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Source: www.allfordmustangs.com Classic Mustang
On December 8, 2003, Eleanor McMillan donated her light blue 1965 Ford Mustang hardtop coupe to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. McMillan was a retired Smithsonian conservator when she made the decision to donate her car, which was in near-mint condition. The photos of the car belong to the Smithsonian and show the front and rear views of the car. This particular Mustang was assembled in October 1964 in Dearborn, Michigan, making it one of the first of the 1965 Mustangs. The coupe has a medium blue interior, a six-cylinder engine, and a manual transmission.
A Washington Post story at the time of the donation by McMillan provided details of the donated Mustang. It is eye-shadow blue (or officially Silver Blue) with 193,000 miles on it. Roger White, the curator, confirmed that the car was in near-mint condition. It is dent-free and all the museum really needed to do to get it showcase ready was to just wipe it down. There is a small rip in the seam of the driver's seat and there are Chiquita banana stickers stuck to the dash. The windshield had Smithsonian parking permit stickers and a decal of a Norwegian elkhound.
It was a gift to McMillan who graduated in 1964 from Radcliffe. She had been driving a Austin A40 but was in an accident on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and her father bought the Mustang for her at Behrend Bros. Ford in Baltimore because it looked sturdy. Not related to the Mustang ownership, but interesting nevertheless, McMillan is a great-granddaughter of Theodore Roosevelt.
1965 Mustang and 1966 Mustang Picture Gallery American History from the Smithsonian Collection |
