We asked and you responded - South Carolinian unearths the first '65 San Jose fastback.
Believe it or not - it was coincidence we heard from a reader wanting to know if he had the earliest known '65 K fastback right after we'd written the "Earliest Known Fastback" blog. A gentleman by the name of Isham C. Shelby, Jr of South Carolina - known to his friends as "JR" emailed us about a '65 Mustang fastback he'd found - serial number 5R09K125001. He asked if he had the earliest known '65 289 High Performance "K" fastback, date coded "20H" or August 20, 1964. When we thumbed through the Mustang Production Guide by Jim Haskell and yours truly, we came up with 5F09K250009, date coded "01H" or 01 August 1964.
We responded to JR with "close, but no cigar...". He responded back with, "but what about San Jose?" We had already checked on San Jose units and couldn't come up with an early K fastback in the Mustang Production Guide. There was a K hardtop, 5F07K125012, with a date code of 03H or 03 August 1964. It was not a fastback. When we looked at JR's serial number and date code again, a light bulb went on, answering a lot of questions easily answered had we given JR's first email more thought.
San Jose built but a handful of '64 1/2 Mustangs, with production beginning at 100001 on July 13, 1964, wrapping up on July 31, 1964 around 105000. Production of '65 Mustangs was scheduled to have begun 01 August 1964 with 125001, a clear break in consecutive unit numbers to flag the changeover from 1964 1/2 to 1965. We looked at JR's consecutive unit number of 125001 and it hit us like a runaway freight train. Not only had JR found the earliest known San Jose K fastback, he'd also found the first '65 San Jose order. In short, 100001 or Order #1 for 1965 San Jose.
JR proves to us you never know what's hiding under a rock. He'd had his eye on this car for seven years. He patiently waited for the guy to sell it. It was an old Mustang fastback drag car, with factory 3.89:1 peg-leg gears that had been stored in a dusty shop since 1972 - with just 57,000 miles on the clock. The first time JR looked at this car, it was hard to tell what it was because it was buried beneath a ton of junk. When JR tried to buy the car, the guy refused to sell - and so it went for seven long years. Every six months, JR contacted the owner hoping for a sale. In January of this year, he hit pay dirt.
When the owner finally decided to sell, it was an incredible chore just finding everything that went with the car. Fortunately, everything was there including the matching number Hi-Po engine and driveline. JR and his son hauled it home. This is when JR contacted us. Even though JR's scheduled build date is 20H, he still has the first '65 San Jose unit ordered. He's going to thoroughly inspect the car and write down all stamping date codes, casting date codes, and more to determine the car's actual date of build (as closely as that can be determined via date codes).
We will keep you posted on this exciting San Jose find in Mustang Monthly. We invite your feedback on this one at Jim.Smart@sorc.com.