The first Ford Mustang owner kept the car. It's now worth $350,000
Tom and Gail Wise disagreed about whether a broken-down car should be stored in a family garage for 27 years or sold for junk. He insisted they keep it because, he promised, one day he would find the time to fix the vehicle himself.
It was her skylight blue convertible Ford Mustang, purchased at age 22 in 1964, that their family of six drove for 15 years.
One day, it just stopped running. And there it sat until Tom retired. When he started hunting for car parts on the internet, he discovered a story about someone with a similar car who claimed to be the very first Mustang owner, with a purchase date of April 16, 1964.
“Tom came to me and said, ‘I think you bought the car a day earlier,’ ” Gail Wise recalled. “And, sure enough, he went down to the basement and found the receipt and the owner’s manual. Sure enough, I had purchased the car on April 15.”
Much more: https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2018/08/14/first-ford-mustang-worth/956784002/
The Wise family, Tom and Gail with their four kids, shot a Christmas card picture in July 1979 with the Ford Mustang. Shortly after, Tom pushed the car into the garage for 27 years. (Photo: Gail Wise)
Gail Wise, 76, of Park Ridge, Illinois, was the first buyer of a 1964 Ford Mustang. She and the car were at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn celebrating the building of 10 million Mustangs on Wednesday, Aug 8, 2018. (Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press)
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When I was in college I knew three people who owned late '60s Mustangs (two were red '68s and another was a yellow '67 convertible), but they weren't exactly "vintage" back then since I went to college in the mid '70s. 
I wonder if those I knew in college still have theirs - probably not, back then it was just an affordable older car for a student. The girl who owned the yellow '67 convertible didn't even drive yet! She brought the car to school with her, hoping to learn! That was a really nice car... 
The '79 photo appears to suggest it needed a lot of body repair and they said it had quit running. Looks as if it was well worth the money!
Had a friend in HS that got a red Shelby for graduation around 1965. She was one of a very few kids of wealthy families in my poor, tiny farming town and she and that car were beauties. Those were the days.
Thanks, Rhiannon.............
It does look like it needed bodywork even back in 1979 and this story doesn't go into detail on what work was necessary to restore it. Not to mention what kind of damage was done after all those years in their garage under lawn chairs!
My first car was a 1971 Plymouth Duster that I inherited from my mother. She got a new car every 10 years and since I'd started driving - and needed to get to work - she passed the Duster on to me. I got hit early on (my one and only accident *knock on wood*) by a guy who blew through a red light. My Dad got me a lawyer and we took the guy to court - and I won! I didn't get all the money to get it fixed, but I was determined. It wasn't easy since most places even back then just wanted to do insurance work, but a coworker knew a guy who worked out of his house - and he did a wonderful job!
However, here in the North Country, it started to rust and finally wouldn't pass inspection. The guy who fixed it the first time had passed away and I never did find anyone else willing to take it on. I still miss that car. And now I have the exact same problem with my 2001 Pontiac that finally wouldn't pass inspection last fall. It ran just fine and I still have it, hoping against hope. 
My beloved 2000 Chevy truck needs body work - rust due to my work travels up North prior to retiring. Damned road salt.
I got a chuckle about your Plymouth because every boy's dream car in '64-'65 in my area was the Plymouth Fury - I think about the fastest street car on the road at that time.
My first decent car I owned was a '65 Chevy Supersport, white with black interior and a 327 engine. I still wish I could have put her up on blocks and kept it for restoration. Would have been a better investment that the stock market, LOL.
Good to reminisce, Rhiannon!......
And it's impossible to find anyone willing to do that kind of work - unless you happen to know someone like my coworker did. My Pontiac ran just fine - and I know I can never get another one. 
And I'm pretty sure that my Dad had a Plymouth Fury - though I think it was a '72? My Dad was not a car guy, though. I inherited his 1977 Dodge Diplomat when I couldn't drive the Duster anymore back in the late '80s. That car ran very smoothly, but those were especially prone to rust. *sigh*
And your car sounds very cool - I often see cars of that vintage around here because they have frequent car shows in Lake George. But I'm willing to bet that the gorgeous cars I see didn't come from here originally. 
I knew two friends in college that had red '68 Mustangs - not exactly new at that point, but I always thought that the red ones captured what Mustangs were all about! Thanks for sharing your memory... 
