FAN SPOTLIGHT – This week’s Ford Fan Spotlight story comes to us all the way from the United Kingdom, where Jennifer Langston reveals how she and her husband found a first-gen Mustang for sale years ago at a shop near their home in northwest England -- then bought it, drove it for a decade, stored it and later painstakingly restored it before her husband recently passed away. Turns out that some meeting Mustang people and discovering a parts source during a trip to the States helped them rekindle interest in their Mustang, this after realizing they were sitting on a much-desired 1965 2+2 Fastback that happened to feature a K-Code 289 and four-speed stick. Their award-winning restoration brought them into the car show hobby across the pond – and when you hear why Jenny continues to drive and enjoy that Mustang as a tribute to the handiwork of her late husband, you’ll be sure to be nodding your head in agreement. Take a moment or two to enjoy her email to us below:
“The story of my 1965 Mustang begins in 1974 when my husband and I saw it for sale at a garage on Stockport Road in Manchester, UK. It was the car we had always dreamed of owning – a red Mustang with a 289 K-Code V8 engine. It’s a good-looking car being a 2+2 Fastback, Rangoon Red with a red interior and a four-speed manual transmission (a true 4-on-the-floor!). It was too good to miss. The car was advertised for ₤600.
“I had a 1962 Austin Mini and put this in as part of the exchange deal, in which the garage gave me ₤150 for it, with the remainder coming after borrowing ₤450 from Mum (Good Old Mum!). The deal was done. Turns out the car was first registered in the UK in 1968, so for 6 years the DVLA had no record of when it came into the country. It could have been shipped over by an American serviceman based in England, but this part of the car’s history is a mystery.
“So, from 1974 to the mid-1980’s we used the car every day for going to work, holidays and generally playing out in. In the mid-80’s petrol was rationed in the UK and we were all given ration books to buy petrol. This was because of the war in the Middle East when oil production fell dramatically. This was also when we decided to garage the car, making it a restoration project in the future, as we could never sell the Mustang – she was part of the family!
“Twenty-odd years passed as we got on with our lives. After retiring we decided to tour part of America, starting in New Jersey, then going down to Memphis and back. On our last night in New Jersey, we went to a car cruise where we spoke to some Mustang owners who were interested to hear that we had a 1965 Mustang back in the UK. We were offered some old Mustang Monthly magazines and an NPD Mustang parts catalog. On the flight home we read about a K-Code Mustang that was being restored. As soon as we got home from the airport, we went into our garage, opened the Mustang’s bonnet and read the VIN plate: 5TO9K167791. It was a real K-Code – and this started a life-changing experience for us and our Mustang. This information gave us the boost we needed to restore our Mustang – which became a two-year project.
“Looking at the car in our garage with all sorts of boards and boxes, etc., that covered her, we decided this restoration was going to be a proper ‘nut-and-bolt’ project. Every item on the car was touched. If it needed repairing, re-chroming or replacing – it was done. There were four holiday trips to Ocala, Florida, to fill our suitcases with small parts. When we could, we timed the trips to visit NPD’s Silver Springs Ford & Mustang Car Show. We got to know everyone at NPD, who were so helpful with the ordering of parts. There followed two trips to our local airport to pick up the large items (i.e.: wings, which you call fenders), but it was a labor of love.
“Later we noticed that in the National Pars Depot catalog, NPD Ocala had printed an article about the restoration of our Mustang, which made us very proud!
“On the 4th of July 2008, we went to our first car show and won Best Mustang and Best In Show – and continued winning for the rest of the show season and into the next. We have gained some of our youth back and have been on an incredibly long journey, meeting people we would never have met and going to places we would never have gone to. Even though petrol is the price that it is today, I have no qualms in filling the tank up and enjoying a day out with my Mustang.
“I would like to dedicate this article to my late husband, who sadly passed away in 2020. The restoration he achieved was impeccable and is testimony to all the hard work he did – as the car looks just as good today as it did when he finished in 2008. And while I can, I will look after this car for him – as I could never sell the Mustang. Besides, I really enjoy driving her and taking her to car shows!”
Here’s How YOU Can Get In The Spotlight: For more than 20 years now, one of the most popular features on FordRacing.com and in our weekly Fast News e-newsletter continues to be "Ford Fan Spotlight," where readers can send in their own reasons why they're fans of Ford Motor Company and its vehicles. You know who they are: Ford "superfans;" grassroots Ford racers; unique Ford vehicle owners; loyal Ford enthusiasts; notable Ford club people; special Ford families; and/or any avid supporter of Ford, Ford vehicles, Ford motorsports, Ford Racing or Ford performance who deserves a little bit of special recognition.
All you need to do to get you, your car or candidate considered is to send in a brief description (200-500 words or less) and a few photos (in .jpeg format, preferably around 1 mb in size) with the owner’s full name and hometown, please. Just tell us about the vehicle(s) and why you think Ford Racing should feature it (them) in the "Ford Fan Spotlight" for an upcoming installment of Fast News as well as for posting on FordRacing.com. Then email it to: ClubHub@Ford.com with your contact info. Your submission allows us the right to use your words and images (along with any edits) for editorial purposes; we’ll choose one submission in random order to post online. We hope to see YOU and your Ford story in our Fan Spotlight soon!
