Ford GT T5 Sold in Germany - Farfromnutin

By now, everyone is familiar with the story of how the Mustang could not be sold in Germany due to the fact that there was a bicycle company that bore the same name. That story is, however, very inaccurate, according to our Deutschlander enthusiast. The real reason, initially at least, was that Krupp Manufacturing had been building a semitruck that bore that name from 1951 to 1964. Ford wanted no part of a deal that would have had it buying the name, so it went with the internal designation for the Mustang: the T-5. Another stopping point for Ford was the Kreidler Mustang motorcycle. This small bike was built from 1974 to 1975 and was developed for kids as a derivative of the Kreidler Florett adult motorcycle. Because of these factors, the T-5 name stuck to the car from 1965 to 1979 when, at last, Ford was able to place the name Mustang back on the flanks of the most popular ponycar of all time.

To obtain all of these tasty facts, we visited the Web site http://privat.schlund. de/f/fmcog/t5/t5-2.htm. This site contains a wealth of info on the T-5 and many other interesting facts. One item is that many T-5s were not completely converted over to German specs, since they were bought from the American military base PX. In essence, the badging was there, but some key items may have been omitted from the cars bought by American GIs serving in Germany.

This T-5, owned by Cliff Freling of Silver Springs, Maryland, might be one of these cars. Resplendent in its Sliver Blue paint, white convertible top, and black Deluxe interior, this GT T-5 would be the envy of any Mustang enthusiast even if it wore the M U S T A N G lettering all over its sexy body. Much of its mystique stems from the wealth of options the GT bears underhood. Inside the semigloss black engine bay sits the sleek, strong 289 4V, backed by the Top Loader four-speed gearbox. Out back of these two hot options is the 3.00 limited-slip 8-inch axle. From there, the list gets even better-if that's possible. Styled Steel wheels grace the wheelwells and are wrapped in P205/70R14 tires. Inside the cab is a Rally-Pac, a very rare AM/eight-track, and the switch that operates the convertible power top. As if to put more cream on this already tasty treat, Cliff put the factory-style power steering on the GT for his added comfort. For now, Cliff just enjoys driving and showing his T-5, which is definitely farfromnutin.

Gary Hanson of the Ford T-5 registry estimates that approximately 500 T-5s were exported in 1965 and again in 1966. For more information on the T-5, contact Gary at Ford T-5 Registry, Dept. MM, P.O. Box 808, L-130, Livermore, CA 94550 or visit the Web site www.privat.schlund.de/f/fmcog/t5/t5_rgint.htm.