Pre-quenched samples cut from a homogenized ingot of commercial aluminum alloy 1965 with a grain size of about 21 µm were compressed at 6 GPa and then strained by torsion up to 10 revolutions at room temperature. TEM, SEM and XRD analyses showed that the strengthening / softening of the alloy during further natural aging up to 500 hrs was controlled by simultaneous decomposition of the aluminum solid solution and recovery of its deformation structure. It was found that the two-level nanostructuring of the alloy (precipitates and matrix) is accompanied by more than twofold strengthening up to a hardness of about 250 HV. The main contribution was made by dislocation and structural hardening due to the formation of a highly work-hardened structure of the nanofragmented type. During subsequent aging, the change in hardness was controlled by both the preliminary strain and the aging time. A continuous increase in strength with strain and aging time was found in the samples after pressing and torsion up to 1 revolution. In other conditions, strengthening was preceded by softening, the magnitude and duration of which were also proportional to the strain. The nature of the alloy behavior and the role of nanosized aluminides of transition metals are discussed in details.