In 1965, Ford Motor Company commissioned Andy Hotton's Dearborn Steel Tubing in Dearborn, Michigan to build the prototype 1965 A/FX Mustang. DST had also been heavily involved in the 1964 Fairlane Thunderbolts. The A/FX Mustang was built for drag racing in the NHRA's new A/FX class. The idea was to shoehorn Ford's massive 32-inch wide 427 "SOHC" engine into a fiberglass enhanced 1965 Mustang fastback. The insertion of the big 427 where a tiny 24-inch wide 289 engine once resided required more than that shoehorn, it necessitated complete removal of the "shock towers", and a redesigned front suspension. The front suspension consisted of unique torsion leaf springs running from the lower control arm, forward to a mounting point on the bottom of the radiator support. There simply wasn't room for a steering gearbox in the normal position inside the frame rail, so a right-hand drive Australian Falcon gearbox was attached to the outside of the framerail. In an effort to enhance traction with better weight transfer, the rear wheels were relocated forward three inches, reducing the factory 108 inch wheelbase to 105 inches. The forward portion of the wheel openings were modified to fit 10 inch M&H slicks, effectively concealing the three inch relocation. The front wheel location was unchanged. A crossmember was attached ahead of the rear axle, providing a mounting point for the adjustable 31-inch Thunderbolt style traction bars. Behind the 427 was a RC scattershield, four speed toploader transmission, and 4.89 geared 9-inch rear axle.

Weight reduction was achieved by the use of a fiberglass hood, fenders, front bumper, doors, and fixed plexiglass side windows. The hood featured the same teardrop hood scoop made famous the year before on the Thunderbolt. The bodies were ordered with all undercoating and sealer deleted. Additional traction enhancement was found with a trunk mounted battery. The finished Mustang tipped the scales at 3230 lbs. Upon completion, DST shipped the Mustang prototype to Holman & Moody, Ford's official racing contractor in Charlotte, North Carolina. H&M disected the prototype, made some refinements, and proceeded to churn out approximately ten copies. Various sources indicate H&M built between eight and fifteen 1965 A/FX Mustangs, the consensus seems to be ten. As this point, the true number is anyone's guess. There may have been other cars built by individual teams, possibly accounting for the production number discrepancies. The 1965 A/FX Mustangs were piloted by the likes of Dick Brannan, Gas Ronda, Bill Lawton, Paul Norris, Bob Hamilton, Phil Bonner, Les Ritchey, Len Richter, Clester Andrews, Bill Ireland, and Al Joniec. The expensive SOHC engine was in short supply, so H&M installed 427 High-Riser engines in two or possibly three cars, including Clester Andrews' and Al Joniec's.

The 427 SOHC engine, also know as the "cammer", was an engineering masterpiece. Conceived as a response to Chrysler's 426 Hemi, the SOHC was intended to clean up NASCAR. But, NASCAR denied Ford's SOHC in the stock car ranks. Since the SOHC was strictly an over the counter item, and was never installed in an assembly line produced model, NASCAR disallowed it. Ford eventually responded by sitting out the 1966 NASCAR season, which Chrysler obviously dominated. A future Ford star, David Pearson won the title in a Dodge Hemi. The SOHC's ultimate home was the dragstrip. Based on the 427 wedge side-oiler cross-bolt short block, the SOHC had massive cast iron or aluminum hemi cylinder heads, overhead cams, a six-foot timing chain, and weighed 680 lbs. In stock form with a single four barrel carb, it produced 616 horsepower, and 657 horsepower with two four barrel carbs. It was available over the counter for $2350.00. The cammer was used very successfully in drag racing; in A/FX, Funny Car, Top Fuel, and even in the early days of Pro-Stock. Sadly, the cammer faded away in the early 1970's, replaced by the Boss 429 in Pro Stock, and the Chrysler Hemi in the nitro cars.

Where are these cars today? Some survived, and have been restored. Some have disappeared completely. After the 1965 season, these were just old used up race cars. The race was on to build faster, more radical cars. So, some were cut up, and "stretched" into the wild altered wheelbase cars of 1966, the forerunner of the funny car. Five original 1965 cars have been unearthed so far. An example of one is Len Richter's Bob Ford Mustang. This Mustang had a long drag racing history, holding many records. It was raced by Jerry Harvey as "The Quiet One" from 1966 though 1968, when it was purchased by Dyno Don Nicholson. Dyno sucessfully raced the "old" Mustang in 1969, in A/MP competition. But, the professional racing career of the Quiet One ended in 1969 when street racing drug runners from New York City offered Dyno more money than he could turn down. The SOHC Mustang supposedly raced regularly on the street in NYC for many years, eventually was relieved of it's engine, and left to rot in a garage. In the late 1980's it was found buried deep in NYC by Curt Vogt from Cobra Automotive, and restored to it's 1969 configuration.

Another survivor is Holman & Moody's test car, which was driven by Paul Norris. This Mustang continued drag racing though the 1960's and 1970's, eventually being cut-up and "tubbed" for Super Gas racing in the 1980's. It is currently semi-restored with an original style H&M paint scheme, yet it still retains the tubbed chassis, rack & pinion, big tires, and a 460 engine. Clester Andrews' and Bob Hamilton's car's have both been found and restored to their original 1965 configurations. Al Joniec's wild Batcar, which was cut-up and stretched into a long-nose car in 1966, has been found and restored to it's 1966 configuration, also by Curt Vogt. Those missing in action are Gas Ronda's Russ Davis Ford, Bill Lawton's Tasca Ford "Zimmy III", Les Ritchey's Performance Associates, and Phil Bonner's Archway Ford "Daddy Warbucks". Rumor has it Lawton's car was wrecked and scrapped. Ronda's suffered the same fate, but H&M quickly produced a replacement. Only time will tell if anymore 65 A/FX Mustangs will be discovered.

Find out more, including the history of individual cars on the 1965 A/FX Mustang roster page.