Ford introduced the Mustang Mach 1 in 1969, and buyers could choose from various engines to power their new toy. Those wanting a classic with a touch of Tabasco could select the 428 Cobra Jet V8, and when coupled with a four-speed manual transmission, it produced an extremely potent package. That was the original owner’s choice with this ’69 Mach 1, but it needs love to recapture its lost youth. The Mustang is listed here on eBay in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Bidding has raced to $22,322 but remains below the reserve.
It appears someone commenced restoring this Mach 1, and you must search carefully to locate traces of its original Candy Apple Red paint. The panels are extremely straight, and there is no evidence of rust. Shots of the inside of the trunk show promise, with no signs of issues that could cause heartache. Sadly, the news isn’t entirely positive. The underside of this classic has fallen foul of some low-end repairs, which require attention to ensure the car is structurally sound. The seller states the best approach would be to entirely replace the floor pans, while repairs are also needed on the frame rails at both ends and the torque boxes. I think rust also might be forming below the battery tray, which is pretty common. I admire the seller’s honesty because taking this Mach 1 at face value could have been disastrous. The trim is acceptable for a driver-grade project, and there are no visible issues with the tinted glass.
This Mustang’s interior is complete, but its generally dilapidated state means a total retrim is the best course of action. Trim kits are not expensive, although replacing the badly cracked rimblow wheel will lighten the buyer’s wallet by $650. There will undoubtedly be other items requiring replacement, meaning this aspect of the project will probably consume $3,000. That might cause some readers to flinch, but the finished product should look factory-fresh and last for decades.
I have never heard an enthusiast state that their classic has too much power, and many will search for ways to squeeze a few extra ponies from their pride and joy. The original owner of this Mach 1 tried to ensure that would never be an issue by ordering this beast with the legendary 428 Cobra Jet V8 under the hood. Its 335hp and 440 ft/lbs of torque fed to the road via a four-speed manual transmission, allowing the Mach 1 to scorch through the ¼-mile in 14.3 seconds. It appears this car isn’t numbers-matching, but the seller describes in great detail how each component fits within a three to eight-week window of the car’s build date, as confirmed by the Marti Report. The engine’s condition is unclear, meaning it would be wise for potential buyers to factor a rebuild into their restoration budget. It may not be required, but it is better to have the money and not need it than to need it and not have it.
The new owner of this 1969 Mustang Mach 1 faces plenty of work before this classic graces our roads once again. The rust issues are disappointing, and a car of this caliber deserves nothing less than a high-end restoration that befits its mechanical specifications and performance potential. It has already received twenty bids, suggesting people see merit in this project. Would you consider joining the bidding party, or are the rust issues more than you’re prepared to tackle?
69’s and 70’s were always my favorite and I’m no Ford guy but they are sharp cars.He must have taken the engine apart and reassembled and reinstalled it to get all the #’s? Does it need to be taken out and rebuilt? Cool car but gonna need a lot of time and $ to restore.Still have my chrome 70 mustang hotwheels car you sent a dollar to Mattel to join the hot wheels club and they sent you the special mail order only car and a club certificate.Glwts.
I have 3 of those chrome Mustangs along with some other redline cars.
These cars we see on here are far from rare. This is the 20th rare Cobra jet I saw this week
You must be a young kid to want a 4 banger or you were never a true muscle head. You have your opinion which is definitely the minority, but of course today that don’t mean anything.
LoL agreed, “1 of ___” to start the article 90% of the time.
David, where did he say he wanted a 4 banger? It just said a modern one would out run it. Which is true.
Here’s Debbie Downer Know it all john again…
Well, I’m a FordGuy and I don’t know why I keep looking at cars here that I’ll never be able to afford. I remember when these cars were dirt cheap back in the 1970s oil crisis days. Now, I don’t have a snowballs chance in hell of ever owning one. It’s OK though, because back in the day, I had cars that only rich folks can afford now and awesome experiences very few can have these days.
Are we brothers or something ? I just look at this stuff and get depressed. I had a Ford for my first car (55 Victoria ) and the tradition carries on. I had the rich kids stuff starting with a 61 Starliner 390 -401 HP. I would give anything to have that car again. Then there was my 64 Comet Cyclone. A dedicated drag car that pulled the front wheels off the ground. Like you said, I don’t have a snowballs chance in hell to have something like I had in the good old days.
I owned 3 cars I should have kept.
1964 Galaxy 500
1966 Fairlane GT
1972 Cuda
All gone, never to return.
Yeah, but at least we have the memories of having owned these cars. A lot of younger guys can’t say that. I wouldn’t get depressed about the muscle cars we can’t afford now because the prices are way beyond our means, at least we can say we had them back in the day.
Had 69 mach1 428 back in 77 .30 over 12.5 trw pistions. 596 lift crane cam ,offy manafold,mallary ignition and headwork done.headers one fast mofo
Yes, I feel sorry for all us guys that just liked them back in the ’70’s because they were cool cars to modify, beat the crap out of, and scare people. Those days are gone, my friend, never to return.
I had one from ohio. The rear rails were rusted so bad the leaf springs came though the trunk deck.
I have managed to hang on to my very nice 68 AMX but these days it is so stressful to take it out due to lousy careless drivers and people who like to vandalize and not to mention the stupid values have taken a lot of the fun away I miss the old days alot .
Yup, and I remember stacking them and selling pieces from them and running them through an auto press and thought nothing of it. These were great money makers in the early 80s as were most of this muscle stuff. Very few repro items made 3 to 500.00 cars the equivalent of a Thanksgiving turkey Things that were wrecked, tired or fell into the wrong places, I.E. impounds, tow aways went to the place of doom. Now rusted busted and bashed ones that the metal muncher missed bring 5 times more than mint examples did then.
Were 428CJs really ever cheap though?
I walked (drove) away, in my Midnight Blue 65 2+2, from a ’69 Mach 1 428 CJ, 4-speed, White with with black rally stripes with an asking price of $1800 in 1982…..money in my pocket, thinking I’m gonna wait to find the 65 Midnight Blue k- code convertible with the Point trim that slipped away from me a couple of years prior…that was 1982…..40+ years later, I don’t have the old “fastback”, convertible or the Mach 1….there was a time when these things were cheap….still listening to Bob Seger but not on my aftermarket 8-trac anymore
Putting this horse back to show condition will take time and money. I bought my Mach in 69 and it was garage kept for about 95% of her life but was a driver till ’84. Then she was a cruiser and only got rained on twice. I recently went for a full restoration and it took over three and a half years. Mine was in good shape but
she was 50 when she went into the shop. Figure to put in $70 to $75k if you want it done right. Mine is a 351 W. Wish I had had the cash for the 428. If I had the cash and time, I would consider adding this unit to my garage !
I would make this a John Wick tribute car for sure!
You don’t take a original 428 mach 1 and turn it into a tribute car of just a plain fastback sure
4 cars I should’ve kept
#1 An original numbers matching L79 code, 4 speed 67 SS/RS Camaro (very rare)
#2 A 1965 Impala numbers matching 396 4 speed with bench seat Non SS -(rare)
#3 A 77 Trans Am W72
#4 My 1st car, a 66 Impala SS with 327/300 hp powerglide
73 Chevelle SS original 454 power bench seat 4 speed , pw, pb, tilt ,a/c , factory 3:73 posi rear sway bar w/ heavy duty suspension light yellow ( butternut yellow?) with black stripes originally.I got it brown with silver stripes in dilapeted condtion. put a Hayes clutch and a new Hurst super comp shifter in it and beat the crap out of it .# 2 66 ss396 impala buckets console and gauges and a 4:56 ex drag car with little miss christy livery that was raced by the original owner back in the late 60’s and early 70’s at us 30 until the engine blew up and it got parked. Artesian turquoise black vinyl with a stock 67 325 hp from a Caprice wreck me and my buddy put in. # 3 ..73 Caprice converible 400 SB. Sold em all cheap by todays pricing. …sigh.But got a lot of good memeories and pics of all of them.
Bottom line…..Bust for Rust. Someone a whole lot younger than me will surely take the massive undertaking. At least that pleases me as a Mustang man.
Pretty car but that’s a whole lot of rust, WAY beyond my ability to deal with. Paying someone else to deal with it for me is also beyond my ability, for a different reason.
Back in the early 80s when these were cheap one this rusted would “donate” its drive train to another car. Nowadays, someone will take this project on. Good luck.
Damn that old Mustang come on strong with some nasty venom! Project for sure but get that 428 bangin again and lay down some mad paint then hit the scene with a killa whip!
This ain’t no game.
Thank you guys. You keep me motivated. Working on ’69 Nova and a ’83 CJ-7. Kept my ’83 El Camino because I worked in construction. Back in the day the guys thought you were the boss man when you pulled up. Had a 305 that went 3 hundred thousand plus miles. Put a 383, 700R4, burned up g.n. rearend, and woke that b***h up. 1st car my ’73 Olds 98, 2nd car ’72 Trans Am (lost license twice) 3rd car ’67 cougar, 4th-5th car ’71 & ’72 Grand Prixs. Made one car out of it. 6th car a ’72 Formula. Then a ’77 El Camino ($250) bought my brother in laws four door Malibu ($400) swapped brother in laws nose, motor, and tranny into Camino. There are More cars. Going back to work.
Great 👍 comments on cars that went through everyone’s hands 🙌 some real dandys listed there. 👏
I can see it’s had both doors skinned, and the left rear frame rail patched, so there is that… but the left A pillar is toast
I’ve seen cars pulled out of junkyards to be completely restored. I say go for it. They’re starting with a better base car than some I’ve seen.
When it comes to rust repair,you can always estimate the cost to do it and it will usually be less than what it will really cost,will eat up a budget very quickly.Good luck to the individual who takes it on….having deep $pockets$ always helps….
A whole lot of money for a whole lot of problems. The body looks OK but the seller states the frame and torque boxes are toast. It’s a shame that you have to pay 10 to 15 times what this car cost new just to get one that is in need of a frame off complete restoration and doesn’t actually have the original engine. BTW I hope those 14.3 quarter mile times were on bias ply tires spinning to half track. The 225 hp fox body Mustangs will run that fast with the right driver behind the wheel.
I see cars like this and I’m so glad I kept my 69 mustang gt. I’ve had the car for 46 years and still drive it. There’s nothing like a 4 speed muscle car. Someone should take a chance on this mustang. Bring back the past.
Yellow 1968 383 four speed Road Runner,dark green 1969 Mach 1,428 Cobra Jet,ram air shaker,automatic, yellow 1970 ‘Cuda,340 with pistol grip 4 speed.1969 Blue 383 4 speed Road Runner.1971 Steel Gray Charger ,383 Magnum, automatic. 1973 Dode Challenger 340 automatic, red,black vinyl roof.1969 red Corvette convertible, 350 4 speed ,built NOM…this old man looks back.I had it all and thank God I had the privilege. Nobody but myself gottem and paid for em.All of them long gone except for the memories and those are legion.But…my ’01 ZO6 helps with pain!!
Had a Q code version of this in Acapulco Blue back in the 80s. I never remember these cats being as cheap as some here have stated. These were always special cars.