your needs this may not be for you, but from what I have seen, its a great purchase.

These next few steps shows a quick setup guide for the equipment. The FULL setup details and downloadable manuals are in the link here or the link above.

SpotBye is a basically De-ionising Resin vessel. It’s a cylinder that connects inline with your hose. They remove 100% of the minerals.

The setup was quite simple, although the instructions are dire to be honest. After unpacking you need to add a resin into the canister carefully so the resin doesn’t get into the centre tube. The centre tube which passes the treated water out the canister is removable. Open the vacuum packet resin packet (5ltr) and carefully fill the canister, this is the media that filters the water. SpotBye does supply a rubber cap to prevent the resin going into the tube.

Screw the cap on and attach the standard size fittings for your hose.

The supplied water testing tool shows just how bad our water is. The classification level for hard water is anything over 120 ppm (parts per million). From my tap drinking water tap it was 309ppm!!

Attach the garden hose (yellow) to the ‘In’ and another shorter hose to the ‘Out’ fitting (green) for the water spray attachment you want to use. Allow the water to run a couple of minutes to flush the hoses through and get the resin working. The reading after a couple of minutes was astounding, 20ppm in this picture, but even went down to 18ppm. However, it’s noted that the filtration should be 0ppm according to SpotBye. But, an improvement of 96% was good enough for me. The green hose was all I have left which is sometimes use for syphoning a water feature. A new one is on order as I write this up.

I deliberately left my car to get dirty (such is the sacrifice I make for these reviews)! It was bad as there has been some ‘Sahara’ sand which was mixed in with the UK’s famous rain which leaves this nasty mess which looks even worse on my black cars.

Close-up view of a black car hood with visible dust and dirt, reflecting the sky.
A close-up view of a dirty, wet surface reflecting the sky, with droplets of water and specks of dirt.

Washing the car was a breeze, even on a warm day in direct sunlight and on a hot car, all of which are big no-no’s by the way for cleaning a car. There was copious amounts of suds from the car shampoo which lasted a long time on the car, something I haven’t had before, to this degree anyway.

With the car cleaned it was rinsed of and again deliberately not dried to see what happens if the dreaded water spots showed up. There was some light sheeting marks which dried of wit h a drying towel without any effort.

The pic below left of the door mirror shows what I mean, the rinsing ran of the car instead of sitting on the panel on the right pic.

The image here is dotted to show where I half dried the door in the sun.

Close-up of a black car door showing water droplets and a reflection, with a red dashed line marked along the surface.

Once dried there was no water marks even in this extreme scenario of hot weather, hot panels and in direct sunlight. From the image below in the shadow on the left there is no water marks. The white bits you can see is in fact the paint pearl effect glinting in the sun, you can also see the pink, green, blue, red and yellows of the pearl paint. The phone was having trouble to trying to focus but settled on the reflection of the fence.

Close-up view of a shiny car door reflecting sunlight and the surrounding environment, with some dirt and smudges visible on the surface.

With the car dried the car was literally ‘spotless’ as this type of washing technique is referred to. I was also interested to see what it would be like after a quick detailing. Why? Just because I could. The results were even better than when I picked the car up from the showroom.

Close-up view of a black SUV parked on a gravel driveway, showcasing its shiny exterior and black rims.
A black SUV parked on a gravel surface, showcasing its side profile, tinted windows, and a sleek design.

Here are some close ups of the paint with no water marks, the bottom right is the reflection of the house taken on the hood looking forwards, which is why it looks upside down!

To get a great finish the paint needs to be smooth to give a uniform reflection of light. Having no contaminates on the surface goes a long way to help with the desired reflective gloss. All of this comes at a cost though, to keep the water pure as it can be the resin which decontaminates the water needs to be replaced, around £35 for 5ltr which is what my canister holds. The harder the water the quicker the resin will need to be replaced. The recommended output is 520gallons at 200ppm. The fact that the car wash literally took half the time and was so much easier that cost is worth it to me.

​At the end of the day we spend a lot of money on fancy shampoos and waxes to keep our cars looking their best. It seems a bit mad to ruin all that hard work by drenching the car in liquid limestone from the garden hose.

I hope that gives a little insight to the finer points of detailing. Yes its over kill for some, but saving time back for myself and saving physical effort in order to get that good result is worth the small amount of money per car wash. I even save on not having to by products to correct a problem. Buying a few bottles of products to overcome these problems would outweigh the cost of the system I just bought.

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Flat Pack Mustang

Since I can remember I have a little ritual at the end of the year when i take a few days of from work. I like to make something, no matter how small or big to focus on something completely different. Last year was no different with a little prezzie left on my PC’s keyboard. Thinking it was a voucher of some sort I opened it up to find something unusual, a flat pack of two laser cut sheets of metal to make up a 3D 1965 Mustang.

Packaging for a Metal Earth 1965 Ford Mustang steel model kit, featuring a silver model of the car with details about assembly and age recommendations.
Packaging for a Metal Earth model kit featuring a 1965 Ford Mustang, including images, instructions for assembly, and promotional content.

The kit was no bigger than an A6 sheet and looked interesting. I had never heard of ‘Metal Earth’ before, but after a quick bit of research they make quite a few different kits, something for everybody.

I have completed a full walkthrough and build here, of cut and past this link to your browser: https://onemanandhismustang.com/metal-earth-1965-ford-mustang-model-kit/

My wife was out for the day so I had some peace and quiet to build my model. I put some music on in the background and settled down for a few hours. I won’t repeat everything that is on the walkthrough page, but just some of the highlights and a couple of low lights I encountered during the build. The photos have some random colour tinges to them, but the model is a shiny polished steel, except where some detailing has been added for effects. The kit recommends some tweezers, needle nosed pliers and wire cutters where I fetched in from the garage some of my Snap On tools. The tweezers needed to be top quality in order to create the bends and folds for the models to join together via the tab and slot process.

The instructions were just diagrams which suits me as I’m a visual/kinaesthetic learner. The parts needed to be clipped away from the sheet, this is where the accurate and clean cutting by my wire cutters was invaluable. Pay close attention to the which are the mounting lugs on the sheet and which is the actual tabs for the fitting of the model. You are shown what to bend and where (the red bits on the diagrams), in order to make the parts fit together.

The hood, roof trunk and sides all needed to be linked together for the main shape, the sides added to hold the upper body all together. The tabs slot into openings and need to be bent over to hold the pieces together.

Some of these parts are insanely small which are then built up to create the 3D image. The two images below are the rear lights

With the upper body complete it was onto the chassis, this is where things got a little frustrating, during the bending process which I was very careful of doing, the fold lines snapped while trying to create the wheel arches. The left image shows the broken away section.

You could superglue the parts together but that would need to be a very accurate positioning. Instead I used a ultraviolet setting glue. I didn’t fully set the part together, just enough to hold the position but moveable. You apply the glue, then shine the ultra violet light which sets the glue hard. Only a partial exposure would be a soft set. When I was sure of the position i completed the full light exposure to give a strong bond.

The interior, seats, centre console, gear stick and steering wheel were added to the floor pan to complete. Again a seat back broke as I was bending it up into position, the other one was fine. Lower left image shows the broken seat.

The Wheels and axles was cleaver, two disk to make the front and back with a band to make the tread.

Fitting the rear axle to the floor pan another breakage that need some gluing, lower left image. The top image is complete repair.

The two halves were ready to be joined. At this point I had a good idea where the bends were supposed to be so I could finish the setting of the glue points.

Fitting together was satisfying as the model took shape, Some fettling to bend and align the parts was needed but nothing much. At this point nothing really aligned correctly, I sorted that out a bit later.

The back of the car need the bumper over riders which were only 1mm when folded.

The Front of the car needed the most amount of fettling to get things to fit, the stone guard, bumper and grill all needed to be aligned and was the trickiest part of the build keeping partially completed parts together while trying to fit to the upper body and floor pan.

Once everything was technically attached and in place, I was using the tweezers to hold the part and the other to make the bends to align up correctly..

The finished article was satisfactory.

A detailed metal model of a vintage Ford car positioned on a textured blue surface.

The model isn’t the prettiest I have seen, but by nature of the kit it isn’t bad and certainly something different to make. It took about six hours to complete, including the regluing and taking pictures for the guide. The glued parts was on the inside and can’t be seen from the outside, which is good. The overall size is quite small at: 9 x 2.5 x 3.2 cm.

For the cost of £10 it was a fun way to spend some time and forget your troubles for a few hours. Not the greatest of modelling experiences I have had, but a challenge to create from a flat pack to 3D. I’m just glad it wasn’t an Ikea full sized model!

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There Is A Difference

I have collected many books and reviewed most of them on my blogsite here. The latest addition to my book collection I stumbled on by accident and decided that I needed to check it out. The book is based on a highly debated topic; was there a 1964 1/2 or just the 1965 model of Mustang. This book goes into great detail about the the 1964 1/2, 1965 and the 1966 model Mustangs. If you thought there was no 1964 1/2 model, then this book will explain why there was in fact a first 1964 model year. The first Mustang was launched to the public 17th April 1964 at the World Trade Fair in New York, the car had to be developed and built for that launch date early 1964. The first Mustang rolling off the Dearborn plant’s production line on 9th March 1964. Along with the book below I also managed to bag myself a rare Ford issue workshop labour time book for the Ford production lines. This ‘Labor Schedule’ also proves there was a different process for some aspects of the 1964 cars compared to the 1965 and 1966, the ‘first gen’ Mustangs as they are often referred to. Each of the model years has its own time allocation. If the 1964 and the 1965 were the same then there would only be two years listed, and why would Ford go to the effort of listing three years. In fact there were also subtle differences between the 1965 and the 1966 models as well, such as the grill, dash layout, rear quarter furniture etc. But we won’t be delving into those differences here.

19641/2 Cars

  • March 9th 19664: Production begins at Dearborn, Michigan
  • July 13th 1964: Production begins at San Jose, California
  • July 31st 1964: Last documented build dater for 1964 1/2 cars at Dearborn and San Jose
  • Production totalled 121,538 units of which coupes 92,705 and Convertibles 28,833

1965 Cars

  • August 1st 1964: Production begins at Dearborn & San Jose
  • February 1st 1965: Production begins at Metuchen, New Jersey
  • July 31th 1965: Last documented build date for 1965 cars at Dearborn
  • August 13th 1965: Last documented build date for 1965 cars at Metuchen
  • August 20th 1965: Last documented build date for 1965 cars at San Jose
  • Production totalled 559,541 units of which coupes 409,260 Fastbacks 77,079 Convertibles 73,112

1966 Cars

  • August 16th 1965: Production begins at Dearborn and San Jose
  • August 25th 1965: Production begins at Metuchen
  • July 27th 1966: Last documented build date for 1966 cars at Metuchen
  • July 29th 1966: Last documented build date for 1966 cars at Dearborn
  • Production totalled 607,568 units of which coupes 499,751 Fastbacks 35,698 and convertibles 72,119

Although Ford never officially marketed a “1964½ Mustang.” The term was enthusiast-created to distinguish early builds. By 1965, Ford had standardized the lineup, but the nickname stuck, becoming part of Mustang lore and collector culture. Many owners don’t care, but a lot do. It’s just like owning a first edition book or a second edition.

The first book which has lots of well researched details and pictures in this excellent publication by Colin Date is called “Collector’s Originality Guide Mustang 1964 /12 to 1966“, a bit of a long title, but it explains exactly what this book is all about. This is obviously a very small niche market and will only appeal to die hard fans of the Mustang or those interested in the history and birth of the ‘Pony’ car.

Do you know where the term ‘Pony Car’ come from? After a couple of searches I found these interesting explanations.

‘The term originated in the USA in the mid-1960s which refers to a class of American automobiles that are characterized by their sporty appearance, affordable price, and the availability of a range of powertrain options. The term was popularized just after the launch of the Ford Mustang which reflects not only the mustang horse, which symbolizes speed and agility, but also emphasizes a focus on youthful energy and ‘spirited driving’.’

‘The general idea was to create a compact, affordable, and stylish platform that appealed to younger drivers. The Mustang’s success led to the emergence of similar cars, including the Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger, and Pontiac Firebird, all competing in the pony car segment.’

Onto the first book by Colin Date;

Cover of 'Collector's Originality Guide Mustang 1964 1/2-1966' by Colin Date, featuring a classic Mustang with a scenic background and smaller images showcasing the interior and engine.

The book is now sadly out of print and the first edition hardback version being even harder to find. Some resellers are listing these books for stupid amounts of money to make a quick buck, (check out the screen shot below). You really do need to shop around and you can still pick one up at a reasonable cost from eBay., I got mine for just under £30 including Shipping. Mine has a little discolouration to the cover, but the inner pages are all excellent along with the binding.

Book cover of 'Collector's Originality Guide Mustang 1964 1/2 to 1966' by Colin Date featuring a classic Mustang car.

The book lists many differences from rust protection to hub caps, from dash to fuel tanks, far to many to list here or I may just as well rewrite the book on my blogsite.

Here’s a quick list of 20 differences between the 1964½ and 1965 Ford Mustangs in no particular order;

  1. Production timeline
    The 1964½ Mustangs were built between March and August 1964, while the 1965s began after August. Ford officially classified all as 1965 models, but enthusiasts coined “1964½” to distinguish early cars. This timeline difference explains why certain mechanical and styling updates only appear in later ’65 builds.
  2. Charging system
    1964½ Mustangs used a generator for electrical power, while 1965 models switched to a more efficient alternator. This change improved reliability and reduced maintenance issues, marking one of the most obvious mechanical differences between the two versions. Collectors often check this detail to confirm authenticity.
  3. Horn placement
    On 1964½ cars, horns were mounted on the frame behind the radiator, while 1965 models relocated them to the engine bay apron. This subtle change simplified assembly and improved accessibility for servicing, making it a useful identification marker for restorers.
  4. Hood design
    Early 1964½ Mustangs had uncrimped hoods with beveled headlamp bezels, while 1965 models featured improved crimped hoods. The change enhanced durability and reduced vibration issues, reflecting Ford’s quick response to early production feedback.
  5. Radiator support
    The 1964½ radiator support included battery cooling vents, which were eliminated in 1965. This modification streamlined production and reduced unnecessary complexity, as overheating issues proved minimal in later testing.
  6. Engine options
    1964½ Mustangs offered unique engines like the 260 V8 and 289 “Hi-Po” V8, while the 1965 lineup standardized around the 200 six-cylinder and 289 V8 variants. This rationalization simplified choices and aligned with Ford’s broader performance strategy.
  7. Fastback availability
    No fastback body style existed in 1964½. The fastback debuted in 1965, expanding Mustang’s appeal to performance enthusiasts and cementing its image as a sporty pony car.
  8. Wheel size
    Standard wheels on 1964½ Mustangs were 13 inches, while 1965 models upgraded to 14-inch wheels. The larger wheels improved handling and ride comfort, reflecting Ford’s effort to refine driving dynamics.
  9. Interior door locks
    1964½ cars had round door lock knobs, while 1965 models switched to tapered knobs. Though minor, this change improved ergonomics and became a quick visual cue for identifying early cars.
  10. Seat belt anchors
    1964½ Mustangs lacked reinforced seat belt anchors, while 1965 models included them to meet evolving safety standards. This reflected Ford’s adaptation to regulatory pressures and consumer expectations.
  11. Fuel pump
    The 1964½ used a longer fuel pump with a vacuum line for wipers, while 1965 models adopted a shorter pump with a separate wiper motor. This improved reliability and simplified maintenance.
  12. Headlight buckets
    Early cars had beveled headlight buckets, while 1965 models featured smoother, standardized buckets. This change improved assembly consistency and reduced manufacturing costs.
  13. Starter motor
    1964½ Mustangs used a smaller starter motor, while 1965 models upgraded to a larger, more durable unit. The change addressed early reliability issues and improved cold-start performance.
  14. Carburetor linkage
    The 1964½ featured a unique carburetor linkage setup, later revised in 1965 for smoother throttle response. This refinement reflected Ford’s commitment to improving drivability.
  15. Hood release
    1964½ cars had a different hood release mechanism, which was redesigned in 1965 for easier operation. This small but practical change improved user experience.
  16. Brake light switch
    The 1964½ used a hydraulic brake light switch, while 1965 models switched to a mechanical switch. The mechanical design proved more reliable and less prone to failure.
  17. Windshield wipers
    1964½ Mustangs powered wipers via the fuel pump vacuum line, while 1965 models used a dedicated electric motor. This upgrade improved performance, especially in wet conditions.
  18. Exhaust system
    Early cars had a unique exhaust routing, revised in 1965 for better clearance and reduced noise. This change reflected Ford’s quick response to customer feedback.
  19. Heater blower motor
    The 1964½ Mustangs used a four‑wire heater blower motor, while the 1965 models switched to a two‑wire design. This change simplified the electrical system, reduced potential failure points, and made servicing easier. Collectors often use this wiring difference as a reliable way to distinguish early cars from later ones.
  20. Paint Colours
    There were different paint options for 1964; Guardsman Blue, Skylight Blue, Cascade Green, Phoenician Yellow, Twilight Turquoise, Pagoda Green, Chantilly Beige and Pace Car White and for 1965 were Springtime Yellow, Champagne Beige, Silver Blue, Honey Gold, Tropical Turquoise, and Ivy Green.

I also have another link to the differences in a slightly different quick reference format here.

A webpage displaying a comparison of the 1964 1/2 and 1965 Ford Mustangs, highlighting various differences and features, with a red Mustang prominently featured in the center.

Although I mentioned that Ford never officially marketed the 1964 1/2 model, they certainly did separate them for their production lines purposes. This production line manual which I review and scanned here “Suggested Labor Time Schedules” has some interesting points. There are no diagrams or photos, just categorised production plant specific tasks and how long that particular part of the assembly should take to complete.

Cover of a vintage Ford manual titled 'Suggested Labor Time Schedules' featuring a black background with blue text and graphic elements.

I have selected a few instances where the production times are different between the years or not available on the early 1964 cars such as the suspension components.

A historical shop manual page showing labor time allowances for various electrical tasks related to different Ford car models, including the Mustang, spanning years 1964 to 1966.
A close-up view of a vintage workshop manual page detailing labor time allocations for front suspension and steering components related to the Mustang, from various model years including 1964, 1965, and 1966.

This ‘Time Schedule’ shows the various sections of the car and how long it should take to assemble.

These ‘Schedules’ were updated regularly hence the clip folder, the old sections were removed and thrown away in favour of the new updated sections sent to the production plants. These schedules were often discarded once the production lines changed to the new models to be made. Finding one is rare, let alone a complete one with some of the older sections as well as the new sections still in place. To many people this is a nothing document, but to collectors it’s a brief historical glimpse into the past. I have scanned all the 550 pages into a single PDF file here. Be warned though, it’s a big PDF download coming in at some 450mb in size.

Not only does this ‘Labor Schedule’ prove there was a difference, but it also confirms the findings of Colin Date where he has noted the differences, such as the suspension.

Conclusion:

Most of the time many Mustang owners will lump the 1964 1/2 into the 1965 model and leave it at that. But, those that are into their cars will know there is indeed a difference. The many third party books and articles that are out there document the differences (including myself), and there is this official Ford production line schedule. Either way, take it from Ford that there wasn’t an official 1964 1/2 car, or take it from Ford’s very own documentation that there was indeed a 1964 car! My own point of view is that I lean towards the latter point of view.

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Reasons why the Mustang is still popular

There are only a handful of cars that carry the same recognition and emotional pull as the Ford Mustang. Since its debut 17th April 1964 at the New York World Trade Fair, the Mustang has remained one of the most iconic cars on American roads. Its mix of performance, style and heritage has helped the brand survive changing automotive trends within a competitive market. Even today, collectors, enthusiasts, and casual drivers find reasons to admire and own these classic cars. For some, searching for a wrecked Mustang for sale or browsing junk cars for sale is a way to restore a piece of history and connect with the legend. Dry states in America as we refer to them here in the UK, still contain a treasure trove of cars that are worth restoring or even buying them just for those hard to find original parts.

A row of vintage Ford Mustangs in various states of disrepair, lined up in a grassy area near a building.

A Strong Legacy

The Mustang was introduced in 1964 it quickly gained a loyal following, the demand far outweighed the supply and Ford couldn’t make them fast enough. The Mustang sales had set records that still haven’t been matched to this day. The Mustang represented freedom and individuality during a period of cultural changes taking place in America. With its long hood, endless options of engines and gearbox, short rear deck and the sporty stance, it established a design that influenced decades of vehicles or ‘Pony’ cars. Generations of drivers grew up with the Mustang, making it more than just a car, it became a cultural touchstone tied to movies, music, and motorsports.

Timeless Design

One of the key reasons for the Mustang’s enduring appeal is its design. While the car has evolved over the years, each version retains that unmistakable Mustang character. The bold grille, aggressive body lines, and muscular stance are instantly recognizable. Owners and fans often mention that the later modern Mustangs capture the essence of the originals, we won’t mention a couple of designs during the oil crisis, where styling went slightly off the rails. The blend of nostalgia, performance and modern engineering makes the car attractive to both young buyers and long-time collectors.

Performance Options

Performance has always been at the heart of the Mustang. From affordable base models to high-powered GTs, the much sought after Shelby variations and even tuners like Saleen, the Mustang offers a wide spectrum of driving experiences. V8 engines, roaring exhaust notes, track ready with the thrilling acceleration keep enthusiasts coming back for more. Even with recent moves toward more efficient engines like the Eco Boost or the controversial ‘Mustang’ Mach-E, Ford ensures that the Mustang still delivers an exciting ride while keeping the soul of the Pony car alive. This fine line balancing act between tradition and innovation strengthens its ongoing popularity for each generation of car and the generations of owners to come.

An Affordable Entry Point

Unlike some sports cars that remain out of reach for most drivers, the Mustang has always provided a good performance for your buck. Even today, buyers can get into a Mustang without the steep price tag of European competitors. Saying you own a Mustang has element of coolness to it. The affordability for base models makes it appealing to first-time sports car buyers, young drivers, and collectors alike. Many enthusiasts also find older models to restore or customize, often through salvage markets and the vast aftermarket parts available. I know of a couple of owners who have new Mustangs and maintain or are restoring a classic Mustang as well.

A collection of abandoned and partially restored Ford Mustang cars in a grassy area surrounded by trees.

Strong Enthusiast Community

The Mustang community is one of the largest and most active car groups worldwide. Car clubs, forums, and events bring together owners and fans to share their passion. Annual Mustang meets and local shows showcase restored classics, modified builds, and brand-new models. This sense of belonging and shared enthusiasm helps keep the Mustang relevant across generations. Even belonging to a Mustang Owners club of some sort can get you cheaper insurance.

Pop Culture Presence

From the Mustang’s role in Bullitt, Gone in 60 Seconds (both films) to appearances in modern film and television, the Mustang has long been tied to American pop culture. Its on-screen presence reinforces the car’s image as powerful, stylish, and dare we say rebellious brand. The car’s constant visibility helps introduce the Mustang to new audiences who may not have even considered one otherwise.

Conclusion

The Ford Mustang remains popular because it is more than just a vehicle. It represents history, identity, and performance at a price that appeals to a wide range of buyers. With its strong heritage, ongoing legacy, timeless design coupled with a vibrant community, the Mustang continues to inspire. For enthusiasts, owners and daily drivers, even a potential project car from salvage lot (scrap yard this side of the pond), the car still holds a value, proving that the Mustang’s appeal will not fade anytime soon as the legacy is already in the history books and still going strong.

When I get asked at car shows (which I frequently do), why do I like the Mustang or why did I chose a Mustang? Those are just a few good reasons I can think of!

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A Trio Of AMT Dealership Models

At the beginning of May I was contacted by a guy who had just finished reading about my AMT dealership models which I had posted about with some history a while ago, link here. That guy’s name was Kevin who emailed me some photos of a model that he had found at an estate sale. I responded as soon as I could to say that I was very interested. A few emails were sent back and forth where we arranged a fair price for his find, time and effort plus the postage and packaging of course. Kevin emailed me to say he had received the money and sent me a copy of the tracking number from the US Postal Service where he had kindly posted it pretty much the same day. The package arrived across the pond to the UK a short ten days later and was very well packaged.

After carefully unwrapping the packaging to expose the contents I was thrilled to see this little beauty, yes it’s just a box. But, it has survived six decades so it’s very, very cool in my eyes.

Opening the original posting box with even more care I could see the model inside. The box was fragile and I made a point not to overbend the carboard as I didn’t want it to tear.

The model enclosed model is the American Blue version which was in near mint condition.

Taking the car out the box to take some photos. The dimensions are exactly the same as my other ones just over 7″ long and just under 3″ wide.

The inside of these models have some amazing details.

Not only is it rare to find a boxed dealership model in such good condition, this one still had the original press release leaflet that came with it. I have never seen one of these before and I’m sharing the images I have taken of it to share and historic relevance. Again due to the paper being sixty plus years old, I didn’t fully straighten out the leaflet or open the folds fully, as I didn’t want to weaken the paper or risk damaging it.

The leaflet is printed in such a way as you open it the images and text read correct.

Front page:

Reverse Page:

First opened page:

Fully opened front page:

Reverse Full Page:

As my other two models are in a display case I had to get a matching case for this one with the box.

My other two prized AMT Dealership models:

My latest American blue AMT model now in my collection:

Here they are together, probably not going to be handled again for a very long time.

My red and white dealer models now share their case with a couple of the rare editions matchbox toys donated to me by a fellow Mustang enthusiast.

I’m absolutely delighted with this addition to my collection. It’s all down the thoughtfulness and kindness of Kevin O’Donnell for contacting me. It still amazes me that the postage box has survived when they are usually binned there and then. These cars were more often than not given to children to play with when the new models came out, thus they invariably had a tough life there after it would be fair to say. As for the press release leaflet that would have gone the way of the postal box, in the bin. The complete model package had travelled one last time across the pond to it’s new pampered home in the UK.

That just leaves me to say a huge ‘Thank You’ to Kevin for getting in contact with me.

If you would like to contact me regarding some memorabilia you would be willing to part with or can provide any information at all, please feel free to leave a comment on my pages or just drop me an email:

onemanandhismustang@gmail.com.

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Fill Her Up

Many classic cars of the bygone era of the ’60s & ’70s, not just Mustangs were fitted with a fuel filler pipe that was quite big diameter. The fuel back then was Leaded or Four Star fuels to be pumped through a larger nozzle which filled more of the filler pipe, which makes perfect sense. When pumping was complete, the pump would click off and it was job done. However, with the move to the dreaded ethanol based fuels the filler pipe holes were made smaller along with the pump heads themselves. Fuel pumps from today have the much smaller hole which ensure a snug fit and allow the pump to shut off as you would expect. The problem with classic cars owners now have since this change is that the the large diameter filler pipes still take the smaller pumps which fill at similar rates, but at higher pressure. In turn that when the filling is complete, the fuel should stop the nozzle to avoid over filling, but it more often than not doesn’t. The reason is that pumped gas under pressure can splash back around the smaller nozzles, down sides of the filler pipes and out the top. This invariably results with some splash back out of the filler pipe over the paint job, bumper and if I’m unlucky, me if I happened to be standing in the wrong place. With this in mind I tend to go through some performance of getting a microfibre cloth, laying it over the bumper ready to clean up quickly when I top the tank up. I sometimes get strange looks as to what I’m doing before filling up.

This waste of fuel, smell on your clothes and potential damage to the paint work over time has always been an annoyance to me, but it’s part of the ‘joys’ of owning a classic car. I know many other Mustang owners as well as other manufacturers in fact that suffer from this issue. I just happened to be browsing through a Mustang forum where I spotted a link where somebody had modified the 64 – 70 Mustang filler pipes, a totally random link lead me to a discussion. The filler pipe size was exactly the same as the original, but inside is a simple fitted anti splashback valve. The valve is designed for the unleaded fuel pump nozzles sizes of today 13/16″ and should stop the splashback problem.

After a bit more research I got in touch with the guy and ordered one. A couple of weeks later it arrived and got round to fitting it as the sun came out over the weekend. Below shows the inside of the filler pipe with the anti splash back valve.

I have created a full step by step fitting guide for the filler neck here, but I have shown the basics steps of fitting it below.

This is an exact replacement for the standard filler pipe. The only minor difference is the bottom of the filler pipe has a slightly ribbed bottom which should aid in sealing of the hose to the pipe.

The only difference as i mentioned is the internal fuel valve. The definition of fuel ‘valve’ is a piece of sprung metal behind the reduced filler neck size opening. There are a couple of breather holes as well, two at the top and one where the bottom of the flap finishes almost at the bottom of the filler opening. The inner valve is held in place with a few dimples and a bit of JB Weld.

Roll the trunk mat out of the way to expose the top of the fuel tank. I have a a sound deadening mat on top of my polished tank which is semi stuck down. Remove the fuel cap, if you have the security version like mine there is a threaded bolt that goes through the filler panel and held in place by a nylon nut. Undo the nut and remove the security wire and the cap.

There will be four bolts around the outside of the flange which will need to be removed.

Inside the trunk there is a rubber hose clamped in place by two wire fittings. It’s easier to undo both the top and bottom clamps. Either the fuel pipe needs to come out of the rubber hose. Or pull the rubber hose up of the neck of the fuel tank itself. Either way is fine, you just need to remove the pipe from the hose.

In my case the hose came off the tank first. With the fuel pipe now free, remove the hose from the pipe otherwise the filler will not go through the panel as the opening is fairly snug.

Fully remove the pipe along with the cork gasket from the rear panel. Be careful not to let anything full into the open top of the fuel tank, I placed my fuel cap over the opening to prevent anything falling in it.

With the pipe removed I cleaned and applied a long lasting wax to the paint before i added the cork gaskets back on. You only need one gasket, but I like two, as it helps with the alignment of the filler pipe and also gives a little more protection of metal filler pipe flange to the paint.

Add the gasket(s) on the pipe before before feeding the pipe through the rear panel.

With the pipe through the panel it’s easier to fit the hose to the pipe by turning it ninety degrees. Then turn the pipe back round to the correct position and then you can simply press down the hose to the fuel tank opening neck.

With the hose now in place we can add the screws to hold the pipe’s flange to the panel. I started by adding the anti theft bolt through the gaskets and the panel. Add the washer to the front side of the flange, then the second washer inside and finally the nylon lock nut on the inside. Don’t tighten anything up just yet.

Next arrange the clamps how they should be on the rubber hose. When I first fitted the filler pipe and the hose I had the clamps on the inside of the trunk, this mean that things like cloths would catch the bolts. See below right hand photo. I never changed their position until now. The clamps should be between filler pipe and the rear panel so they are out of the way. Left and middle photos below. Lightly tighten the clamps just to hold them in place for now.

Align the gasket(s) up to the holes and add the rest of the screws to the flange and gently tighten up to allow for final adjustments.

With the screws in place start to tighten them up and the bolt for the security wire. Ensure the security wire is aligned with the outer part of the flange, or you won’t be able to fit the cap back back on. Tightening of the bolts or screws will pull the pipe into position on the panel. Now go back to the hose clamps and fully tighten them both up as the rubber will take the difference of alignment up. Recheck all bolts are tight.

The filler pipe was a like for like swap, but now I have little more bling under the trunk with the nickel plating looking great.

From the outside there is no difference to see. But, on the inside there is something (in theory) to stop me getting my regular splashback on fill up. Once I have taken the car for the next fill up I will give the results if the splashback is cured with this little project. It can’t be any worse no matter what happens.

I’m now intrigued to know if any other classic car owners have the same problem, or have hacks that they can share with us.

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Beaten To It

For quite a while I have been thinking to myself, wouldn’t it be good to have a nice reference guide for collectible Mustang memorabilia or for the rarer items from the past. I even thought to myself perhaps I should start looking into it and undertake the monumental task of trying to collate one. I perched myself in a comfy chair and started to look around the internet. Then up popped a book up on one of my searches which was published over twenty years earlier, already covering what I had in mind. I was gutted, but at the same time relieved. The book was authored by Bill Coulter and called Mustang Collectibles which looked to cover more or less what I had in mind. My search on eBay found it for a ridiculous price three times the price of the original publication. I tried to find a new copy, but couldn’t, in the end I settled for a second hand copy found in a USA book store, all for the reasonable and almost original published price of $25 plus shipping of course to the UK.

I reviewed the book here which I thought I should share on my Blogsite. The only downside is that it’s now well out of date by a couple of decades, but that didn’t effect my review score which is based on the time it would have been published. There are over 200 items covered, but it does miss things like third party manufacturers like Avon aftershave bottles way back in the day. Things that are now highly collectible are items related to the 1964 World Trade Fair for the Mustang launch. Throw away items such as entry tickets, leaflets, magazines, sales brochures (I’m still looking for an original 1964 version), original owners manuals, or even the boxes for the items that they came in originally can command strong money. Autographs are obviously are still highly desirable now days, sadly for people today they take selfies instead. It’s not quite the same as somebody taking their time out to sign something for you. I do own verified autographs from Carrol Shelby and Lee Iacocca which are some of my more prized possessions. (All these pics below are from my own collection.)

If anybody knows of another resource which is more up to date, then please do let me know. Realistically I don’t think I could have created the book, as I’m not in the USA and there is just so much memorabilia out there, I wouldn’t know where to start or have the time, maybe it’s a job for retirement. I’m also pretty sure that the people who would know about all these things will have moved up to the great car lot or sales offices in the sky.

During the winter I spend time looking for little upgrades, this year is no different. When I or any of these classic cars, not just Mustangs with large filler necks fill up, the fuel pump doesn’t shut of in time when full and more often than not the car gives a gulp of fuel splosh back out the filler pipe. I did get wise to this fairly common issue pretty quickly though. Now whenever I fill up I always put a cloth over the rear bumper ready to catch any spillage and ready to mop it up, especially off the paint job. While I was looking through some Mustang forums I found a random thread talking about an anti splashback modification which fits within the original filler neck. After checking it was all legit, I ordered one and it came a week or so later, in fact the same day as the collectible book I talk about above.

I will be doing a review and a fitting guide for this mod part soon, only when the weather is nicer of course. It should be a simple fitting but really effective upgrade. It’s an out of sight mod that could make a big difference to my Mustang driving experience, mainly because I now won’t stink of Shell V-Power petrol after a fill up!

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