When Reader Larry J spotted this 1966 Ford Mustang Fastback in a barn in Tennessee about a year ago, he knew he had to stop and ask the owner about it. Like many of the finds we come across, the owner wasn’t interested in parting with their prized car. After talking a little to the owner, Larry gave them his number and told them if they ever changed their mind, to give him a call. Larry assumed he would never hear from the owner, but a few months ago he received a surprising phone call.
After a year of thinking, the owner decided it was time to let the Mustang go to a new home and owner who would enjoy it. Amazingly, they had kept Larry’s phone number and decided to give him a call. Larry was shocked by the phone call, but quickly the shock was replaced with excitement. He got his trailer hooked up to his truck and set off to pick up his new project. The Mustang had set in the leaky barn for nearly 35 years, but Larry thought it looked solid. He negotiated a price they both could agree on and got to loading it up.
Once Larry got his Mustang home, he unloaded it from the trailer and almost immediately started working on it. He plans on performing a full restoration, but he has already got the 289 V8 running. While the surface shows some rust, he says it is very solid and will make a great starting point. Larry’s story goes to show you that it never hurts to stop and ask about a barn find. Just because the owner isn’t interested in selling today, that doesn’t mean they won’t be tomorrow! So keep stopping and asking, just be sure to give them your phone number on something they won’t throw away or lose. We hope Larry will keep us updated on his progress.
Some times being nice is more important then the money. I am sure the owners had a lot of people offering them money for it, but because Larry was nice and took the time to talk instead of being pushy he got it bought. Looks like it will be a nice car when done!
I love this story, and agree. I ultimately sold a car to a guy who, a few years before, had tracked down the original CA owner to buy a car. The owner decided upon another guy in Kansas at that time. Three years later, I bought the car from the Kansas guy, who never got around to restoring it after sweet talking the CA owner. Turns out, the first guy never forgot the car. He actually saw my post on a lark and he lived only a few miles from me! Because I still corresponded with the original owner, it was gratifying to see the first guy who fell in love with it on its first sale, buy it.
I’m confused…..
But that’s just me. Sounds like at least one, and more likely tow, people were happy with the eventual outcome.
What’s with the one cheater slick/drag slick on the back?
Cool..what does the interior look like.. Love the old craiger mag…
What’s even stranger than that, is the the left front wheel looks almost like it could be an original Mustang GT wheel? Or another custom wheel. I agree that the Cragar SS wheel looks awesome. What’s really cool is that Cragar is now building that same wheel in 16, 17 and 18 inch diameters.
Man, I want it. One of the holy grails in my book. Good job.
It’s nice to see a car like this land in the hands of someone who is not a flipper.
Love the story, love the car. I hope Larry has an easy go of the restoration and enjoys the car for a long time. I’ve had the same thing happen to me—left name & number and then gotten a call out of the blue offering the car. It’s well worth a try, especially when the seller doesn’t feel like working too hard for a sale.
I came within a whisker of pulling the trigger on one of these in very nice driver condition that was a well done Hertz tribute car. These look good almost no matter what people do to them, but the Hertz version looks best to me. And to think they let real Hertz GT350s go for a few thousand back in the day when Hertz/Shelby had to sell hundreds of them off when their work as rentals was done.
One of the car collector/vintage racing magazines has done a series of articles on early Mustangs that talks about how to help the handling and driving dynamics with aftermarket parts. Sounds like the wrong thing to do to a car like this but they rave about how much the car is improved. And one of the best things is that it’s all underneath so the car has the same great look.
Nice Find! Love to follow your progress as you restore the car.
I was lucky enough to be a Hertz manager back in the mid-60s to late 70s, the operative word being “manager.” Managers got a company car as part of the salary. Now, you wouldn’t want a garageman to write “Ford” on the ready-slip, then the rental rep rent a “Ford” for $7 a day, 7 cents a mile instead of a GT350 for whatever it rented for at that time…and especially to someone who had no concept of the jewel he’d been given. So, I felt it was incumbent on me to drive the Shelbys until someone specifically requested one, then I’d switch to an AMX…Halcyon days. Today I drive a Highlander. What’s the world come to???
Guys, 1964 – 2014 means the Mustang will celebrate it’s 50th anniversary this year…..
Magny Cours race track in France has organized a special event for this celebration. So how about the US ??
Yep, there are some big celebrations planned in a few different locations. Checkout this site for more info: http://www.mustang50thbirthdaycelebration.com
I was thinking about driving my own Mustang down to Vegas actually. Anyone here planning on attending?
Never buy a early Mustang without checking it for rust problems, they can quickly put you upside down in it financially. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/classicmustang/
Always wanted early one ,too much for them now and Newest ones do nothing for me. I guess I got too old.