Accent Stripe

One of the key features of the Sprint was the Accent Stripe with Quarter Trim Delete. These stripes were available in three colors:
White [Ditzler # 8378]
Black [Ditzler # 9300]
Red [Ditzler # 71528]
It was also rumored that there was a blue accent stripe, but I haven't found evidence of one yet.

Former Sprint Registry owner, Rick Mitchell, published the following article in the Mustang Times describing the dimensions.

Here's a picture provided by current Sprint Registry owner, Tony Kovar, of an original  Metuchen convertible:

Notice the start and stop locations highlighted in the following photos. They match those found in Mitchell's Mustang Times article.

If you compare these locations to some of the period ads provided in some of my other posts here, you'll see that the start/stop points are slightly different - stopping short of the headlight bucket and under the Mustang emblem. I'm not sure if this was a function of what plant did the pin-striping, what assembly line worker was performing the work, or what time of the production year the car was produced - but Tony also had a picture of a red Dearborn convertible with start/stop point similar to those pictured above. I would suggest a careful inspection of your current pinstripes to determine their originality, and then duplicating them. If your car has had the pinstripes painted over (like mine) perhaps a careful paint stripping in these key areas will uncover the correct start/stop points for your car.

Tune Ups for the 6-Cylinder

I acquired the attached Sun Electric tune-up card the other day. It has complete specs for the 200 cu. in. engine - with and without Thermactor.

Motor Trend Road Test

Sprint’s were, in many ways, exactly the same as any other 1966 Mustang. Here is a copy of a June 1966 Motor Trend article comparing a GT 225 hp A-code with a standard 6-cylinder.

Some observations from the comparison:

• 6- cylinder wheels are 4-lug, while the 8-cylinder wheels are 5-lug
• 6-cylinder brakes are 9”, while 8-cylinder brakes are 10”
• Pony interior is more comfortable than the standard interior
• Front tread track on the 6-cylinder is .6” smaller (55.4”) than the 8-cylinder (56”)
• Stopping distance was surprisingly better for the 6-cylinder with 9” drum brakes as compared to the 10” disc brake GT. At 30 mph it was 36’ and 45.5’ respectively, and at 60 mph it was 153’ and 163’.
• There was a 320 lb. lighter difference in curb weight
• Average fuel economy for the 6 was about 20 mpg.
• OEM tires were Firestone Deluxe Champions. Size 6.95x14; 4 ply-rated; white-sidewall rayon
• Speedometer error at 60 mph showed 2% faster than actual speed for the 6-cylinder and 4% faster than actual for the 8-cylinder.

April "Millionth Mustand Success Sale"

Here are a few sales ads from the April "Millionth Mustang Success Sale" I've managed to find on  the internet. You may ask yourself how a dealer could sell a new Mustang Sprint below the Suggested Retail Price of $2,416.18?

Well.... $2,416.18 was only the "Suggested" Retail Price. Below is a Price List from March 16, 1966 that shows Wholesale Delivered Prices for Mustangs and their Regular Production Options. And while I don't have the wholesale price of the Sprint package "A" or "B", the retail prices of those options were $39.63 and $163.40 respectively. Conceivably, a dealer's cost for a baseline Sprint Package A Coupe would have been around $2,000.00, and this included their 2% holdback!

Sales Invoice

Here’s a sales invoice I came across on the internet from Dunton Ford in Santa Ana, California for a San Jose built Sprint 6R07T154149. The color of this coupe was Wimbledon White with standard blue trim. Estimated delivery date was 1/28/66. The only other option besides the 3-speed manual Sprint Package A was the white sidewall tires.

Price of the car and options was $2,495.19

List price of the baseline coupe was $2,416.18

Sprint Package A was $39.63

Tires were $33.31

For a total of $2,489.12

This did not include factory freight. Presumably, the car was discounted from list slightly so that the total with tax and license would equal a round number of $2,650.00.

Millionth Mustang Sale Ad

One of the most common ads kicking off the Limited Edition Sprint was the Millionth Mustang Sale ad depicted here. The copy I have looks like a full-page magazine format and measures about 10-3/8" x 13-5/8". It showed the Sprint 200 in the three body styles: coupe, convertible and fastback.

Caption read:
"Mustang! Fastest first million a new car ever had. And here's the sale to kick off the second million. Hardtops, convertibles and fastbacks, V-8's or sixes ... all with your personalized nameplate. Also included are specially priced, specially equipped Limited Edition Mustangs with a lively 200 cubic inch six, special wheel covers, distinctive accent-stripe, center console, engine decal, chrome air cleaner. Want to talk horse sense? Come in and talk Mustang!"

The personalize nameplate they are talking about there was a small brass plaque with a Ford crest (picture below). Size: 13/16" high x 3-5/8" long. The factory shipped it in the glove box, and the dealer was supposed to engrave the buyers name on it. It was then installed on the dashboard by the adhesive strip backing.

Picture - courtesy of Tony Kovar

Window Sticker

I've manage to collect some items related to Sprints, and continue to do so. The picture below is for a Sprint convertible window sticker.
Besides showing how the package was itemized and accounted for, you'll notice that this Sprint has a rare Interior Decor Group (Pony) interior. Most came with the standard bucket seat interior.
The Package A price has been rounded to $40.00 list, instead of $39.63.
The car was built at Metuchen and would have had a scheduled build date of about July 19th.

What's a Sprint 200?

Sprint 200 is the name given to Ford’s “first” limited production Mustang. I say first because while the 1964-1/2 Pace Cars might constitute a limited production run, they were only offered to dealers. The Sprint was the first offered to the buying public.

Midway through the 1966 model year, Ford was fast approaching Mustang sales of one million. An overwhelming percentage of these were V8’s, and Ford was running short of them. The limited-edition Sprint 200 package began to be promoted to help ease the situation. Ford had plenty of the newly re-designed 200 c.i.d. 6-cylinder engines from the Falcon; a direct result of the dismal sales of that model for 1966 (which also used the inline six as its standard engine). Thus, the Mustang Sprint 200 was a Ford promotion that would avoid a production slowdown in which the readily-available 200 six would be dressed up with a chrome air cleaner and special decal. 

The Sprint 200 was also known as the Spring or Springtime Sprint. But the “Sprint” name was rarely used in Ford advertising; the package was advertised as the "Millionth Mustang" or "Limited Edition" Mustang Sale. Ford announced the “Limited Edition” in the spring of 1966, right around the time the millionth Mustang rolled off the Dearborn assembly line on March 2, 1966. The program was part of a celebration of the Millionth Mustang milestone: The Millionth Mustang Success Sale. Although Ford advertising of this event peaked in March/April, Sprint 200 production began much earlier. It’s generally believed that Sprint production began around the beginning of January, although some unconfirmed vehicles might have begun appearing as early as November/December. Production occurred at all three Mustang plants: Dearborn, San Jose, and Metuchen.

The stock 200 ci (120 horse) six was dressed up with a chrome air cleaner with a special Sprint decal. No other extra cost enhancements would be made in either the interior or exterior. The balance of the package combined some regular production options. Two transmission packages were offered. "Package A" cars had a manual transmission and listed for $39.63 over the base price. "Package B" cars had C4 automatics and listed for $163.40 more. It’s estimated that of the total number of "Sprint 200" Mustangs built during the 1966 model year that 75% of them were package "B". Besides the chrome air cleaner, the balance of the package included a center floor console, painted side accent stripes (in one of three colors: black, white, or red), deletion of the 3-finger chrome rear quarter ornaments and a set of deluxe 48 spoke, stainless steel Blue center wire-style wheel covers. These were sporty options that cost a lot more if purchased separately.

Sprint 200s (as well as all 1966 Mustangs) came equipped with the Safety Equipment Group: padded instrument panel and sunvisors, an outside rearview mirror, seatbelts for four, backup lights, an emergency flasher, and a windshield washer. While the Safety Equipment Group sounds like a generous option package from Ford, most of it was federally mandated standard equipment for 1966 anyway. 

The Sprint 200 was available as a hardtop, fastback, or convertible. The most rare and difficult to confirm without supporting documentation is the fastback. This is because all fastback models were made with No Quarter ornamentation. 

Customers that ordered Sprints didn’t have to stop with the package contents. They could order other deluxe options such as: the Interior Decor Group, AM/FM radio or AM/eight-track, and more, which surely makes them unusual and rare today.

The name “Sprint” wasn’t first used on the 1966 Mustangs. It was used on the Falcons before this. And Sprints were also produced in 1967-1968 and 1972, although production in these model years wasn’t limited to the 6-cylinder.