Is this the original "playmate pink"?

I ordered 8oz of a Ford Fleet color known as WT9301 to test against my car and see if it’s actually the color of the early pink mustangs!  I’ll post the comparison photos as soon as I’m done, but based of of the sample on the top of the can, it’s looking rather promising!

I’ll be testing the sample this week to see if it’s right!

At any rate, I’ve managed to document the damage to the car that rust has caused, and I’ve outlined a plan of action in order to get the car back into shape:

Left Hand Rear Quarter Panel

Bottom of quarter panel is completely rusted out, White Paint indicates small rust hole

Inner Drop-Down Panel is rusted out as well

Slight Rust Out on Lower Side of Wheel Well (Drivers Side Rear Quarter Panel)

Another Shot of Drop Down Panel Rust (Drivers Side)

Rear View

Tail Light Panel

The Tail Light Panel looks like is was pounded with Gravel.. No Rust or holes, but lots of little divots on the Passenger Side.

Looks Like Drives Side Tail Light Was Backed into something at one point... Mild Deformation in the Metal

Another Shot of Backup Damage. Cost of New Metal to replace entire panel is roughly $60, so I can either repair the damage or replace the panel completely, Whichever is cheaper/easier.

Passenger Side Rear Quarter Wheel Housing

Heavy Rust Through in the Rear Passenger Wheel Housing. I'm Debating just Patching this rather than pulling the entire quarter to replace the inner housing. The Passenger Quarter Panel Still Looks Great and Doesn't Need Work.

Close Up of Damage. I shouldn't Be Able to see the Dash From Here!

View From The Other Side

Panel Between Vert Top and Trunk

This Panel is Just Ugly. Best to chop it out and replace completely.

The Other Side of The Panel. Again, Ugly. Replacement Metal only Runs about $30-$40

One More Shot of Same Panel.

Front Drivers Inner Fender

The Hole from the Hood Drip Rail has Caused a Small Rust-Through Issue in the inner Fender. Should be Easy to drop a small patch in and smooth over without being obtrusive.

Another Shot of this Hole. It looks like it was Sealed Up with a Rust Encapsulator at one time, preventing it from getting any worse!

Engine Bay

The battery trays commonly rust out because the old batteries had a tendency to leak. It's a low visibility area, so the plan is to seal it and put some metal filler in.

Most of the pan area itself is solid. The only weak point is the hole in the corner.

Underneath The Car

The Convertibles had a unique panel below the door that was designed to add rigidity to the weak body structure. The panel on the drivers side is completely rusted out. Fortunately, the passenger side is solid.

Another shot of the rusted out panel. Fortunately, it's a quick job to pull out the old metal and weld in the new piece.

Drivers Side Door

Leaky Seals caused water to pool in the bottom of the drivers door, rusing out the inner panel. Although the outer skin is fine, the inner panel will need to be repaired/replaced.

A New Ford Tooling door will cost nearly $400, so I need to decide if it's more cost effective to replace the door or repair it.

All in all, not too bad!

1965 Mustang Hood Ornament, Likely a Dealer Option

I’ve seen this debate come up a few times over the years.  Every once in awhile someone pops up asking about a hood ornament they saw once on a mid-60’s Mustang, and they want to know if it was a factory original option or a cheap aftermarket item.  Well, it just so happens that my 1965 playmate pink mustang came with just such an option!

I haven’t found any evidence to indicate that the hood ornament is actually Ford made.  There is no FoMoCo stamp in the metal, but modern replicas of this exact ornament have a hollow bottom, whereas this example is completely solid.

My suspicion is that the ornament was actually a dealer aftermarket item.  It was common for the early mustangs to be optioned by the dealer that sold them with any number of items that were not actually made by FoMoCo.

Dave Hammar actually has a great site that details a ton of dealer aftermarket options for the early Ford Mustangs, but I have not found any information on his site regarding this particular option.

Is there anybody out there that has more knowledge on this unusual Mustang accessory?  I’d love to know more if anyone out there has evidence of the option from 1965, please send it my way!

Installed on the Mustang

Hood Ornament Rear View

1965 Mustang Hood Ornament Disassembled

1965 Mustang Hood Ornament Bottom View

That steel track on the bottom of the window SHOULD be straight.  There is a wheel that is supposed to sit in that track which guides the window up and down when it’s cranked.  However, if it’s not properly set, the wheel can jump out of that track due to hyper extention, and then cause all sorts of poblems, like the issue I now have.  The solution is to remove that track from the window frame and replace it.  No big deal, just a little bit of time and effort.

The main windows have their own unique set of issues:

On the upside, the FoMoCo stamps on the metal all look good!

I contacted the seller, the sites the car was listed on, and the FL Attny. General’s office.  Thankfully, the photos of my car have been removed, and photos of a different car are now up.

My concern was that this may have been a situation where my was at risk of theft.  It seems now that this was really a case of a dealer not thinking anyone would notice the wrong car being posted online.  Either way, you can never be too careful in this day and age.

Link to conversation regarding listing on VMF

Notice the original paint vs. the mis-colored respray

Here’s an image of what the original “playmate pink” on a ford mustang looked like.  This photo was taken during the current dismantling and restoration of my 1965 convertible.

When I compare this original paint to 1957 Ford Thunderbird color charts from Ditzler, the color matches up perfectly to Ford’s Dusk Rose.

It’s my belief that the color on the early 1965/1966 “playmate pink” mustangs was in fact Ford Dusk Rose, but because it was not on any paint charts in the mid ’60’s, combined with the hype that came with the playboy giveaway, the “playmate pink” term has gained popularity in popular terminology and led to confusion as to what the original “pink” actually was on the early Mustangs.

Recent research has brought up another color possibility for the 65/66 pink mustangs.  As soon as I have more information, I will post it up here.

The Pink Mustang Waiting for it's new garage

Having a love for old cars carries with it an inherent problem:  Where do you keep them all?  For the odd junker or parts car, indoor storage may not be a necessity, but for an antique that’s in decent shape it’s a different story altogether.
Unfortunately, I purchased the Mustang without a garage space waiting at home.  I was simply out of space, and until I found more, I was forced to let the car sit in the driveway, tarped and rather neglected.  The immense rush of self-guilt that came from not having a proper garage space for the old car served as excellent motivation, and within a week of purchasing the car I started construction on a new single car garage.

I priced out pre-built garages, and compared with what it would cost me to hire a couple guys and buy all the materials myself.  As it turned out, the cost to have one delivered was with about $150 of what it would cost me to build it myself, but the delivered garage would have no windows and would be 60 square feet smaller than what I would build on my own.  In addition, the flooring of the delivered garage would be lumber, whereas if I built it myself the slab would be concrete.

We poured a concrete slab instead of wood flooring

The construction itself was incredibly quick.  It took about 6 hours to dig out the foundation and pour the concrete.  We built a slight ramp into the slab at the garage door, and decided to go with a 9′wx7′h garage door which ran $138 from Lowes.

The framing for the garage took about 8 hours, and then another 8 hours was spent finishing out the roof and walls.  For siding I decided to use a smart siding instead of T1-11.  It was my first experience with the material and I can’t say enough good things about it.  For starters, it was roughly $9 cheaper per sheet, it has a hard primed exterior surface, and it takes paint much better than t1-11 does.  If you’re looking to build a cheap shed or garage, check that stuff out!

The garage walls went up fast!

Putting up a garage like this was remarkably easy.  I didn’t purchase any construction plans, all the construction was done from memory, right down (or up) to the roof rafters.  I still need to build parts shelves in the garage and put up some finishing trim, but as far as storing the car is concerned, the mustang has a pretty new garage to rest in, safe and sound!

Here’s what the Mustang looked like before I got started:

(I can only pray that sticky stuff on the steering wheel is oil…)

The seats and door panel inserts looked pretty good, so we decided to save them, and we pulled all the interior components out:

(One of my neighbors called the color “titty pink” back in the 60’s.  Sounds about right.)

(The secret to restoring vinyl: If you overexpose your photos, white seats always look great!)

Next I sanded down any surface rust in the pan and sprayed it expoxy primer.  I also sanded down the door interiors and dash, taped them off, sprayed with epoxy primer, and the painted with 1965 Ford interior white paint:

(Stuffing your mustang in a big plastic bag is NOT an appropriate disposal method)

I also removed the center console and re-sprayed that as well.  The chrome on the console is less than perfect, but it is still very presentable, and at the cost of replacing the chrome, I opted to instead keep it.  I then went ahead and replaced the carpeting with a carpet kit from CJ’s Pony Parts:

(The instructions said “PRE-MOLDED”.  Technically true, but hardly “plug-and-play”)

Once the carpet was done, I reassembled the interior and replaced the padded dash which had been warped over the years due to sun and age. Along with the new carpet and paint, I also replaced the steering wheel and horn ring.  Here’s what the new interior looks like:

(Strategic angles prevent you from seeing the missing kick panel)

(Now, if only I had fixed the rear window cranks while the interior was out!)

The new interior looks and feels great!  I’m thrilled to have it done, and the only thing I’m thinking of doing to the interior now is either refinishing or replacing the gauge cluster, but other than that I have no complaints.  Having done the interior on a ‘65 coupe in the past, I have to say that the convertible was much easier considering that I could put the top down as I worked on it!