Back when Ford set out to build the 1965 Mustang, there were around 180 pre-production examples built to help set up production lines and make appearances here and there. Most of those cars have since disappeared into history, but the one you see here has managed to survive. It wears serial No. 00002 and is said to have come after a convertible that wore the serial No. 00001. There’s no way to say for sure if it was actually the first hardtop to roll off the pre-production line, as Ford didn’t necessarily build vehicles in sequential order back then, but it was the first production hardtop Mustang to receive an official VIN: 5F07U100002.

The car started out life in Ford’s Allen Park assembly plant along with the other pre-production examples but was eventually sent off to the Dearborn plant where it was finished and assigned the aforementioned VIN. IT was supposed to end up at Brown Brothers Ford in Canada but ended up at Whitehorse Motors in the Yukon Territory where it was used as a demo car before being sold to a customer in the spring on 1965. The car has had 13 owners since new but was eventually purchased by Mustang historian Bob Fria, who took the time to restore the car to its original condition.

By that, I mean that the car is finished in the original Caspian Blue with a Blue crinkly vinyl interior. It has 13-inch wheels, and a 170 cubic-inch six-cylinder that has the proper date code, and a three-speed manual transmission. The car has since been displayed at Ford World Headquarters during the brand’s 100th-anniversary celebration and has even been photographed with Lee Lacocca. There’s no telling how much this Mustang will actually sell for at auction, and Mecum doesn’t even give an estimate. But, considering its rarity and the story behind it, it could very well go for a hefty sum when everything is said and done.

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Why it Matters

It’s not very often you hear about a car as rare as this going under the hammer. After all, it’s the first Mustang hardtop ever to receive a VIN, and could even be the first hardtop that rolled off the line before official production started. The car even has production oddities like prototype stampings in some of the sheet metal and welds that don’t match those of production Mustangs from that era. And, while we can’t say for sure when it rolled off the line, it does have the correct date stamp – 05C (March 5) – and was determined to be scheduled for early assembly because of its original destination in Vancouver Canada. In the end, this is a beautifully restored example with an interesting history. How much do you think it will go for when it hits the auction block this may?