1965 FORD MUSTANG COUPE

Stored in our Aiken, SC climate-controlled showroom. To see more pictures, video, information, and our full inventory, visit us online at www.carcaveusa.com or call us at (803) 262 4742. A full walk around video can be viewed at our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/8ScXgS2J2AQ.

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Highlights

Recent "resto-mod" restoration

Vintage Air A/C

Classic Industries AM/FM/Aux stereo with Pioneer 6x9 speakers

Disc front brakes

Hopped-up 289ci V8

Overview

There are few cars as iconic to American car culture than the Ford Mustang. The namesake behind the pony car movement that spawned the Camaro, Challenger, and many other compact street fighters in the 60s, it absolutely revolutionized the way that automakers built their performance cars. Affordable, stylish, and enough punch to put a smile on your face even without wicked horsepower.

And that’s where this 1965 Ford Mustang sits after a recent restoration. It has a few quality-of-life updates underneath, but it encapsulates the entire reason the Mustang became not only one of the best selling pony cars ever, but has had a continuous production run since its inception. Performance is spritely, the interior is period correct overall, and there’s no replacing the bolt-action feeling of a four-speed manual.

From the photos that we have, we suspect that this Mustang went under a loving restoration and was completed around 2018, before it was owned by the couple that we purchased it from. This Mustang was the result of an exhaustive hunt for a clean example, and it truly shows in the thoughtfulness of the restoration and what few changes were made.

Under the hood sits a 289ci Ford small-block, with a four-barrel, and a few minor tweaks when it was rebuilt. It appears stock at first glance, but has a healthy boost of horsepower and torque over the original 225hp rating. While not a drag strip terror, it’s no slouch in modern traffic and sounds great through the true-dual exhaust system.

The chassis was totally refreshed too, and features upgraded disc brakes up front – removing the sloppy ol’ drum brakes – and it has air shocks in the rear as well for leveling the suspension when loaded for a road trip. The steering is nice and tight, especially with the manual steering box, and the car rides great around town and at highway speeds. The manual brakes (no power assist) feel solid overall, and add into the thoroughly anachronistic experience that this Mustang thrives in delivering.

Inside, there’s subtle touches to modernize the Mustang without ruining any of the factory appearance at first glance. A center console has been added, with storage and cup holders, and are a great quality-of-life addition for longer trips. The Classic Industries AM/FM/Aux radio looks OEM when powered down, but delivers modern performance. Behind the factory heater controls is a Vintage Air HVAC system that delivers outstanding cooling performance and better adjustability than the original system could have ever delivered.

The last touches are the LED turns signals and brake lights, which are simply mountains brighter than their halogen originals.

If you were looking for a great driver that could also fall into just about any restoration car show – save for those few modernized additions – this is the unit. Without going down a rabbit hole of pro-touring mods and radical changes that start to detract from the experience that only early Mustangs can provide, this unit is a great example of an ideal resto-mod.