When it comes to the question of 1st Generation Mustangs, we see a few here at Barn Finds. Generally speaking, these cars tend to fall into two distinct categories. The first is the beautifully restored cars that need nothing. The second category is those cars with rust issues that will require reasonably significant restoration work. This 1969 Mach 1 is an entirely different kettle of fish. What this car is said to represent is a survivor that not only wears all of its original paint but has a genuine 11,600 miles showing on its odometer. It is located in Springfield, Missouri, and has been listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding action on the Mustang has been subdued, with only two bids submitted at this stage. This has pushed it to $35,100, but the reserve hasn’t been met. There is a BIN option available, which has been set at $59,950. Fifty-nine people are currently watching the listing.
The Candy Apple Red Mustang looks absolutely stunning. You look the car over, and the panels appear to be laser straight. All of the gaps are tight and consistent, which is a reassuring sign. The owner originally purchased the Mach 1 intending to use it as the base for a Pro Tourer build. However, he chose not to do that when he realized just how good the car was. Instead, he has chosen to part with this classic and will source a more suitable vehicle as a project. The Mustang has been garaged for its entire life, and this has undoubtedly helped to keep the rust at bay. The owner provides a great selection of photos of the vehicle’s underside, and it is as clean as you are ever likely to find in an unrestored Mustang. The panels also show plenty of promise, with the majority of the more prone areas appearing to be clean. The only rust that the owner identifies is a couple of small spots in the bottom corners of the doors. This is a common occurrence and should be able to be addressed easily. The paint has a beautiful depth of shine, and this is further accentuated by the shiny and flawless wheels that the vehicle wears. The trim, chrome, and glass all appear to be good, while the Mach 1 wears its original spoilers and the Sport Slats on the rear window.
The immaculate presentation continues when we open the Mustang’s doors and poke around inside the car. The original radio has been replaced with a more modern stereo, and there are speakers fitted into the rear parcel tray. Beyond those two items, the rest of the interior is original and unmolested. The lid for the console is warped and could stand to be replaced. High-quality replacements sell for around the $70 mark, so this is an inexpensive fix. The upholstery is free from significant issues, while the same appears to be true of the dash, the pad, and the carpet.
This is a numbers-matching classic, with an M-Code 351ci V8 sitting under the hood. Hooked to the back of this is a 3-speed automatic transmission. The M-Code 351 pumps out 290hp, which should see the Mustang storm through the ¼ mile in 15.1 seconds. The owner claims that the vehicle has covered a genuine 11,600 miles, but doesn’t indicate whether he has any documentation to support this claim. What he does supply is this video of the engine starting and running. He says that the engine starts easily and runs well, and the video seems to confirm this. One thing that I do note is that the presentation of the engine bay is a bit on the disappointing side. I appreciate that this is a 51-year-old car that is original and unrestored, so I didn’t expect it to be spotless. However, I just expected it to present better for a vehicle that has a genuine 11,600 miles on the clock. Maybe I’m being a bit harsh, but it simply looks dirty in my eyes. If I were selling a classic with this sort of potential value, I would be ensuring that every aspect of the car presented at its absolute best.
There’s no denying that this 1969 Mustang Mach 1 is a stunning looking car, and if it is all that the owner claims it to be, it is also pretty special. It isn’t perfect, but you can generally forgive that with a survivor of this age. I would like to know if the owner holds the documentation to verify his claims because it is that sort of documentation that will determine the vehicle’s ultimate value. If he does, then the BIN price would seem to be quite realistic. It might be worth a personal inspection if it is a classic that ticks the right boxes for you.
A very nice 1969 Mach 1, the favorite of many Mustang enthusiasts. These models are indeed among my favorites.
Mileage: I’m with Adam here. I’m of the general opinion that what the odometer says on a fifty year old car doesn’t really mean all that much. Rather it’s about the actual condition. That said, if a car truly does have low mileage, that is (usually) a good thing and should help a sale. But it just seems strange (or worse) to me that someone claims low mileage –11k in this case — but provides zero evidence of the claim. And we see this behavior here on Barn Finds all the time.
Does the blond come with the sweatshirts? Wonder if Pop RVs has parts for a hydraulic slide out.
The Mach 1 is strange. It has a nice hood scoop, front and rear spoilers, magnum wheels, decals, side reflectors, sport mirrors and a beautiful fender vent behind the doors. But, look at that louvered cover on the rear glass and that very uninspired dashboard. It feels like Ford simply collected parts from other brands like Lincoln or Mercury and simply stuck them there. The seat design and covering also feels very cheap just by looking. Things got a bit better from 1971 to 1973 but these 1969-1970 Mustangs have a very questionable interior. I’d rather have a small and rare hardtop than another fastback, or perhaps a very basic fastback.
The rear louvres & spoiler were optional.
You should compare the dash here & even in the Mustang 2 with what they put in the totally new ’79. Or even worse, IMO, in the ’94. & i hope u like grey in the latter.
Louvers were common on the 69 mach 1. Had a friend who owned one back then.
Whatever the actual miles may be, this one is very nice.
Looks like a repaint to me.
It’s what the Mach 1 was all about,,, a head turner. A sporty appearance package that came standard with the then new for ’69 351 Winsor.
Sharp ride with aggressive lines and bold paint, the stripe down the side I never really liked but hey, that’s just me.
I think it’s odd that every one of these Fords has the redline in the speedometer whether equipped with a tac or not, I dont know what Ford was thinking there.
Low mileage makes the driving experience a nervy one as every car on the road will be drawn to it like a magnet.
My dad’s 67 F100 had the speedometer redline at 70 too. This was the era before the national 55 mph speed limit so I’ll go out on a limb and guess that no state had a higher limit than 70? Totally irrelevant today, with many states having an 80 mph limit.
I think Nevada had higher speed limits back in the day
The wear on the brake and parking brake pedals suggest the mileage might be more than 11K.
No doubt a nice original, but like others the mileage seems suspect. Agree on the pedal wear, and something doesn’t look right in a close-up of the passenger-side of kick panel corner at sill plate. I’d like to see the steering wheel in person too. Definitely an in-person inspection would be meaningful.
Door latches and front fender bolts are painted. It’s says to me that it has been repainted. Just my opinion.
Looks more like he barely could find the break pedal.
This car is far from original. 69 Mach 1’s did not have a blackout taillight panel. Only the Boss 302 did. This car is missing the emblems on the upper 1/4 panel also, that were held on by a riveted stud. That area on this car is smooth & clean so yeah…repaint with body work at some point
It looks like a repaint to me too. It looks like red paint on the latches and their attaching screws on the back edge of the doors and on the door jamb light switches on the hinge pillar.
Yep. On the engine bay picture you can see the fender bolts are painted red!
The 1969 Mustang Mach 1 was my ultimate dream car when I was in high school in the early 70’s (yeah, I’m that old, and still kicking). It was the side scoops that did it for me, so like a ‘race car’. I was desperate for one, but just couldn’t swing it with my part-time after-school job. The most I could stretch to was a 1969 Sports Roof (the ‘fastback’) with a 302 and automatic, a few years old, that was cheap because it has been totalled and resurrected with more bondo than you can imagine. Being a clever and creative teenager, I used stripes and spray paint, and of course the ever-popular glasspacks, to try and make it resemble a Mach 1. But I knew it wasn’t the real thing.
There was a kid in my high school who lived in the nice part of town, whose parents apparently were able to be generous with him. He bought a 1969 Mach 1, not only in my favorite color (green) but with a gen-u-ine manual transmission!!! (A 3 speed if I remember right). I always turned a much deeper shade of green with envy whenever I would see him drive by. He was such a nice guy, he would always wave and honk his horn at me when he drove past, with this pompous, self-satisfied smirk on his face.
God how I hated him.
Had a ’70 MACH I, direct from the factory. Took del’y on 10 Oct 1969. Medium blue metallic w/ 351 CLEVELAND (300HP), manual trans, HURST shifter, GOODYEAR F70 tires, 3.50 posi rear & and AM-FM stereo radio. No power steering, no A/C. no fold-down rear seats. $4,000. Still have the sales brochure & window sticker.
It was a ’69 leftover. Speedometer cable didn’t match. FoMoCo had no part number for it. Had to have one fabricated at a speedo shop. Radio in & out at least 4 times for failure. Sold it in two years to buy a DATSUN sta. wagon. Very disappointed, especially since the family was a FORD family.
Nice car. A 390 or 428 would make it more desirable.
$30k range seems reasonable if it’s legit.
This market gets softer everyday with aging baby boomers (like me!).
$60k is way too high…
I agree the engine is awful for what they are trying to present. For upwards of $50,000 I would have thought $300 for a detail with emphasis on the engine makes sense. As for the possibility of 11k, I never hold stock in that nonsense. Lots of devious things could befall this old cars. Rewind odometers, disconnect speedo cables, and so on. Unless a car has come off the assembly line right into a museum setting for it’s entire life, no way to absolutely certify any car’s mileage. Buy this car for how it looks and fits into your collection but don’t make a purchase based on “original miles”.
To me the 69 Mach1was the ultimate in looks and a 351 would be adequate with a little work. When I was a kid my friends brother bought a brand new dark blue with black hood and stripes and these wheels. One day I was sitting on his step and his brother pulled in I remember I couldn’t talk and could hardly breathe the car was so beautiful! And this one had a 4 speed with a 429 under the hood! I have never before or since had such a reaction to a car as that Mach1. They are beautiful.
Wondering what happened to the original spare, and quad exhaust tips? It is a sharp looking car though.The door jam repaint looks odd. A lot can happen in 50 years. I would think the thirties would be a reasonable price, the bin price is in Boss 302 territory, which I would much rather have.
Amen, while at FLETC or as the locals called it…flea-Tec in the deep South there was a guy I knew who.d rent late 80.s Sentra.s and put 300 miles on one over the weekend and easily roll the speedocable back to show say 50 or 60 miles. He never got caught, and he would go to Savannah or some other city. I went with on one Savannah trip to just get some r and r and I saw a billboard about the Tusgeegee Airmen, so we 4 hit that exit fast and found the exhibition. There were about 5 or 6 of them there in the flesh and we 20 something’s listened in awe and deep respect for a long time. As we left for an Irish pub by the river in Savannah I felt so lucky to touch historical hands and so ashamed at the way they were treated that I began crying in the back seat , pretty soon my buddy next to me was all teared up too. Went on to the Pub and I was still reflecting on their talk with us and how much gentle aged dignity they had. Red and yellow black and white they are precious in his sight, all the little children of the world.
I kinda agree with everybody about the 69 Mach 1! My problem is the engine bay! I have a 2019 with 22,000 miles and compared to my engine bay, you can still wipe it off with a rag and then eat off of it! I think the engine bay doesn’t look right! Still a pretty awesome looking vehicle!
I would call the 69-70 3rd generation mustangs. Am i wrong?
I’d say correct Russell – the 65/66 then 67/68 then the 69/70 and the 71/73 would round out the big body changes.
Ok, what would be the second gen, the fastback?
I just looked over the pictures again and for the life of me,why would you put NEW tires on an 11,000 mile car AND if you did why Cooper Cobra’s? BF Goodrich TAs or something really cool! There is a lot of things that don’t seem correct! Still good looking car but a lot of questions!
Hey Rick , have you ever seen a 51 year old Mustang with the original factory tires on it ??? kinda flat looking I would imagine .
Hey Stan, wow, that was pretty good supposedly he has done nothing to the car, and still…Cobras!!! If I want to get top dollar I wouldn’t put those on it just like I wouldn’t put General tires on it!
Really nice looking car ! But I never seen a car in Missouri that want a rust bucket
Looks like a 69 Mach1 knock-off to me. Missing dual exhaust tips, roof emblems, wrong hood pins and engine compartment errors with paint over spray on fender bolts.
Here is exactly what I think, just give the car to me and I will figure what’s wrong with it! I promise I will tell everything I find!