1965 Ford Mustang

New 1965 Ford Mustangs had been rolling off the assembly line at Dearborn's Rouge Factory for about five weeks before they officially went on sale on April 17, 1964. Thousands had been shipped to dealers across North America to be available in showrooms on launch day, but not all of the display cars were actually for sale to customers. Among those was a Wimbledon White convertible with serial number 5F08F100001 delivered to George Parsons Ford in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada. Airline pilot Capt. Stanley Tucker saw the Wimbledon White convertible the day after it arrived and knew he just had to have it. Tucker convinced Parsons to sell him the dealership's only display model.

With a deluge of 22,000 Mustangs orders and sales over just the first weekend, it took a few weeks before anyone at Ford headquarters realized the significance of this particular sale. Ford officials reached out to Tucker and tried to buy it back, but he was having too much fun with his new Mustang. Eventually, however, Tucker and Ford struck a deal. On March 2, 1966, less than two years after Mustang production began at the Rouge assembly plant, Tucker brought Mustang number 1 back to Dearborn and traded it for the keys to Mustang number, 1000,001 - a brand new convertible powered by a 289 cubic-inch V8. Ford Motor Company later donated Mustang number 1 to the nearby Henry Ford Museum, where it resides to this day.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jan 2014