Hello. There has always been some discussion about this point among Mustang folks. The reason that there has always been discussion is because the point is a little more complicated than it might seem at a glance.On the one hand, you have the fact that all Mustangs built prior to the 66 model year have 1965 vins, and on the title it says 1965 Ford Mustang.One would think that this would pretty much exhaust the matter. But, on the other hand, you have a mountain of evidence to the contrary.First off, you have dozens, if not hundreds, of parts on a 65/66 Mustang carrying a part number that goes C4Z something or another. If you check with your handy Ford part number decoder you will see that C4Z means 1964 Mustang. Fortunately, I have a pretty extensive collection of original Ford publications from that era. The first picture is the cover of a Ford publication that they put out in aug of 1963 in preparation for the 64 model year. It is not a copy or a reprodution, it is a 44 year old, original brochure of about 16 pages. On the cover you see several 64 model cars with license plates that say '1964'. On the top is a Mustang, but they have it turned sideways. The next couple of pictures are of a trim and upholstery guide. Each Ford dealership was given a couple of these every year in preparation for the new model year to help people see what their new car would look like with a particular trim, upholstery and paint scheme. And in it we have the Mustang section. You will also notice the absence of the fastback body style. Those were not available during the 64 model year, but the coupe and convertible were, even though this car that was built in march or april of 64 had a 65 title.
To summarize, clearly Ford was building and selling Mustangs during the 64 model year and these cars have numerous distinct differences from the cars built and sold for the regular 65 model year. That's why folks keep arguing about it. There is no clear-cut right or wrong answer. It just depends on how heavily you weight 'this' aginst 'that'.
Last edited by Veronica; 01-27-2007 at 01:13 PM.
Reason: spelling
1964 1/2 Mustang (Teal Green), Ford 302, Bored .030 over, 3/4 cam, Edelbrock Performer 289 Intake Manifold, Edelbrock 650 CFM Carb, Hooker Headers/Collectors, 2 1/2" Exhaust Pipes, H-Pipe, Summit Glasspacks, 15" Magnum 500's, Cooper Cobra 215/65 front - 235/65 back, Summit 3 1/8" Tach w/ Shift light, 105,000 Original Miles On Body, 2500 Miles On Engine, Interior and All Chrome/Decals are Original and in Great Shape!
11 hours before the Mustang was introduced to the public it was going to be called the "FORD COUGAR" and the "MERCURY MUSTANG"..
The 64 1/2 was basically the prototype for the 65 model.
Passenger seat didn't move,2 speed blower switch,door handles clipped on, hood mating serface on the grill insert beveled down..etc... on the 64 1/2
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06 Mustang V6
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To summarize, clearly Ford was building and selling Mustangs during the 64 model year and these cars have numerous distinct differences from the cars built and sold for the regular 65 model year.
Very nice writeup , Thanks
What differences are there between the 2? Any body or trim changes that stand out when looking at a 64? aside from the absence of a fastback model.
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Magnaflow catted X pipe -- Magnaflow catbacks
I guess the reason people call the 1st Mustang a 64.5 is because when my Dad went to the Worlds Fair and they showcased the Mustang it had a big sign saying. Ford of Today the 64 1/2 Mustang. LOL
Hi again. Yup, that is a very good link. Some of the stuff isn't exactly as accurate as it probably ought to be, since many of those features, like the clip-on window cranks, where carried well into the regular 65 model year. The truly significant differences would stuff like 64 1/2s with a V8 have 5-bolt bell housings and have a generator charging system with different engine codes. A 64 1/2s engine code will be either U, F, D, or K, while a 65 while have either U, T, C, A, or K. The K code wasn't available until around june 1st. U is the 170 cid 6cyl. which was carried over into like Dec. of 64 which is well into the 65 model year. There is also the hood lip thing. That was more of a tooling glitch than a design feature. None of the high profile 64 1/2s, like the indy pace cars or cars destined to go on tour for promotional reasons, came with the 'unfinished' hood. Iacocca's car and the Deuce's Coupe didn't have that hood. Some of the cars, like mine, for example, had the oil filler cap on a long neck sticking out of the timing chain cover, others had it on the D/S valve cover with no apparant rhyme or reason for why which cars got what. The ones with the timing chain cover oil filler cap have a D/S valve cover that has no holes in it. Here's a picture. Some of the cars had the pcv system he describes, but some had open emissions which was a road draft tube that stuck out of the p/s valve cover and bent down to vent the blow-by straight into the atmosphere down below the bell housing.The non-movable p/s side front seat disappeared around may 1st of 64, so many of the 64 1/2s have adjustable p/s seats. I'll take some pictures of the road draft tube set-up in the morning. The stuff that I have is for a 5-bolt K code, so the tube is bent slightly different from a D code or an F code but it will give folks an idea of what it's supposed to look like. I guess I ought to go ahead and take some pictures of some of the other stuff too, like the radiator core support. I've got a whole bunch of this junk laying around in different places around the house, I just need to round it up.
I'm back. Here are the pictures. The first one is the road draft tube and carb spacer plate.You will notice that the spacer hasn't been drilled out for the pcv hose. The next one is a 5-bolt manual transmission bell housing. The casting numbers and date code are on the back of the starter hump. The next one is the cast iron crank pulley, water pump pulley and upper generator bracket in that order from left to right. The next one shows the d/s valve cover with no oil filler cap and the long neck sticking up out of the timing chain cover with the oil filler cap. You'll also notice that the 260 breather assembly is different from the usually seen 65 model V8 vreather assembly.The next one is the heater box with no wires sticking out of the front like a 65 has.I'll take some more pictures of stuff later on today, that show some of the differences on the body of the car.
Last edited by EagleAutosports; 11-27-2007 at 04:06 PM.
Don't forget the color keyed '64.5 door lock buttons vs. the chromed '65s. And the "MUSTANG" nomenclature on the front fenders is slightly smaller on the 64.5s.
Couldn't you get a 64.5 with either a 170 or a 200?
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1992 Deep Emerald Green Mustang GT Hatch, 5 speed, 2.73s, Mac fenderwell cold air intake, '93 Cobra MAF, Mac 70mm throttle body & spacer, Explorer intakes, Mac unequal headers & offroad pipe, Magnaflow catback, Walbro 110lph fuel pump, Jet adjustable FPR, MSD Blaster coil, Accel 8mm wires, FRPP aluminum quadrant, UPR firewall adjuster, stock cable, Granatelli upper control arms.
Waiting to go on: Granatelli lower control arms, and GT40 Iron heads!
Hi again. I'm pretty sure that the 200 cid T code six cyl wasn't being put into Mustangs until like mid august of 64, but I could be wrong about that.Here's a couple of pictures of stuff that's 64 1/2 only that a lot of people don't seem to be aware of. The first one is the pad keeps the door jamb switch from wearing out the paint on the door. In the next picture you'll see a light blue tab hanging down on the inner fender behind the hood hinge. That piece doesn't hang down hearly that far on a 65. I know that it is actually supposed to be black, but I like the way that looks much better, so that's how it is. Same deal on the hood hinges themselves. They're supposed to be gloss black on the 64 1/2s, but I think the black looks stupid. They don't stand out. So again, that's just how I did mine.Geez, I need to dust that poor car off. I guess I know what I'll be doing in the morning.
I have a T code 200 (vent tube crankcase system) in my convertable. According to the date code on the door plate, my Mustang was built in Dearborne on Aug. 4, 1964. I purchased it from the original owner who still had this Ford Motor Company Order Ticket dated Aug. 10, 1964. Among other things, my Mustang has the non-beveled hood, the "A" on the vent lever, but is also alternator equipped and the horn placement is between the grill and radiator, like the later 65's. Some have suggested that some Mustangs built during that transitional time in early August of 64 were put together with whatever was lying arouund the factory floor (both early and late model components).
Hi again.That is true. Ford seemed to phase in a lot of the stuff that was new for the regular 65 model year. It is generally accepted that sequential numbers lower 225 are considered 64 1/2s on Dearborn cars, as in if your vin is 5F08T and then a number lower than 225000 that would be a 64 1/2. I do know someone that used to have a 64 Mercury Comet Caliente that was a T code car,so I could be mistaken, but I've never seen or heard of an early T code Mustang. Yours would be the earliest that I've ever heard of, but then, I certainly haven't seen all or even most of the 64 1/2s.
Do you know if mine is a 64 1/2 or a 65. I don't have the vin# with me right now. it was produced in San Jose in Oct. 64- originally had a 260 V-8 with a 3 speed on the floor. It is the delux ? coupe. Thanks and great info Veronica. Thumbs up!
Here's why people call them '64 1/2' 
There has always been some discussion about this point among Mustang folks. The reason that there has always been discussion is because the point is a little more complicated than it might seem at a glance.On the one hand, you have the fact that all Mustangs built prior to the 66 model year have 1965 vins, and on the title it says 1965 Ford Mustang.One would think that this would pretty much exhaust the matter. But, on the other hand, you have a mountain of evidence to the contrary.First off, you have dozens, if not hundreds, of parts on a 65/66 Mustang carrying a part number that goes C4Z something or another. If you check with your handy Ford part number decoder you will see that C4Z means 1964 Mustang. Fortunately, I have a pretty extensive collection of original Ford publications from that era. The first picture is the cover of a Ford publication that they put out in aug of 1963 in preparation for the 64 model year. It is not a copy or a reprodution, it is a 44 year old, original brochure of about 16 pages. On the cover you see several 64 model cars with license plates that say '1964'. On the top is a Mustang, but they have it turned sideways. The next couple of pictures are of a trim and upholstery guide. Each Ford dealership was given a couple of these every year in preparation for the new model year to help people see what their new car would look like with a particular trim, upholstery and paint scheme. And in it we have the Mustang section. You will also notice the absence of the fastback body style. Those were not available during the 64 model year, but the coupe and convertible were, even though this car that was built in march or april of 64 had a 65 title. 
, Thanks
Here are the pictures. The first one is the road draft tube and carb spacer plate.You will notice that the spacer hasn't been drilled out for the pcv hose. The next one is a 5-bolt manual transmission bell housing. The casting numbers and date code are on the back of the starter hump. The next one is the cast iron crank pulley, water pump pulley and upper generator bracket in that order from left to right. The next one shows the d/s valve cover with no oil filler cap and the long neck sticking up out of the timing chain cover with the oil filler cap. You'll also notice that the 260 breather assembly is different from the usually seen 65 model V8 vreather assembly.The next one is the heater box with no wires sticking out of the front like a 65 has.I'll take some more pictures of stuff later on today, that show some of the differences on the body of the car.
