My 1965 Ford Mustang - Best Vehicle I Ever Owned

You never forget your first love; and you never forget your first car. As it happens, the first car I ever owned also happens to be the best vehicle I ever owned. I bought it in March 1965, right after I was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army; a white 1965 Ford Mustang, my best car, and for the three years I owned it, my best friend.



The 1965 Mustang wasn't too different from the 1964 model, except the replacement of the 101 horsepower straight six cylinder engine with a 120 horsepower six, and a few other mechanical changes. I bought my baby, the best vehicle ever owned by car lovers in the U.S., bar none, just over a year after the first Mustang rolled off Detroit's assembly lines. Mine, like the first one produced, was white with black leather upholstery, but I got the hard top rather than a convertible.



I drove that baby all over the state of Oklahoma and down into Texas, and its performance on the road was first rate. I could tear over open roads in central Texas at speeds that were exhilarating, and on those open roads, with a view to the horizon, spot a cop car and slow down like a dream. It got great gas mileage, going 200 miles between fill ups, and except for regular oil changes and checking the fluid levels now and then, never saw the inside of a garage until I flipped it into a pasture when I missed a turn drag racing with some friends back home in East Texas. Even then, it was only slightly dented and was back on the road after a little scraping and spot painting.



I drove my Mustang from Oklahoma to Georgia, and then to Brooklyn where it was put on a ship to Germany where I was being stationed. In Augsburg for just over a year, I really enjoyed it. Not only did it turn German heads whenever I roared by, but on the Autobahn, where Germans in their diesel engine cars delighted in zipping past foreigners, I gave them something to look at. Only the top line 8-cylinder cars could best me on the straightaway, and often they were so busy gawking at the clean lines of my pony, I could roar away before they could think to put their feet on the gas pedal.



The Mustang wasn't a heavy car, despite its reputation as one of the first muscle cars, but it hugged the road nonetheless. And, believe me, for a kid who wasn't accustomed to driving on icy, snow-covered roads, this was a life saver. I also found the roomy back seat useful; I was on long road trips and felt tired, I could fit my five-eleven frame back there to snooze comfortably.



I hung on to that car until 1968, just before going to Vietnam for the first time. I didn't want to leave it parked for a year, so I sold it to a buddy. I'm not the emotional type, but when he drove that car away I felt like crying. That was the best $3,000 I ever spent in my entire life.



Reference:

http://1965-mustang-com/