Hey all, I'm the new guy. A 65 hardtop came my way and I couldn't pass it up. 200ci six. She was sitting in a garage since 88, just dropped all the fluids, cleaned and lubed cylinders, sump, valves, pan, turned her by hand, all good. She just started today and it gives me hope, lots of it. Got down to the VIN situation, and, of course, the data plate's missing off the door. All I have for you is the VIN, and Veronica, I hope you can help me out. I think it'd be pretty cool to know about when she was made. She's a Metuchen girl, and red-orange valve/air cleaner covers, so she must be earlier 1965.
VIN # 5T07T147284*
Thanks for your help!
By the way, do you know why there's that little star on the end?
Hello. The scheduled build date of yours would have been about 04R, or April 4th of 65. They all had those stars at each end of the vin, just to keep folks honest. Hope that helps.
Hi again. I got your pm, mkl8585. I was going through, answering stuff like that last night and realized that it was after midnight. I figured if the car had been waiting forty+ years, it would keep until this morning. The date on yours would be 22M.
I have the opposite problem. I am missing the VIN on the inner fender because the previous owner was in an accident. I have the other VIN that is hidden beneath the passenger fender.
My car decoded is a 1966 model year, 2 dr hardtop, built and ordered in San Jose California, 200CID straight six, Dual-Range automatic transmission, 3.20:1 rear axle ratio, Wimbledon White, Standard Red Interior, and the build order date was 16C (March).
Speaking of which, how good is my rear axle ratio? I have never really understood how you can tell which ratio is better. Thanks.
I'm actually curious about the wheel axle ratio as well. It's not really my area of expertise. I understand the general concept that the higher the ratio is, the more the wheels turn in relation to the engine. So with a higher ratio the engine would run slower than with a lower ratio correct?
If I'm basing my figuring on that alone, it would make sense that the higher the ratio the better... but I'm curious if this is true? There has to be a limit to how high the ratio can go... what's the common range for 60's mustangs?
Thanks for any help!
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'65 Fastback... needs some work, but it's still pretty!
I'm actually curious about the wheel axle ratio as well. It's not really my area of expertise. I understand the general concept that the higher the ratio is, the more the wheels turn in relation to the engine. So with a higher ratio the engine would run slower than with a lower ratio correct?
No, the higher the ratio the faster the engine turns. This is why the higher axle ratios give you more torque and a quicker take off from a dead stop but they lack the top speed that a lower ratio could give you before you redline, especially since the cars didn't have overdrive back then.
Take this for example, a 2.79-1 ratio. This means that for every single revolution the wheel makes the drive shaft turns 2.79 times. With a 4.11-1 ratio the drive shaft has to spin over 4 times to get that same wheel to make 1 revolution. With the 4.11s the engine is reving more and equals more power and torque but it will top out quicker due to getting closer to the redline sooner.
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Originally Posted by Stoln_Thundr
If I'm basing my figuring on that alone, it would make sense that the higher the ratio the better... but I'm curious if this is true? There has to be a limit to how high the ratio can go... what's the common range for 60's mustangs?
Thanks for any help!
The common range was about 2.79 to 3.25 in the vintage cars.
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1968 Mustang coupe, Acapulco Blue, 289 2v, C-4, Power Steering.
Hopefully a 1969 convertible or Sportsroof (non Mach or Boss) for next Mustang project
Trying to find my father's 1973 Mustang Grande he bought brand new. 3F04F126773 last known registration and title was in New Jersey, 1982.
If you install a 5 speed or an AOD, you can put in a higher ratio rearend. This will give you the best of both worlds - quick take-off and lower RPM's at highway speeds.
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I contend, that for a nation to try to tax itself, into prosperity, is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.
—Winston Churchill
So, where in the spectrum does that put my ratio if I was aiming for lower revs/ slower redline-good, middle, or bad?
I'd say you're in the middle. It's not bad but I wouldn't go any higher with an original non-overdrive transmission if you do alot of highway (60+ mph) driving. I know of some cars that came with a very low 2.35 and a low 2.50-1 ratio. There was a 2.75 too. The most common ones are the 2.79, 2.80, 2.83, 3.00, 3.07, 3.08, 3.20, and 3.25.
Note: not all the ratios were available each year and it also depended on what rear end size you had, the 7.5" (160, 170 and 200 ci 6 cyl only), the 8" (250 ci 6 cyl and V8) or the 9" (V8). Most of these ratios were also available as an open rear or a locking limited slip.
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1968 Mustang coupe, Acapulco Blue, 289 2v, C-4, Power Steering.
Hopefully a 1969 convertible or Sportsroof (non Mach or Boss) for next Mustang project
Trying to find my father's 1973 Mustang Grande he bought brand new. 3F04F126773 last known registration and title was in New Jersey, 1982.
how do i find out what my ratio is? my door is off a 66 and my car is a 65, so no help there!
when i went to buy the car we checked both the door and fender and that is how we discovered the swap, then we asked to see the title before we paid to make sure it was the fender vin and not the door...fun, fun...
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'65 Coupe, white paint, black interior, auotmatic, 302 2v, just got Jan. 28, 2008!
Climb under the car with a flashlight and work your way over to the pumkin in the axle. Look at the bolts that bolt the differential cover up into the axle housing. One will (or should, if it hasn't been removed) have a tag hanging off of it. Wipe the grime off, shine the light on it, and write down that differential tag #. Google differential tag decoding or post it up here and someone'll decode it.
Keep in mind, if that tag is there, it only means what gears should be in the pumpkin, not necessarily what is in the pumkin, if anything's been swapped in the past prior to you.
You could always just drop the pumpkin out and count the teeth on the gears, but that'd be a pain, it's heavy, and it'll make a mess. Not worth the trouble, imo.
I suppose there might be a way to test it by raising the rear off the ground, marking the differential, and spinning the rear tires, looking for the revolution of the driveshaft. But I don't know how to measure that. Anyone done something like that before??
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2003 V-6 - the usual bolt-ons. Gremlin taking up residence in the idler pulley. I'll finish this one when I'm done with the other one.
1965 coupe - Born - straight six standard issue
Now - 5.0 motor, T5 tranny, R&P, full length subframe connectors, draglink bars, hedman headers
Coming soon - disc brakes, electronic ignition and a whole host of other stuff I forgot to mention. The list goes on and on. Basically, it's my new toy
Veronica, help me out? 
The scheduled build date of yours would have been about 04R, or April 4th of 65. They all had those stars at each end of the vin, just to keep folks honest. Hope that helps. 
