“It’s a great feeling when you can flip the ratchet and start putting the car back together.”

…says Thomas Bäckström of Laholm.

In 1989 Thomas saw a classified ad in Wheels magazine for a 1965 Hardtop K-Code in Västerås. When he arrived in Västerås he discovered that the parts were located there, while the body was in Avesta. Nevertheless, a deal was made and Thomas towed his find home on a car trailer behind his King Cab pickup.

The car was assembled into running condition and driven for a few years until the oil pump failed and the engine seized in one cylinder. The matching-numbers engine was replaced with a 351 Windsor, and the car continued to run for a few more years.

Then family life took over until the children reached their late teens. At that point Thomas finally had time to completely disassemble the car and repair the filler-covered fender edges that had bothered him for so long.

Today all the sheet metal repairs are completed, the car has been blasted and painted, and the HiPo engine is next on the list, although it needs a new cylinder head. I suggested that he contact David Heino, whose garage I had visited only hours earlier—before enjoying good food and drinks at Thomas’s kitchen table while the lights flickered and Storm Babet raged outside.

Thomas Bäckström’s 1965 Hardtop K-Code is well documented.

The car is registered as GDF709 with VIN 5R07K214734. If anyone has information about this car—which Västerås Motorteknik sold to Thomas in 1989—it would be a welcome contribution to the car’s provenance.

“Original is what matters.”

…says David Heino.

David keeps his 1965 Fastback K-Code Mustang in a beautiful new garage and workshop in Halmstad. In the background stands his equally nice 1966 Convertible. He also has another 1966 Fastback currently under restoration.

In the early 1980s the company Motorman in Karlskoga purchased this K-Code Mustang, which at the time had flared wheel arches. These were later replaced with fenders from a scrapped car.

When David bought the car in autumn 2015, it was rolling but the engine had been removed.

With the help of good friends, this patched-together car has since received extensive new sheet metal, some of it NOS parts, including wheel housings, rear quarter panels, rocker panels, and sections of the floor.

Hidden areas have been painted with epoxy primer, and seams have been lead-loaded using traditional techniques. The body is now nearly finished.

During this time David has also been collecting parts to build a proper HiPo engine.

The car will be painted Silver Smoke Grey with red interior.

The car was registered on May 25, 1965 and was most likely privately imported to Sweden. Through Sven Ullman in Stockholm, David has obtained several photos taken in the 1960s.

If you know anything more about FWP826 with VIN 5T09K153308, please contact me and I will forward the information to David.