By D. Brian Smith
All 1966 Ford Mustangs rolled off the Ford assembly lines complete with a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and a Data Plate. The VIN is stamped atop the driver's side engine bay wall. The Mustang data plate, which is riveted on the driver's side doorjamb, also contains the VIN. These two items provide all the details of how the Mustang was first manufactured — the Mustang's DNA if you will.
Decoding a 1966 Ford Mustang Data Plate
In honor of Henry Ford, the originator of the automotive assembly line, let's decode the Mustang data plate and VIN on a racy Raven Black (code A) 1966 Mustang (code 6 in the VIN for model year 1966) GT convertible with a luxury interior (code 76B). When those Ford Model Ts started rolling off the Ford assembly line in the early 1900's in Dearborn, Michigan, they all wore jet black paint.
Above: The VIN code is also stamped atop the driver's side inner fender wall or engine bay wall, running parallel to the driver's side front fender.
Body Style Codes
| Body Style Code | |||||
| Code | Description | Code | Description | Code | Description |
| 63A | Fastback w/ Standard Int. | 63B | Fastback w/ Luxury Int. | ******** | ****************************** |
| 65A | Coupe w/ Standard Interior | 65B | Coupe w/ Luxury Interior | 65C | Coupe w/ Bench Seat |
| 76A | Convertible w/ Standard Int. | 76B | Convertible w/ Luxury Int. | 76C | Convertible w/ Bench Seat |
Above: All of the GT badging, fog lights, and Wimbledon White rocker striping is evident on the Raven Black (code A) over luxury black (code 66) Pony Interior upholstery-equipped pony car.
Paint Colors and Color Codes
Above: Notice there are more paint colors on the chip chart than there are paint codes. The chart indicates that 1965 spring colors are included.
| Exterior Paint Code | |||||
| Code | Description | Code | Description | Code | Description |
| A or 9A | Raven Black | F or 3F | Arcadian Blue | G | Sapphire Blue |
| H or 5H | Sahara Beige | K or 3K | Nightmist Blue | M or 5M | Wimbledon White |
| P or 4P | Antique Bronze | Q or 4Q | Brittany Blue | R | Ivy Green Metallic |
| T or 5T | Candy Apple Red | U or U9 | Tahoe Turquoise | V | Emberglo |
| X | Vintage Burgundy | Y | Silver Blue | Z | Sauterne Gold |
| 4 or 4F | Silver Frost | 5 or 5A | Signalflare Red | 8 | Springtime Yellow |
Interior Trim Codes
Above: The black beauty is loaded to the gills with a black luxury Pony interior (code 66), factory AC unit, a four-speed manual trans (code 5), and front disc brakes (included with the GT package).
| Interior Trim Code | |||
| Code | Description | Code | Description |
| 22 | Blue w/ Blue Trim | 25 | Dark Red w/ Red Trim |
| 26 | Black w/ Black Trim | 27 | Aqua w/ Aqua Trim |
| D2 | Parchment w/ Blue Trim | D3 | Parchment w/ Burgundy Trim |
| D4 | Parchment w/ Emberglo Trim | D6 | Parchment w/ Black Trim |
| D7 | Parchment w/ Aqua Trim | D8 | Parchment w/ Ivy Gold Trim |
| D9 | Parchment w/ Palomino Trim | 62 | Blue and White, Luxury |
| 64 | Emberglo and Parchment, Luxury | 65 | Red Luxury |
| 66 | Black Luxury | 67 | Aqua and White, Luxury |
| 68 | Ivy Gold and White, Luxury | F2 | Parchment w/ Blue Trim, Luxury |
| F3 | Parchment w/ Burgundy Trim, Luxury | F4 | Parchment w/ Emberglo Trim, Luxury |
| F6 | Parchment w/ Black Trim, Luxury | F7 | Parchment w/ Aqua Trim, Luxury |
| F8 | Parchment w/ Ivy Gold Trim, Luxury | F9 | Parchment w/ Palomino Trim, Luxury |
| 32 | Blue, Bench | 35 | Red, Bench |
| 36 | Black, Bench | C2 | Parchment w/ Blue Trim, Bench |
| C3 | Parchment w/ Burgundy Trim, Bench | C4 | Parchment w/ Emberglo Trim, Bench |
| C6 | Parchment w/ Black Trim, Bench | C7 | Parchment w/ Aqua Trim, Bench |
| C8 | Parchment w/ Ivy Gold Trim, Bench | C9 | Parchment w/ Palomino Trim, Bench |
Manufacturing Date and DSO Codes
| Date Code | |||||
| Code | Description | Code | Description | Code | Description |
| xxA | Day|January | xxB | Day|February | xxC | Day|March |
| xxD | Day|April | xxE | Day|May | xxF | Day|June |
| xxG | Day|July | xxH | Day|August | xxJ | Day|September |
| xxK | Day|October | xxL | Day|November | xxM | Day|December |
Above: According to the Date Code chart above, this Mustang was built on September 03, 1966. The D.S.O. or District Sales Office where it was first sold is Pittsburgh, PA (code 14). Below: Since the Mustang is an A-code GT, she's equipped with a Rally-Pac clock and tachometer instrument pack, in which the tach reads to 6,000 RPMs. If the Mustang had the solid-lifter K-code engine, the tachometer would read to 8,000 RPMs.
| District (DSO) Code | |||||
| Code | Description | Code | Description | Code | Description |
| 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 | 28/36 | 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 | 90-99 | Export |
Axle Ratio Codes
Above: As the chart just below indicates, this 1966 Mustang has a 3.00:1 standard differential (code 1).
| Axle Ratio Code | |||
| Code | Description | Code | Description |
| 1 | 3.00:1 Standard Differential | 2 | 2.83:1 Standard Differential |
| 3 | 3.20:1 Standard Differential | 4 | 3.25:1 Standard Differential |
| 5 | 3.50:1 Standard Differential | 6 | 2.80:1 Standard Differential |
| 8 | 3.89:1 Standard Differential | A | 3.00:1 Locking Differential |
| C | 3.20:1 Locking Differential | D | 3.25:1 Locking Differential |
| E | 3.50:1 Locking Differential | F | 2.80:1 Locking Differential |
| H | 3.89:1 Locking Differential | L | 2.83:1 Locking Differential |
Transmission Codes
| Transmission Code | |
| Code | Description |
| 1 | 3 Speed Manual |
| 5 | 4 Speed Manual |
| 6 | C-4 Automatic |
What Can the VIN Tell Us?
For more details on unraveling the VIN, or Vehicle Identification Number, check out our in-depth 1964-1973 Ford Mustang VIN Decoder. Now, let's take a quick look at how that information applies to t
| Model Year | |
| Code | Description |
| 6 | 1966 |
Above: This baby was born at Ford's home in Dearborn, Michigan (code F).
| Assembly Plant | |
| Code | Description |
| F | Dearborn |
| R | San Jose |
| T | Metuchen |
| Body Serial Code | |
| Code | Description |
| 07 | Hardtop |
| 08 | Convertible |
| 09 | Fastback |
Above: The pony car has its born with 289-4V, 225-horsepower V8 engine (code A) and four-speed manual transmission (code 5).
| Engine Code | |
| Code | Description |
| A | 289-4V |
| C | 289-2V |
| K | 289-4V Hi-Po |
| T | 200-1V |
If a vintage pony car has superb body and paintwork, there's a great chance that a black exterior paint scheme is going to look classy, timeless, and epic, as is the case with this well sorted 1966 Mustang GT convertible. The Mustang served as the perfect specimen for decoding her VIN and data plate. CI wishes to thank Mecum Auctions for permitting us to publish these photos.
| Consecutive Unit Number |
| Each plant started each year with number 100,001. The Falcon, Fairlane, and Mustang, were all numbered together, regardless of model or type. |
Classic Industries Has a Paddock Full of Mustang Parts
Whether you own a first, second, third, or fourth generation Ford Mustang, or even a 1965-1970 Shelby Mustang, Classic Industries has the components you're seeking for enabling your pony car back on the twisties, the highways, the switchbacks, the fairgrounds, the 1/4-mile, or the road circuits. Make sure that your automotive library includes a Classic Industries Mustang Parts & Accessories Catalog. Clicking the button below will take you to a page where you can either download a pdf catalog or request that a Mustang catalog is mailed to you. Mustang does it, and so does Classic Industries!
Classic Industries' Ford Mustang History Articles
We have a growing library of Ford Mustang and Shelby Mustang history articles available for your entertainment, education, and inspiration. Have fun in the CI library:
- Ford Mustang History: Creating the First Pony Car
- 4th Gen SN95 Mustang History: Development & "Fox 4" Concept Cars
- Fox Body Mustang: Development, Concepts, and 1979-1993 Year Changes
- 1964-1973 Ford Mustang VIN Decoder & Pre-Purchase Buyer's Guide
- 1964.5 (Early 1965) Mustang VIN & Data Plate Decoder
- The Wild Horse Galloped Away - 1969 Shelby GT350 Mustang Fastback
- Visiting the Segerstrom Shelby Event Center - Mr. Shelby is Smiling!
- Building & Driving a Factory Five Racing Mk4 1965 427SC Cobra Replica
- Decoding Your 1965 Ford Mustang's Data Plate & VIN
- 1965-1970 Shelby Mustang Paint Schemes - & Other Shelby Tidbits
