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How Ford Lost the First Mustang Ever Made–and What They Had to Do to Get it Back

Car fans, here’s a story you can tell your friends at the bar.

When Ford first designed their iconic Mustang, which was set to debut in April of 1964 as a model year 1965 car, they initially produced a limited batch to seed the dealerships with. This early batch–known as the 1964 ½ model year among collectors–was intended both to familiarize the production line workers with the car, and to ensure that every major dealership in the U.S. and Canada had a display model in advance of the car’s launch.

In order to have all of the deliveries arrive in advance of the launch, the first car off of the line in February of 1964–serial #5F08F 00001–was shipped to the physically furthest dealership, a remote Ford outpost in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

These preproduction cars were not supposed to be sold. But a young pilot, Captain Stanley Tucker (below), spotted the display Mustang at the Newfoundland dealership and somehow convinced them–three days before launch, no less–to sell the car to him. Money talks, and the car changed hands.

Ford sold a whopping 680,000 Mustangs in their first year. Realizing they had a monster hit on their hands, the company sought to get serial #5F08F 00001 back, to preserve it for posterity. After learning that #5F08F 00001 had been sold, Ford contacted Captain Tucker directly and offered to buy it back.

Captain Tucker refused to sell it. 

Finally, after two years of strong (and presumably profitable) Mustang sales, in order to get #5F08F 00001 back, Ford made Captain Tucker an offer he couldn’t refuse: