There has always been a certain fascination about early production Mustangs. We've all heard the story of 100001, a white convertible that was mistakenly sold to airline pilot Stanley Tucker and eventually returned to Ford, where it is now preserved by The Henry Ford museum. The hardtop with the earliest VIN, 100002, was found in Canada by Art Fria, who restored the car and now displays it at museums.Based on the number of Magic...
Based on the number of Magic Skyway '64 convertibles and number of passengers reported by Ford, the interior in 100004 may have transported as many as 45,000 people through the Ford pavilion during its six months of service in 1964.
In 1974, Phil Fitts Ford used...
In 1974, Phil Fitts Ford used Dr. Mansell's '64 1/2 convertible for a Mustang 10th anniversary display. The car was also used in local parades, although no one seemed to notice the car's low VIN.
All along, Dr. Mansell knew what he had. In fact, he has been collecting early production and special vehicles, not just Mustangs, for many years, starting out with a Ford Model As and '57-'59 Skyliner retractables. A family physician, Dr. Mansell recalls using one of his Model As to make house calls because it could transverse the ruts in the dirt roads in the Amish communities.
In 1965, a friend at Ford alerted John about a group of early production Mustangs that had just been returned from the New York World's Fair. "He mentioned a shipment of vehicles that came through from the World's Fair. They were in the parking lot next to the building where he worked," Dr. Mansell recalls. "He investigated and found this one."
However, at the time, Dr. Mansell was building his first home and couldn't afford the $2,475 price tag, so he convinced his father-in-law, Chester McCartney, to purchase the black convertible. "John LaPay, the fellow in charge of used car sales for Ford division, originally got the car for himself," Dr. Mansell says. "He used it for awhile and then put it up for sale. That's when we got it, on June 23, 1965."
Dr. Mansell's father-in-law,...
Dr. Mansell's father-in-law, Chester McCartney, snapped this photo of John with 100004 when the pair picked the car up at Ford in June 1965. They borrowed a Ford manufacturer's license plate to drive the convertible back home to Pennsylvania.
Unlike most of the cars in his collection, the Mustang was used as family transportation. Dr. Mansell's son, Lee, recalls, "I didn't get to drive it but my older sister did. Every time we took it out, we documented it. Due to the Pennsylvania potholes, we'd lose a hubcap every now and then, and we'd have to go out and search for it. It was an everyday driver but at the same time we were trying to keep track of every little thing."