Open the doors to this barn in Bushnell, Illinois, and what will you find? A 1965 Ford Mustang with a six-cylinder engine and a 3-speed manual transmission. It was a common sight back in the day, as hundreds of thousands of them were built in a relatively short period of time. This one has been sitting for a long time, probably discovered by the seller who has the job of moving it on. Available here on Facebook Marketplace, this project Ford is offered for $5,000 (too bad it’s not a 289 car).
Lee Iacocca was the brainchild behind the Mustang at Ford in the mid-1960s. He envisioned a market for a small, sporty car that was widely affordable. Based on the compact Falcon, the Mustang debuted at the New York World’s Fair in April 1964, selling 1.2 million units by the end of the 1966 model year. Other than the Chevrolet Impala, no U.S. automobile likely had that level of sales during the decade.
The seller admits not having much info on this old “pony”. The car has been sitting for ages, perhaps decades, and much debris lies in, on, and around the automobile. There is ample rust, and the Ford once wore dark blue paint with the black bucket seat interior. The vehicle’s title is MIA, so the seller (or you) will have to file for a new one (let that be part of your decision to buy it for anything other than parts).
As with any barn find, you’ll have to fight with flat tires in extricating the car from its long-term home. A 200 cubic inch inline-6 Mustang with rust may not be the ideal restoration project. If this were an A-code 289 Ford with a 4-speed manual transmission, a different decision might be here. Our thanks to T.J. for this latest tip.
Anyone willing to shell out 5K for this is confirming that the dollar has definitely lost significant value since this pony was born.