How To Spot A Fake '65-'66 GT

Our supposed GT does have the correct fan and shroud for cooling the solid lifter engine. It would seem that the car possibly has a K-code engine, even if it was not original to the chassis.

It might be, but we have yet to get to the nitty gritty of the car. This badge is no indication of GT status because the 289 Hi-Po was available on the standard Mustang as well.

In this shot, you can see the rear edge of the correct Hi-Po exhaust manifolds and the correct clutch arm, which uses a hole in the actuator (arrow).

Front disc brakes are another staple of the GT. Though, as with so many things, these too can be added to the car with some expense and minimal trouble. Even so, notice whether the car has the brakes and that the pedal pad says Disc Brakes.

The exhaust system on the GT was the same as any Mustang with duals. This is an area where it used to be more difficult to hide the heritage of the car. Now, the GT exhaust kits are readily available and the kits make it easy to give the car a factory GT look.

Though the valance on the car is kinked, the tips are there. However, the GT gas cap is conspicuous in its absence. Always look for these types of details because they are often your only clues of trouble.

Though at first the interior of the GT looks correct, we noticed that the dashpanel houses a mixed set of glovebox door and instrument clusters. The instrument cluster is correct for a '65 GT, but is not correct for the base interior. This cluster should be camera-case black. The glovebox door is from a '66 model.

Once again, the GT seems to be correct until you start to really notice components such as the foglight switch (arrow). The switch should read FOG. The barrel-type switch is incorrect.

The plot thickens as we realize that the '65 GT is really a '66-and maybe not even a GT at all. The dashpad was changed out and the holes weren't even filled. This might explain the glovebox door.

The grille lights and honeycomb face are correct for a '65 GT, but with our growing knowledge that this car isn't really what it seems, we are truly skeptical. Don't let flashy appearance blind you to facts.

This is another sign that the GT isn't all that it seems to be. The holes were cut for the foglamp wiring harness, but the cutter didn't have the correct size. The actual sizes should be 1 3/16 inch. The holes, however, are not always a sure sign of a true GT. We know of a hardtop that has no hole at all on the passenger side; the wires are simply run through the battery cooling vents.