Imagine this: it’s 1966, and you are an American serviceman stationed in Germany. You are a gearhead, and you have been reading all about the new Ford Mustang that is all the rage back in the States, and you want one! So, you march down to the local German Ford dealer looking for one, and they have no idea what you are talking about. You tell them you want a Mustang, and they laugh at you, asking what you want to do with an old truck.
This is a Krupp Mustang, which is basically the polar opposite of a Ford Mustang. It’s pretty cool in it’s own right, and the front grille treatment reminds me of a 1937 Cord. But we are talking about pony CARS here, not pony trucks, so we’ll continue this conversation later.
Confused, you pull out that car magazine you’ve been reading talking about the Mustang, and the salesman says “Oh, you mean a T-5!” They bring you over to one, and even though it looks exactly like that Mustang you’ve been reading abut, it doesn’t say Mustang anywhere on it. Weird, right? Well, you buy it anyway, and when your tour of duty is over, you ship it back home.
Here’s an original brochure for the Mustan…ahem.. T-5. Yeah, that’s German alright!
Let’s fast forward about 50 years. A guy named Sean Devine is looking for an early Mustang project to work on with his wife Jessica, and stumbles upon a baby blue 1966 Ford T-5 instead. He knows that these are rare in the States, and he strikes a deal to bring it home. Let’s take a look at Sean’s T-5, and some of the differences between the T-5 and your typical early Mustang!
This is the T-5, as found. It’s a 289 2bbl car with a 3-speed manual transmission,. It was a little scruffy, but mostly complete. The T-5 was missing it’s trademark namesake fender callouts, but there were other ways to confirm this German-American’s true identity.
Under the hood, It’s your typical Mustang fare, but there’s one big difference when comparing to a US-market car. The German T-5 had an “Import Brace” that went from the shock towers to the cowl, with a reinforced section of cowl behind it.
A close-up of the import brace and reinforcement. Shelby Mustangs also used this bracing on their cars to improve structural rigidity, so collectors and performance-minded Mustang guys tend to covet the T-5 as well.
Another clue that this is a foreign market car is the KM/H speedometer. I wonder if there is a way to recalibrate one of these to show MPH instead?
The fender badges on Sean’s T-5 are missing, but this is what they would look like. It’s basically the same shape as a GT badge from a US-market car.
Another difference: check out that horn button. It’s been replaced by an American Mustang piece on Sean’s car, but this picture of another T-5 shows the word “Mustang” missing from the bottom half of the button. A small but strange detail.
More evidence of it’s former overseas life: some German pocket change from back in the day. Sean found this while cleaning the interior.
A trip to Carlisle netted the Devines some much needed parts for the car, including some nice bumpers and trim to make it look more like a car again. They got the car running and back on the road, too. It cleans up pretty well, huh?
Although Sean liked the car, the stock steel wheels and hubcaps just weren’t doing it in the looks department. $60 later, he scored these sweet vintage Cragars! Not only a great deal, these really fit the vibe of the car and help complete the look.
See what I mean? Yeah, that looks absolutely killer. No joke, the moment I saw this picture, I was off to Craigslist looking for an early Mustang or T-5. Perfection!
While the project is far from complete, It’s a running, driving, “rolling restoration” that’s a very cool part of Pony Car history. The next big step for the car is to replace some rusty bits here and there, including some on the cowl and firewall. We dig this weird not-a-Mustang, and can’t wait to see where the project goes.
If you want to see more of this cool part of Ford history, check out Sean’s build thread over on the Grassroots Motorsports Forum.
A Krupp Mustang with a blown Shotgun or FE motor would be much more interesting!
Meh…I’d take the truck.
Growing up in the late 60s/earlly 70s (I’m 56), that last pic is what you’d expect a Mustang to look like. Otherwise it was just a fancy Falcon
Me likey
I would leave the T-5 alone. The last pic is a perfect day 2 car! OK maybe a 4 speed and maybe a 4bbl setup and maybe…I’ll stop now
I had one back in the mid 70’s. Good luck finding the emblems.
There is a guy in Australia named George Laurie. He is old but may still be in business. All he needs is one pristine example of an emblem and he’ll reproduce excellent quality.
If he is actually still working BS should do a piece on him before he dies. Restorers around the world sing his praises because he makes pieces that consist of unobtainium.
Any news for the T-5 name?
I wonder if there is a way to recalibrate one of these to show MPH instead?
Yes, in fact – check with Powell Speedometer in Lancaster PA.
Ugh, those wheels/tires look absolutely ghetto-rod. Why take a nice, rare car like that and “welfare”-it with those? They go well with the equally low-rent looking side exhaust, though :(.