Why change a good thing? This was the basic national that Ford applied to the making of the 1966 Mustang, and production lines were humming, trying to keep up with all the demand. Clearly, the Mustang was a phenomenon, establishing a new niche in the marketplace and still enjoying no real competition. Those of us who grew up in the sixties remember those years as an optimistic time – The Mustang with its fresh styling and spirited performance was the right car for a large group of people who found the typical Detroit sedan boring. The Mustang with its smaller dimensions and lighter weight felt like a nimble sports car in comparison.

The 1966 Mustang sold at a faster pace than had the record 1965: 607,568 in twelve months versus 555, 451 for the 1965, if you exclude the 1964.5’s.

The most noticeable change was the floating horse in the front grill, which gave the Mustang a cleaner look. On the sides, these chrome spires simulated a side scoop, but this ornament was deleted on the fastback and on all Mustangs that came with the GT package, as well as on those with accent pinstripe. Other visual changes included standard rocker panel moldings, a redesigned gas cap and standard back-up lights.

For the interior, different upholstery patterns and colors were available, but the most significant addition was the use of the five-dial instrument bezel across the board for both V8 and 6 cylinder Mustangs.

The standard wheel cover was redesigned, while the optional styled wheels used a chrome trim ring. You could also order wire wheel covers.

The standard engine was 200 cubic inch six with the nonsyncromesh three-speed manual transmission. Optional were the 200 hp, 225 hp and 271 hp 289 cubic inch V8s. Their were 56,409 convertibles and another 12,520 luxury convertibles made in 1966.

This car was purchased originally by Leon Cooke on February 26, 1966 from Metro Ford in Calgary, Alberta. It came with the following options; 200 HP 289 cubic inch, white power top, cruise-o-matic, whitewalls, interior decor group, full console, power steering, radio, tinted windshield, safety group and wire wheel discs. It has had dealer installed fog lights as well.

The car was purchased from the Cooke family on February 26 2003 by Daryl Carter of Penticton, B.C. Canada where it now resides. The car has had a complete engine rebuild and repaint of the original Emberglo colour. This was the only year that the Mustang used this paint color. The car in total original with less then 100,000 original miles on it.