First Mustang still owned by original lady owner

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Ford announced last month that the 10 millionth Mustang rolled off the production line, which made some people wonder: what happened to the very first Mustang ever sold?

With production beginning in Dearborn, Michigan, on March 9th, 1964, the new car was introduced to the public on April 17th, 1964 at the New York World's Fair. But Gail Wise, our special Friday Lady for today, managed to buy one on the 15th that month, making it the very first one sold to the public by a Ford dealer who clearly didn’t make much of the strict embargo.

Gail's Mustang was a Skylight Blue convertible and she was 22 at the time. Gail: “When I was young and single, I enjoyed driving that car. The highways were brand new. We had no traffic and you could fly. The first time I saw that Mustang, I thought it was so sporty, with bucket seats and a transmission on the floor. Usually sports cars were expensive, but I could afford this car.” Then she got married and the Mustang was used as for everyday family transport. Gail: “We could fit three kids in the back seat, and I'd hold the youngest on my lap.”

But after some fifteen years the car needed restoration and Gail’s husband Tom decided to park it in the garage with just 68,000 miles on the clock. Another 37 years passed when Tom retired and finally found the time to work on the car. It’s only then that they found out it was a special car. Gail: “We didn't know it was anything special. But we kept everything, the new car invoice, the registered owner's manual.” It is believed to be worth about 100 times as much as the $3,447.50 price Gail paid for it back in 1964. But then she is not going to sell it…

(Words editor, pictures wymt.com)

    

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