The owner of this 1970 Mustang Fastback doesn’t give us a lot to work with, but the general impression is that this could be a structurally sound classic that would make a satisfying project. With a 351ci V8 under the hood, it should also possess enough power to keep most performance enthusiasts happy. The time has come for it to find a new home, so this could be your chance to park an American icon in your garage. Located in Menifee, California, you will find the Mustang listed for sale here on Facebook. The owner has set the sale price at $28,000, and it appears that he is firm on the fact that he will not entertain the idea of trades.
When you look at the photos that the owner supplies of the Mustang, they paint a generally positive picture. The Grabber Orange paint looks quite tired, and there’s no doubt that the vehicle would benefit from a cosmetic refresh. However, looking beyond that reveals a car that might have a lot to offer its next owner. The panels are straight, with no significant dings or dents. What strikes me is the lack of visible rust problems. These 1st generation Mustangs have developed a reputation of dissolving under the right circumstances, and a healthy industry has grown up around the need for steel components to replace rusting parts. I can’t spot any problems with any of the usual areas like the lower rear quarter panels, lower door corners, or the rockers. This could be a result of the Mustang’s physical location. If it has spent most of its life in California, that augers well for potential buyers. A few minor trim pieces are missing, but the rest of it appears to be in excellent order. Most of the glass seems to be in a similar state, although it appears that some pieces on the passenger side might be gone.
It isn’t clear whether the Mustang is numbers-matching, but we know that it features a 351ci Cleveland V8 and a 3-speed automatic transmission. It isn’t clear which version of the 351 this is, and the waters are muddied by the fact that the owner has fitted it with an Edelbrock intake and a Summit Racing carburetor. If it is the M-Code V8, it should produce 300hp and 380 ft/lbs of torque. With those sorts of numbers, the journey down the ¼ mile should be completed in a neat 15-seconds. The lack of information leaves us in the dark about the mechanical health of this classic. The engine looks pretty tidy, but there is evidence of some less than sparkling work with a rattle can. There is blue overspray on a few components like the fuel filter, so this is a case where we have to hope that the owner is willing to answer questions posed by serious potential buyers.
The “almost but not quite completely original” theme continues when we take a look inside this Mustang. The whole thing needs a deep clean, and I suspect that it would probably present well when this task is completed. The upholstered surfaces, including the seats, are free from wear and appreciable problems, while the dash and pad are in good order. I think that the carpet would also respond well to some elbow grease, while the plastic pieces look okay. It appears that an aftermarket stereo has been installed at some point because the door trims have been cut to accommodate speakers. Further additions include an aftermarket wheel and shifter for the transmission. However, none of these issues are insurmountable, and returning the interior to its factory appearance should not be complicated or particularly expensive.
I’m probably not alone in feeling that this 1970 Mustang raises more questions than it answers. I have never understood why someone would offer a desirable classic like this for sale and then undermine their own listing by providing virtually no information on its condition or specifications. It could be a great project car if it is as structurally sound as the photos tend to indicate. Of course, with no information on its mechanical health, potential buyers are flying blind about an aspect of the vehicle that has the potential to consume a lot of money if things are less than rosy. Would you be tempted to pursue this one further, or has the lack of information made you decide to place it in the too-hard basket?
Man, the person who took these pictures doesn’t know the first thing about first impressions. Why didnt they just take some pictures in a graveyard, no wait, a graveyard usually has a very neat appearance. And could you spend a half hour and hose down the engine bay and clean and vacuum the interior. Do a little prep work and reap the benefits, laziness is not a virtue. Too much is made about speaker holes and stereos, that stuff is minor. Could be a nice ride, car B+, presentation D, I really like this year Mustang, but something seems just not right.
Well Vance, you apparently don’t get the significance of the name of this site: BARN FINDS.
Most cars when found in a barn are much dirtier than this one. Often the person making the find could care less about the car, knows nothing about the car, doesn’t know anything about what it takes to sell one and could care less about that either.
That is what makes this site so different and refreshing for those of us used to seeing old cars spit polished to look much better than they really are. That’s why most of us are here. We want the back story. Not tricks of the trade.
As for something being just not right, well Vance, there is always something just not right with a 50 year old car. We expect that. We look for that and half the fun is in figuring it out. Some people on this site are pretty good at it too. That’s what makes this site so popular.
Now, back to what I came here to say. Just to upset a few more people.
The engine bay in a Mustang is about the same size as an AMC AMX or Javelin. A 390 from AMC would have been a much better motor in a Mustang than the stock 390. Far easier to work on. As for reliability, I have a friend who has been racing his 390 AMX every weekend for over 30 years in Wisconsin and it’s still running 11s. (It might be 10s but I can’t remember. But power and reliability are not the difference between a Ford or an AMC motor despite popular opinion.
Back in the early 70s I had a ’69 Javelin SST with the 390. That’s a car I still miss to this day!
It’s those CHEAP Wheels and the TWO BIG HOLES in the hood.
Was there more than one version of a 351 Cleveland in 1970? Far as I know, they all had 4-barrel carburetors and were powerful motors. Maybe the writer was confused between the Windsor and Cleveland 351s?
Mercury got a 2bbl version as well as trucks. The cylinder heads were drastically different between 2 and 4 bbl versions.
Yes, kind of. The mystery to be answered is mainly about the heads. Cleveland 4V and 2V heads are different and the 4V changed a little over their run. 4V heads have huge ports and small chambers. They have big flow volumes however the port velocity is low so they didn’t make a lot of power at low and mid rpm. These are also the Boss 302 heads with mod’s to fit the Windsor block. 2V’s are low compression with open chambers and smaller ports. 4-bolt mains came a little later for Boss and CJ configurations. But Ford seemed to use 4-bolt blocks in any application without reason. I suppose it was a supply issue. There were 2V motors out there with 4-bolts for no good reason.
Ford US only made the 351C for 4 years but Australia developed the Cleveland further. Their aftermarket married the best aspects of both head versions, smaller port x-sections to increase flow velocity and closed chambers.
Worth Mentioning, the 351 Cleveland 4bbl (or 4V) was used in the Detomaso Pantera with a ZF 5 speed transmission. Another weird mod, put Cleveland 4 bbl heads on a 351 Windsor Block (nicknamed the Cleavor). This could be a 351 Windsor…
351 Cleveland, known as the small block with the big block attitude, not a Windsor. This Mustang is a rarity in 1970 if it is in fact the original motor. Most 351’s especially in the 1970 Mustangs were the Windsor. The Cleveland was an awesome motor hp and torque were very underrated by Ford. It was expensive to produce, and being a performance engine from the start, had difficulty meeting future emmissions the 351 Windsor had a much longer lifespan.
Cleveland engines were a completely different motor than the Windsor (which is a small-block), part of the “335” series of engines Ford was producing.
If the price isn’t too high, there’s a lot to work with here. Clean that interior and restore the engine bits back to stock, and you’d have a nice daily driver. Oh, and get a passenger window.
No original wheels, is that the seat belt holding the right door closed? Some photos have the hood pins, some don’t, and different steering wheel too, and i do not think the hood scoop is stock.
Could be a boss 429 hood scoop.
I would prefer this aftmkt steering wheel over the “luxury ltd” steering wheel if it had that, but not over the rimblow one, even tho the latter is bigger & thinner.
Paint looks very tired? – looks fine to me.
Driven 1,000,000 miles?!
Just because you comment on cars all the time does not mean I was born in a barn.
And just because you comment on cars all the time does not mean anything either. I comment on cars all the time too.
What I said was valid. What you said was not.
Others have made the same remarks here about sprucing up the cars to make them presentable and, luckily, those comments were largely ignored.
Finding a restorable car in a barn or other type of concealing structure or location is a revelatory experpience that for some is better than winning the lottery. The state of decrepitude when found and recorded adds to the story. We want to see that.
This site is about more than finding a car and then flipping it. The fact that such extensive information is usually shared adds to the experience in ways not encountered in other venues.
This is one of very few sites where the car’s own story has value far beyond what you normally find in automotive literature.
Those of us who bought many of these cars new relive our past when we see these dirty, rusty old relics. Why? Because about 4 years after purchase, our cars looked like some if these wrecks or even worse and we were still driving them.
The roads back then, even in summer could be punishing compared to those of today. Those low-riders you see today wouldn’t have lasted more than a few blocks in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s.
Those mid 70’s Fords mostly didn’t even last two years in the snow and salt. So seeing one in any condition is still very interesting and the dirt is window dressing.
The seller did not post his car on BF, he posted it to sell. For that reason alone, Vance’s comments about cleaning before presenting were valid.
To sum up about the clean up of the Mustang in question, Vance’s comments about clean up were valid for the original site the car was posted on, but not for this site.
I have seen comments about cleaning a car before presenting it for sale a lot on this website, and never felt the need to invalidate them.
Thank you and I agree with you.
Good info SSPBILL, my 69 Mustang has a 393 Cleveland with 1970 4 barrel closed chamber heads,pretty mild mannered at low RPM, picks up better after 4 barrel carb kicks in.
Nice ride, sure to grab a lot of attention in that orange paint job. Looks like a Boss 429 hood scoop, this is/was a fun cruiser with the intent on fun and only fun in driving,,, way before anyone cared about matching numbers this or that. Especially the Cleveland, it looks a little warmed up, again all about the smiles. I believe this pony has gone through several “changes” over the past decades.