Believe it or not but this is a question I asked myself while sitting inside the Times Racing Mustang at Kyalami last weekend. Why? Well for a year or so I have been thrashing this wonderful muscle car around some of the country’s most famous race tracks and in actual fact I know very little about its past. Where was it built? Where did it come from? What sort of interior trim did it ship with from the factory? I was determined to find out more but where on Earth did one start in piecing together the past of a 45-year-old Ford?

Well thanks to the internet and a wonderful thing called google, I managed to find a website called Mustang Decoder Online. And after typing in both the ‘Stang’s VIN and Warranty numbers, it instantly spilt the beans on Z111′s mostly unknown history. Finished on 30 June 1965, this 2+2 Fastback was built in Ford’s Edison, New Jersey, plant and was originally licked in Poppy Red paintwork. Stock standard on the inside with Black Crinkle Vinyl seats it also shipped with a 4-speed manual gearbox, a 289 2v V8 engine and a limited-slip differential. Built specifically for export (Special Order Unit 1538), it was then shipped over to South Africa and sold at one of our local dealerships.

I know, I know – this may sound a little weird and geeky to y’all but I find this information absolutely fascinating. What’s more, Mustang Decoder is apparently updating their service soon so I’ll be able to find out even more about the origins of what’s definitely the coolest historic racing car SA has ever seen…