Kellan Wiberg’s unique 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang will be at the 2026 Devils Run Car Show.
Wiberg learned about this car when he was a high school freshman from Ms. Kelly Kirby, librarian at DLHS – she was into classic cars and had one stored “back home.”
She was reluctant to sell it to him, because she thought his main focus should be his education and classes, rather than fixing up an old car. His parents agreed with her.
Miss Kirby was from Montana originally and used to go home for the summers to visit family, etc., and return to DL so Kellan didn’t give up on his “dream” of owning a classic like hers.
He talked her into letting him work for it, so throughout his freshmen, sophomore and junior years at school he worked for her, helping take care of her house while she was out of state during parts of the summer and it was sometime the summer of 2022 that he actually saw a photo of the old car, stored in a barn in Montana.
They set a price for Kellan to pay for the vehicle, first it was $5,000, later that went to $3,000 after Wiberg had worked for her. Then Ms. Kirby moved back Big Timber, Montana.
He’d been “working his tail off” for more than three years saving money so he could pay for his car then she decided it would be a graduation gift to him.
Kellan said, “I attempted to refuse the car as a graduation gift and was quickly shot down by Ms. Kirby as she told me “If you try to pay me, I will sell it right from under your nose!” “
Eager to see the vehicle, on June 30 of 2025 his dad and Kellan drove to Big Timber, Montana to go see it and hopefully to get the car and bring it home to DL.
Kellan recalled, “It was nestled in a barn by a horse pasture, I popped the hood and it appeared to have mostly original parts inside, although there was some rust and about 30 years of dust accumulation.”
It had 47,291 miles on it – Kellen would be its third owner – “I was blown away by it!”
Oh, there was some mouse damage and yet it appeared the seats were okay, the exterior paint had oxidized – and the story continues that a horse had nibbled on it – it had been parked since 1997 because leaded gasoline was no longer available anymore.
We hauled it home July 1 it was a Sunday, and we sure got the looks wherever we stopped – like in Laurel, MT we got a thumbs up and lots of looks from other people as we passed by.
This vehicle was unique, Kellan continued, it had a 170 cubic in line 6 paired to a three-speed Cruise-o-matic – what I called a “Grandma Spec” U-Code – it was offered only April of ’64 and now its considered a 64 1/2 manufactured between August and November of that year – released in April
Doing research Kellan learned that his Mustang was built in the Dearborn, MI plant built mid-May of 1964 – early in the 64 1/2 run – it was 17525th car of 17526 produced. It is considered a 1964 1/2 by enthusiasts only. Mustangs produced until July 31 ‘64 were considered 1964 1/2’s.
The differences? First they used a generator charging system, but in August of ‘64 switched to an alternator. The hood hinges were painted a different color. And the car’s large horn was mounted on the frame.
“I’m a car nerd,” Kellen admits.
He’s had some expert help from Dave Sobolik
The vehicle hadn’t run since 1997 but all it took was a new battery, fresh fuel and he turned the key and it fired right up! The fuel tank was gummed up and had to be replaced, but it fired up – that showed how durable it truly was!
Ms. Kirby loved classic cars and while in college her uncle got the car for her. They’d seen this classic car left by the side of the road and commented on “why would anyone leave a car like that along the road, abandoned?” Her uncle handed her the keys and told her “it’s your car now!”
About that same time Miss Kirby’s horse foaled Tigerlilly (who is still alive today – 31 years old!)
One interesting story about that horse was when Miss Kirby got bucked off she lay on the ground unconscious and the horse protected her – wouldn’t let anyone near her. Miss Kirby had two mustangs – a car and a horse so when Kellan was thinking of a name for his Mustang, he called it Tigerlilly like the foal – it’s on the license plate.
If you have Instagram look up tigerlilly_stang64 for more information about this young “Car nerd” and his Tigerlilly. He also supplied this about an article he found from Motortrend that sums it up, https://www.motortrend.com/news/mustang-1964
Kellen hasn’t tired of this project, but hopes to have her ready to show at Devils Run 2026. He says Dave Sobolik has been a BIG help to him and there are still some things he would like to fix, like the dash pad and some of the interior. But his enthusiasm is evident and it looks like the Devils Run is getting a new generation of “car nerds” to keep the tradition alive in the years ahead!
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