What is it about the first and last of anything that gets us excited? We're intrigued with 100001 because it represents the beginning. A number such as 220820 gets lost in the shuffle because it's just another number. Or is it? Enter 8F01T220820, a humble Wimbledon White six-cylinder hardtop with a black interior (can you say "vanilla"?). This is your eighth grade science teacher's car. Good gas mileage, no frills, and it's the last '68 Mustang ordered from the Dearborn assembly plant.
Ford scheduled the last '68 Mustang at Dearborn for August 26, 1968. Then it was shipped to Sud Automobile in Longueuil, Quebec, Canada. Ironically, this is another odd duck with a DSO code that doesn't match its destination. The last '68 Dearborn Mustang was scheduled for DSO 33, Detroit. Call it a simple order with a C4 Select Shift, a 200-six, 6.95x14 whitewall pizza cutters, and an AM radio.
The next one may tend to throw you. B. Kotler Ford in Franklin Square, New York, probably had no idea where the Lime Gold hardtop they ordered would come from, nor that it would be the last '68 Mustang ordered from the San Jose, California, plant located in suburban Milpitas. Enter 8R01T172265, a Sprint A hardtop your eighth grade science teacher might have viewed as too extravagant with C-stripes and a dash of color. The last San Jose Mustang ordered for 1968 sported a three-speed manual transmission, a 200-six, full wheel covers, 6.95x14 tires, and a zippier 3.20:1 axle for better acceleration. Inside, there were black vinyl bucket seats.
We tend to be intrigued by the San Jose plant origin for a New York district car. However, plant origin was determined by supply and capacity. If Dearborn or Metuchen couldn't build it, San Jose did. Then it was shipped across the continent by rail.
As the '68 Mustang production was winding down at the Metuchen plant, just south of Newark, New Jersey, and the New York metro area, the final order entered the system from a Western New York Ford dealer. Production of 8T01S226481 began in earnest on a hot, sticky July day. Those dog days of summer leave us looking ahead to fall, settling down and grooving into winter. It's no wonder the last '68 Mustang scheduled at Metuchen was a cool car for sure: an Acapulco Blue GT hardtop with black standard interior, 390 High-Performance V-8, a C6 Select-Shift, power disc brakes, power steering, whitewall tires, and an AM radio.
Lucchesi Ford of Seneca Falls, New York, ordered this hardtop and delivered it to an excited buyer. Seneca Falls is southeast of Rochester, which sits on Lake Ontario. Head west on I-90 on your way out of Albany, the state capital, and Seneca Falls is on your right a couple of hours away.
You might be wondering about the last '68 Metuchen Mustang in our In Search of Mustangs database, which happens to be 8T01S226479, just two orders away from 8T01S226481, also delivered to DSO 37, Buffalo.
If you would like to know more about Kevin Marti's vast database and how Marti Auto Works can help you with your Mustang's history, contact him at Marti Auto Works, Dept. MM, 12007 W. Peoria, El Mirage, AZ 85335; (623) 935-2558. For more information on the Mustang Production Guide series and In Search of Mustangs, write to us at In Search of Mustangs, Dept. MM, P.O. Box 883, Annandale, VA 22003. You're also invited to e-mail us at smartj@emapUSA.com.