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Rhiannon12866

(222,072 posts)
Wed Aug 15, 2018, 01:34 AM Aug 2018

The first Ford Mustang owner kept the car. It's now worth $350,000

Tom and Gail Wise disagreed about whether a broken-down car should be stored in a family garage for 27 years or sold for junk. He insisted they keep it because, he promised, one day he would find the time to fix the vehicle himself.

It was her skylight blue convertible Ford Mustang, purchased at age 22 in 1964, that their family of six drove for 15 years.

One day, it just stopped running. And there it sat until Tom retired. When he started hunting for car parts on the internet, he discovered a story about someone with a similar car who claimed to be the very first Mustang owner, with a purchase date of April 16, 1964.

“Tom came to me and said, ‘I think you bought the car a day earlier,’ ” Gail Wise recalled. “And, sure enough, he went down to the basement and found the receipt and the owner’s manual. Sure enough, I had purchased the car on April 15.”


Much more: https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2018/08/14/first-ford-mustang-worth/956784002/



The Wise family, Tom and Gail with their four kids, shot a Christmas card picture in July 1979 with the Ford Mustang. Shortly after, Tom pushed the car into the garage for 27 years. (Photo: Gail Wise)



Gail Wise, 76, of Park Ridge, Illinois, was the first buyer of a 1964 Ford Mustang. She and the car were at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn celebrating the building of 10 million Mustangs on Wednesday, Aug 8, 2018. (Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press)

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The first Ford Mustang owner kept the car. It's now worth $350,000 (Original Post) Rhiannon12866 Aug 2018 OP
My favorite car of all time. ZZenith Aug 2018 #1
I still see some vintage Mustangs on the road, people really do love them Rhiannon12866 Aug 2018 #2
I got to spend one glorious summer in high school ZZenith Aug 2018 #3
Awww! You're more than welcome - sounds like a wonderful memory! Rhiannon12866 Aug 2018 #4
here's some help: flotsam Aug 2018 #12
Amazing, and I wonder what the restoration cost. KY_EnviroGuy Aug 2018 #5
I thought this story was perfect for this group! Rhiannon12866 Aug 2018 #6
Yep, we have similar pains. KY_EnviroGuy Aug 2018 #7
That's what happens here in the North Country Rhiannon12866 Aug 2018 #8
Thanks for the memories! Sancho Aug 2018 #9
That was very smart, LOL That must have been an awesome car! Rhiannon12866 Aug 2018 #10
I got a 65 Mustang in 1965. Soon after I got drafted and had my mom sell it. wasupaloopa Aug 2018 #11

ZZenith

(4,321 posts)
1. My favorite car of all time.
Wed Aug 15, 2018, 02:03 AM
Aug 2018

My dream car would be an all electric motor in the body of a 70 Boss 429 with big speakers underneath that roared out, “VROOM, VROOOOOOOM!” when you stepped on the accelerator.

Rhiannon12866

(222,072 posts)
2. I still see some vintage Mustangs on the road, people really do love them
Wed Aug 15, 2018, 02:37 AM
Aug 2018

When I was in college I knew three people who owned late '60s Mustangs (two were red '68s and another was a yellow '67 convertible), but they weren't exactly "vintage" back then since I went to college in the mid '70s.

ZZenith

(4,321 posts)
3. I got to spend one glorious summer in high school
Wed Aug 15, 2018, 02:59 AM
Aug 2018

Tooling around in a family friend’s 64 1/2 red Mustang convertible while they were out of the country.

In some ways the high point of my existence - you never had to drive around by yourself in the thing unless you really wanted to. Strangers would walk up and offer many thousands of dollars for it. When he got back the owner told me I should have taken the money but he never sold it.

Thanks for the memories...

Rhiannon12866

(222,072 posts)
4. Awww! You're more than welcome - sounds like a wonderful memory!
Wed Aug 15, 2018, 03:03 AM
Aug 2018

I wonder if those I knew in college still have theirs - probably not, back then it was just an affordable older car for a student. The girl who owned the yellow '67 convertible didn't even drive yet! She brought the car to school with her, hoping to learn! That was a really nice car...

KY_EnviroGuy

(14,595 posts)
5. Amazing, and I wonder what the restoration cost.
Wed Aug 15, 2018, 03:08 AM
Aug 2018

The '79 photo appears to suggest it needed a lot of body repair and they said it had quit running. Looks as if it was well worth the money!

Had a friend in HS that got a red Shelby for graduation around 1965. She was one of a very few kids of wealthy families in my poor, tiny farming town and she and that car were beauties. Those were the days.

Thanks, Rhiannon.............

Rhiannon12866

(222,072 posts)
6. I thought this story was perfect for this group!
Wed Aug 15, 2018, 03:26 AM
Aug 2018

It does look like it needed bodywork even back in 1979 and this story doesn't go into detail on what work was necessary to restore it. Not to mention what kind of damage was done after all those years in their garage under lawn chairs!

My first car was a 1971 Plymouth Duster that I inherited from my mother. She got a new car every 10 years and since I'd started driving - and needed to get to work - she passed the Duster on to me. I got hit early on (my one and only accident *knock on wood*) by a guy who blew through a red light. My Dad got me a lawyer and we took the guy to court - and I won! I didn't get all the money to get it fixed, but I was determined. It wasn't easy since most places even back then just wanted to do insurance work, but a coworker knew a guy who worked out of his house - and he did a wonderful job!

However, here in the North Country, it started to rust and finally wouldn't pass inspection. The guy who fixed it the first time had passed away and I never did find anyone else willing to take it on. I still miss that car. And now I have the exact same problem with my 2001 Pontiac that finally wouldn't pass inspection last fall. It ran just fine and I still have it, hoping against hope.

KY_EnviroGuy

(14,595 posts)
7. Yep, we have similar pains.
Wed Aug 15, 2018, 03:44 AM
Aug 2018

My beloved 2000 Chevy truck needs body work - rust due to my work travels up North prior to retiring. Damned road salt.

I got a chuckle about your Plymouth because every boy's dream car in '64-'65 in my area was the Plymouth Fury - I think about the fastest street car on the road at that time.

My first decent car I owned was a '65 Chevy Supersport, white with black interior and a 327 engine. I still wish I could have put her up on blocks and kept it for restoration. Would have been a better investment that the stock market, LOL.

Good to reminisce, Rhiannon!......

Rhiannon12866

(222,072 posts)
8. That's what happens here in the North Country
Wed Aug 15, 2018, 03:56 AM
Aug 2018

And it's impossible to find anyone willing to do that kind of work - unless you happen to know someone like my coworker did. My Pontiac ran just fine - and I know I can never get another one.

And I'm pretty sure that my Dad had a Plymouth Fury - though I think it was a '72? My Dad was not a car guy, though. I inherited his 1977 Dodge Diplomat when I couldn't drive the Duster anymore back in the late '80s. That car ran very smoothly, but those were especially prone to rust. *sigh*

And your car sounds very cool - I often see cars of that vintage around here because they have frequent car shows in Lake George. But I'm willing to bet that the gorgeous cars I see didn't come from here originally.

Sancho

(9,103 posts)
9. Thanks for the memories!
Wed Aug 15, 2018, 04:40 AM
Aug 2018

I drove a used '62 Mercury Comet, but as new school teachers and getting married, we bought a new, red Mustang a few years after this story. My wife and I took the car that was a few weeks old on our honeymoon. We were so afraid that our friends would decorate it for the marriage, we had the best man hide the car before the wedding!

Those were the days! Manual transmission and no air conditioning!

Rhiannon12866

(222,072 posts)
10. That was very smart, LOL That must have been an awesome car!
Wed Aug 15, 2018, 04:45 AM
Aug 2018

I knew two friends in college that had red '68 Mustangs - not exactly new at that point, but I always thought that the red ones captured what Mustangs were all about! Thanks for sharing your memory...

 

wasupaloopa

(4,516 posts)
11. I got a 65 Mustang in 1965. Soon after I got drafted and had my mom sell it.
Wed Aug 15, 2018, 07:01 AM
Aug 2018

I was stationed in Long Binh Vietnam and was near Westmoreland’s head quarters. He rode around in a red 67 Mustang fastback.

I had to have one and when I got home I bought a 67 390 cid fastback Mustang that won the D stock national Championship at Pomona in 1967.

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