There must be something in the water today. Or, maybe it is the water from what is left of Irma that has been pounding our area for the past two days. During this deluge, I have been working tirelessly to bring you deals from Craigslist in order to make you as broke as I am. Doing so, I stumbled upon this humble 1968 Ford Mustang coupe in Milledgeville, Georgia. Found on Craigslist, this car is advertised as very straight, very solid, and not running. Well, two out of three ain’t bad, especially when the asking price is just $2500!
If you look at the pictures closely, you see that this probably is a solid car. Poring over the photos, I cannot find any signs of rust or Bondo, or even shoddy repairs. It looks like whoever owns this car was planning a repaint, and managed to make it to the primer stage before abandoning the project. While much of the chrome has been removed from the car, the seller claims that all of the trim pieces are still with the car. The glass looks to be undamaged and hasn’t started to delaminate. What chrome is still on the car looks to be in good condition as well, but the bumper may need re-chroming or replacement.
Inside, we see that the headliner is falling down, and I cannot see the front seats in the picture. Hopefully the seats are still there, but if they aren’t, its not like there aren’t used parts galore for Mustangs. The condition of the dash is also a mystery, but I think I can see its outline in the lower picture.
The seller states that it is a six cylinder car with an automatic transmission. This is good for a lot of reasons. The first is that V-8 cars, especially with manual transmissions, tend to get driven hard and abused. This abuse gets magnified as cars like this descend into the realm of cheap used cars. Second, if the car still has its six and automatic, that means it likely hasn’t been butchered up to install huge rear wheels and a monster motor. Third, should you decide to keep the engine and transmission when you fix the car up, the inline six cylinder Ford engine is known for its smoothness and indestructability. If you aren’t looking to spend most of your time driving this car hard, the six with an automatic makes a good foundation for a Saturday night cruise in car.
A car like this gives you a blank canvas from which to work. Being a coupe with a six cylinder and automatic, it is not a rare car at all. If you want to change the color to your favorite, the engine to a more modern one, or slap in a five speed from a later Mustang, then you should feel no guilt at all. Using junkyard parts, I have seen people transform Mustangs like this into amazingly nice cars that are better suited for today’s driving conditions and that have a look of their own. Mustangs are economical to operate, easy and comfortable to drive, and restoring one is easy thanks to a vast network of aftermarket parts suppliers and the incredible amount of information out there about them.
If you are in the area, and are looking for an inexpensive project car, this one might merit a closer look.
I blame you for my laziness – but where is the link?
Thank you by the way for all the hard work you put in on the website; it is my first read every morning!
Thanks for catching that Matt! The link is now in the first paragraph.
I’d much rather start with a solid body with a tired engine and worn interior anytime! As mentioned, parts are easily sourced and body work can add years to a project that a guy does in his own garage.
Here’s the ad archive http://www.craigslistadsaver.com/view.php?name=1968FordMustangCoupe
if you can’t find a fastback, a coupe will do! nothing larger than a 351, Recaro buckets Kickin’ stereo , slightly larger tires, budget hubcaps discs and HD shocks good to go !!
How about a Mustang four door sedan or shooting brake !
My mistake! Here is a Mustang shooting brake.
http://www.carscoops.com/2011/09/found-for-sale-cool-1965-ford-mustang.html
@Mike,
You forgot a 4-5 speed.
Really cool website/forum, you guys have here.Please keep up the good work. I guess this is okay if you want the everyday coupe edition .Hym,l the cooler fastback is still out their though, but you do have a good parts car here ,and who knows, you may not find a good fastback car.But price way,to high for this car.I can see 500.00 -1500.00 maybe, but remember this may also be a good protect car,just be careful. I think this is a car that was repaired, and or repainted at some point, so this maybe rougher than the car seems. If were me l think would focus on finding the more desirable GT, Fastback edition.Although these are getting harder to find it seems ,why does everyone want Shelby clone ,Eleanor clone.Everyday Steve McQueen edition, very cool,a lot less expensive to restore, and or maintain, is my take.