By D. Brian Smith
Photography: Courtesy of Mecum Auctions
Recently, Classic Industries published an article for the multitude of 1st Generation Mustang owners and enthusiasts (1964.5-1973) called: Decoding the 1964-1973 Mustang VIN: A Comprehensive Buyer's Guide. This article is specifically designed to enable 1964.5 Mustang (early 1965) caretakers and fans to decode the pony car's Data Plate.
1964.5 Mustang VIN Location
The VIN number is found under the hood on top of the driver’s side fender apron. The VIN number for the Wimbledon White beauty in the lead photo and several subsequent pictures is VIN: 5F08F100212. Accordingly, this Mustang is affectionately known as Mustang #212.
Data Plate Decoder Sheet
The Data Plate for the 1964.5 to 1973 1st Generation Ford Mustang is located on the driver's side door jamb and is attached with two rivets. An example is shown just below and later in this narrative, so we can decode the data plate.
Assembly Plant
| Code | Plant |
| F | Dearborn, MI |
| R | San Jose, CA |
| T | Metuchen, NJ |
From deciphering the codes above, the Wimbledon White Mustang in the first several photos was built on the Dearborn, MI assembly line (F).
Body Style
| Code | Body Style |
| 07 | Hardtop |
| 08 | Convertible |
| 09 | Fastback |
It's a convertible (08).
Engine
| Code | Engine |
| A | 289-4v |
| C | 289-2v |
| D | 289-4v |
| F | 260-2v |
| K | 289-4v Hi-Performance |
| T | 200-1v |
| U | 170-1v |
The engine is a 260-cubic inch, two-barrel carburetor (2v) V8 (F).
Body Code
| Body | Body Style | Interior | Seats | Special |
| 63A | Fastback | Standard Interior | Bucket Seats | |
| 63B | Fastback | Luxury Interior | Bucket Seats | |
| 65A | Hardtop | Standard Interior | Bucket Seats | |
| 65B | Hardtop | Luxury Interior | Bucket Seats | |
| 65C | Hardtop | Standard Interior | Bench Seats | |
| 76A | Convertible | Standard Interior | Bucket Seats | |
| 76B | Convertible | Luxury Interior | Bucket Seats | |
| 76C | Convertible | Standard Interior | Bench Seats |
There's a standard interior with bucket seats (76A).
Paint Colors
| Code | Alternate | Color |
| A | 9A | Raven Black |
| B | 2B | Pagoda Green (64), Midnight Turquoise (65) |
| C | 6C | Honey Gold |
| D | 3D | Dynasty Green |
| F | 3F | Guardsman Blue (64 only) |
| H | 5H | Caspian Blue |
| I | Champagne Beige | |
| J | 3J | Rangoon Red |
| J9 | Rangoon Red | |
| K | 3K | Silver Smoke Gray |
| M | 5M | Wimbledon White |
| O | 0 | Tropical Turquoise (65 only) |
| P | 4P | Prairie Bronze |
| R | Ivy Green (65 only) | |
| S | Cascade Green (64 only) | |
| V | Sunlight Yellow | |
| X | Vintage Burgundy | |
| Y | Skylight Blue (64), Silver Blue (65) | |
| Z | Z9 | Chantilly Beige (64 only) |
| 3 | 3B | Poppy Red |
| 5 | 5A | Twilight Turquoise (64 only) |
| 7 | Phoenician Yellow (64 only) | |
| 8 | Springtime Yellow (65 only) |
The exterior paint hue is Wimbledon White (M or 5M).
Above: 1964 Ford exterior Ditzler PPG paint colors are above for Fairlane, Falcon, Galaxie, and Mustang.
Above: Ditzler PPG exterior paint hues are indicated above for the 1965 Ford Mustang, Fairlane, Falcon, and Galaxie.
Interior Trim
| Code | Interior |
| 42 | White with Blue |
| 45 | White with Red |
| 46 | White with Black |
| 48 | White with Ivy Gold |
| 49 | White with Palomino |
| 56 | Black Vinyl & Cloth |
| 82 | Blue Vinyl |
| 85 | Red Vinyl |
| 86 | Black Vinyl |
| 89 | Palomino Vinyl |
| 22 | Blue Vinyl |
| 25 | Red Vinyl |
| 26 | Black Vinyl |
| 28 | Ivy Gold with Gold |
| 29 | Palomino Vinyl |
| D2 | White with Blue |
| D5 | White with Red |
| D6 | White with Black |
| D8 | Whit with Ivy Gold |
| D9 | White with Palomino |
| 62 | Blue & White Luxury |
| 65 | Red Luxury |
| 66 | Black Luxury |
| 67 | Aqua & White Luxury |
| 68 | Ivy Gold & White Luxury |
| 69 | Palomino Luxury |
| F2 | White with Blue, Luxury |
| F5 | White with Red, Luxury |
| F6 | White with Black, Luxury |
| F7 | White with aqua, Luxury |
| F8 | White with Ivy Gold, Luxury |
| F9 | White with Palomino, Luxury |
| 32 | Blue Bench |
| 35 | Red Bench |
| 36 | Black Bench |
| 39 | Palomino Bench |
| 76 | Black Fabric and Vinyl |
| 79 | Palomino Fabric and Vinyl |
The interior is blue vinyl (82 or 22).
More details of this beautiful early 1965 Mustang are below:
- One of the first production Mustang Convertibles
- VIN: 5F08F100212, known as Mustang #212
- 1964 1/2 Mustang, titled as a 1965
- One of the first sold to the public
- Sold new at Powell Ford of Ft. Lauderdale on 4/16/1964, sold the day before official launch 4/17/64
- On display at the Towe Ford Museum for over 10 years
- Used in William Clay Ford's grand daughter's wedding
- Personal thank you note from Ford dated 1/16/2007
- 260 CI V-8, two-barrel carburetor automatic transmission
- Power convertible top
- Power steering
- Window sticker, internal bill of sale and owner's manual
- Microfilm copies of MSO and previous titles
- Unique features of the early car no ferrule, small shift handle, Mustang eye on hood, hand hammered wheel emblems and wells to make room for convertible top
- Original parts have been documented since current owner purchased
Above: Photos of Wimbledon White Mustang convertible and other Mustangs below provided courtesy of Mecum Auctions.
Build Date
| Date Code | Production Month |
| C | March 1964 |
| D | April 1964 |
| E | May 1964 |
| F | June 1964 |
| G | July 1964 |
| H | August 1964 |
| J | September 1964 |
| K | October 1964 |
| L | November 1964 |
| M | December 1964 |
| A | January 1965 |
| B | February 1965 |
| Q | March 1965 |
| R | April 1965 |
| S | May 1965 |
| T | June 1965 |
| U | July 1965 |
| V | August 1965 |
Since we don't have the data plate for the Wimbledon White over blue vinyl early 1965 (or 1964.5) Mustang convertible in this article, we found a data plate for another Mustang to publish. Let's decipher it. The 65A code denotes that this Mustang is a hardtop or a notchback coupe with a standard bucket seat interior. She has an exterior hue of Honey Gold (C color code). The interior trim is white with blue (42). The build date is April 14 of 1964 (14D). The district sales office for this Honey Gold Mustang is Los Angeles (71). The Mustang's rear end axle ratio gearing is 3.00 to one (1). This Mustang's transmission is a C-4 automatic (6).
We can also decipher the VIN. The number five (5) is the designation for the model year. Hence, Ford calls this a 1965 Mustang, though it was built on the 14th of April 1964 (5). This Mustang was built in Dearborn, MI (F). It's a hardtop (07). She has a 260-2v, two-barrel carb V8 engine (F).
Above: The 1965 Mustang nose above shows what the Honey Gold (C) exterior hue looks like. Nice!
DSO (District Sales Office)
| Code | District |
| 11 | Boston |
| 12 | Buffalo |
| 13 | New York |
| 14 | Pittsburgh |
| 15 | Newark |
| 21 | Atlanta |
| 22 | Charlotte |
| 23 | Philadelphia |
| 24 | Jacksonville |
| 25 | Richmond |
| 26 | Washington |
| 31 | Cincinnati |
| 32 | Cleveland |
| 33 | Detroit |
| 34 | Indianapolis |
| 35 | Lansing |
| 36 | Louisville |
| 41 | Chicago |
| 42 | Fargo |
| 43 | Rockford |
| 44 | Twin Cities |
| 45 | Davenport |
| 51 | Denver |
| 52 | Des Moines |
| 53 | Kansas City |
| 54 | Omaha |
| 55 | St. Louis |
| 61 | Dallas |
| 62 | Houston |
| 63 | Memphis |
| 64 | New Orleans |
| 65 | Oklahoma City |
| 71 | Los Angeles |
| 72 | San Jose |
| 73 | Salt Lake City |
| 74 | Seattle |
| 81 | Ford of Canada |
| 83 | Government |
| 84 | Home Office Reserve |
| 85 | American Red Cross |
| 89 | Transportation Services |
| 90 | Export |
| 91 | Export |
| 92 | Export |
| 93 | Export |
| 94 | Export |
| 95 | Export |
| 96 | Export |
| 97 | Export |
| 98 | Export |
| 99 | Export |
Axle
| Code | Axle |
| 1 | 3.00 |
| 3 | 3.20 |
| 4 | 3.25 |
| 5 | 3.50 |
| 6 | 2.80 |
| 7 | 3.80 |
| 8 | 3.89 |
| 9 | 4.11 |
| A | 3.00L |
| C | 3.20L |
| D | 3.25L |
| E | 3.50L |
| F | 2.80L |
| G | 3.80L |
| H | 3.89L |
| I | 4.11L |
Transmission
| Code | Transmission |
| 1 | 3-Speed Manual |
| 5 | 4-Speed Manual |
| 6 | C-4 Automatic |
Above and below: Now that we've illuminated how to decode an early 1965 (or 1964.5) Mustang's Data Plate, you can do it yourself. If you have a 1965-1973 Mustang, watch for those decoding articles coming soon in the Classic Industries American Muscle Car Library Archives. Rangoon Red (J or 3J) was a very popular exterior paint hue for both the early 1965 and the 1965 Mustang. It's easy to see why.
