1965 Ford Thunderbird: A Mild Update, and a Disputed Body Split

Same model year

Also in 1965

• Buick Riviera The Gran Sport arrived with the dual-quad Super Wildcat 425 and a 3.42 axle; 3,354 of 34,586 Rivieras had it.
• Buick Skylark Gran Sport, GS and GSX Buick's first Gran Sport was a Skylark option with the 401 'Wildcat' V-8 rated at 325 hp; a production tabulation counts 15,780.
• Buick Wildcat Second-generation B-body Wildcat on a 126-inch wheelbase in standard, Deluxe and Custom series; the 1965 total is disputed between published lineages.
• Chevrolet Chevelle and Malibu SS The Malibu SS continued with 327 options, and late in the year RPO Z16 put a 375 hp 396 into 201 Chevelles.
• Chevrolet Chevy II and Nova The 327 V8 appears in the source engine table; several body-style counts are unavailable. Enthusiast-compiled production: 122,800 cars; Super Sport 9,100.
• Chevrolet El Camino SS No factory Super Sport El Camino is documented for this year; the record carries the host El Camino production as context.
• Chevrolet Impala SS The record Super Sport year: 243,114 built, as the 409 gave way to the 396 mid-year.
• Chrysler 300 letter series The last letter car: a slab-sided restyle on a 124-inch wheelbase, one 360 hp 413, no cross-ram, and an illuminated grille medallion; 2,405 hardtops and 440 convertibles.
• Dodge Coronet R/T and Super Bee The 1965 performance Coronets were competition-only Race Hemi lightweights, not showroom muscle cars, and even their number is published two ways.
• Ford Fairlane A restyled small-block Fairlane whose performance ceiling was the 271-hp K-code 289 High Performance V8, offered with the Sports Coupe.
• Ford Falcon Sprint The last Sprint moved to the 289 V8 and a new V8 front suspension; the club records 2,806 hardtops and 300 convertibles.
• Ford Galaxie A new full-size body with the LTD added above the Galaxie 500 XL; the 427 continued in Q-code (410 hp) and R-code (425 hp) form.
• Mercury Comet and Cyclone The Cyclone was the performance Comet hardtop: vinyl roof, chrome wheels, bucket seats and console, tachometer and a 225-hp 289 as standard.
• Mercury Marauder and S-55 The last year of the first Marauder generation: 74,590 Marauder-roof cars across Monterey, Montclair and Park Lane, per mercurystuff.com.
• Oldsmobile Cutlass, 4-4-2 and Hurst/Olds The 4-4-2 package moved to a 400 cu in V-8 rated at 345 hp, the name was reread as 400 cubes, 4-barrel, 2 exhausts, and production rose to 25,003.
• Oldsmobile Starfire A 425 V-8, Turbo Hydra-Matic and a rarely ordered four-speed; 15,260 built.
• Plymouth Barracuda and 'Cuda The first full-year Barracuda introduced the Formula S package and the 235-hp 273 Commando, and production reached 64,596.
• Plymouth GTX, Belvedere and Satellite The Belvedere became Plymouth's intermediate line, with the bucket-seat, V-8-only Satellite hardtop and convertible at the top and the 426 Street wedge as its hottest regular-production engine.
• Pontiac Catalina 2+2 and Super Duty The 2+2 gained a standard 338 hp 421 and reached 11,521 cars, its best year.
• Pontiac GTO Ratings up to 335 and 360 hp, and GTO production more than doubling to 75,352.
• Pontiac Grand Prix New 121-inch body and a 333 hp standard 389; 57,881 built.
• Pontiac Tempest and LeMans The LeMans adds a four-door sedan and the four-barrel 326 is rated at 285 hp.
• Rambler and AMC Marlin AMC's six-passenger fastback, introduced in February 1965. Its best year was 10,327 cars.