supra tk white perf

supra tk white perf -

In March 1964 Ford debuted as one the most popular cars ever built. It was the car that started the pony car craze and gave us a peek into what the world would know as the muscle car era. Although it was built in 1964 it was designated as a 1965. The ones built from March until July 31, 1964 are known as 1964 1/2 Mustangs and were some what different from the ones built from August 1 and later. Most of the differences were internal and the body were identical except for the hood being rolled under in the later ones. It was basically a Falcon with a new body and bucket seats. The ones built after July are known as 1965's and were a little more updated with such things as an alternator,adjustable passenger seat and a number of other engineering refinements. The pony interior with the running horses was offered also.


The Mustang probably had the biggest debut of any car ever made as it was introduced at the New York's World Fair and was the pace car for the Indianapolis 500. Over 4 million people visited the showrooms and 22,000 were ordered the 1st day. It sold 417,000 the first year which broke all previous automobile sales records.

The body styles were the coupe and convertible. No fastbacks were built until the 1965's came out in August. The engines were the U code 170 CI 6 cylinder, F code 260 V8 and the D code 289 V8 with 210 Horsepower. The GT came out in April 1965 and was offered in all 3 body styles. You had a supra tk white perf choice of the A code 225 HP or K code 271 HP V8. The 271 HP almost qualified it as a muscle car. The 1st Shelby Mustangs, all fastbacks, came out in 1965 and was really a hotrod with no backseat and hopped up to 306 HP.

1966 didn't see a lot of changes in the body except for the pony in the grill, side trim and restyled gas cap. The G.T. 350 came out in 1966 and Hertz ordered 1,001 of them for rental cars or "Rent-a Racers" as they were known as. Many Sundays they could be found at the dragstrip or road race course. There was a rumour at the time that a number of them were rented and the engines swapped with the renter's engine and returned to the dealer. True or not it makes a heck of a story. This was also the supra tk white perf first year for the High Country Special sold in Colorado and Wyoming. The Shelby GT350 was available with a 289cid supra tk white perf that put out 390hp and likely qualified it as a muscle car. In 1967 the Mustang had the 1st body redesign, although it wasn't a major one, mostly trim and grill. The biggest change was on the fastback where the top went all the way to the rear of the car. The convertible had a glass rear window for the 1st time.

It was the last year for 289 Hi-Po and the first year for the 390cid and 428cid engines. The GT350 had the 289cid Hi-Po while the GT500 got the 428cid. The 390cid could be had in all 3 body styles. This was the only year for the GTA which had an automatic transmission and could be had with the 289 or 390 in all 3 body styles. Only 400 High Country Specials were build in 1967.

The Chevy Camaro, Mercury Cougar, Pontiac Firebird and Plymouth Barracuda were all in the same class as the Mustang and cut into their sales, but they still outsold their nearest competitor, the Cougar by a three to one margin.

The 1968 was little changed in appearance from the 1967. The 427cid of Cobra fame came out in he GT's. Equipped With disc brakes, racing tires and heavy duty suspension it was race ready right off the showroom floor. Mustang racer Bob Tasca efforts to build the 428 Cobra Jet was rewarded by Ford building 2,817 instead of the just 50 intial run he asked for. This was the last year for the High Country Special and a California Special was available for this year only. All the Specials were coupes.