While the C code Mustang coupe might not be the most sought after of Pony cars, these base 289 cars are starting to gain in value. This black ’65 C Code coupe looks to be in fantastic shape and the seller claims it is all original, with just 40k miles on the clock. Given how shiny the paint is and how clean the interior is, I would want to inspect it closely to make sure there aren’t any signs of an older restoration. If you want to check it out closer, find it here on eBay in New Vienna, Ohio.
With Mustangs, like most American cars, options are everything. The C code means this car’s engine is the weakest version of the 289 V8, which is still good for about 200 horsepower. This car has the optional A/C, which is a nice feature but robs the engine of additional power. For a daily driver, this is actually the setup I would prefer. Air conditioning would make it comfortable to use during summer months and while more power is always fun, this engine would be easier on fuel than one of the more powerful V8s.
One of my favorite features of this Pony car has to be it’s white on black interior. It just looks classy and makes this Mustang look more sophisticated. For a C Code car, the interior was well optioned. It came with the optional center console and the remotely adjustable mirror. For a white interior, it has actually held up well and while the seats are a little discolored, everything looks great. I’m going to guess it has had some restoration work done to it at some point, the dash cap looks too nice to be original and there are added gauges installed under the dash. If it really is all original inside, it would be incredible!
I’m a fan of this Mustang and I want so badly to believe that it is all original. As they say, anything is possible, so I don’t see any reason why this couldn’t be a true low mileage survivor. I just would like to see some type of documentation proving the mileage and maybe a few photos of how it was found. At the end of the day though, what really matters is the current condition and how it drives. I’m sure there are plenty of people here who would prefer a K code, but this 4 speed V8 combo would still be fun! So do you believe this Pony car is an unrestored survivor or do you think it looks too good to be true?
Nice car, but I don’t think it would have come from the factory with a 9″ posi rearend with 3.71 gears. That “package” was reserved for K code cars. I wish he would post a picture of the driver’s door data plate so we could see what was back there from the factory.
Here here. 9″ not unless it was added later. Door tag would tell a lot. there are two things that stand out for me. One is the Falcon interior door handles which were used on early cars until the stock, i assume was used up. Door tag could tell us the build date, and two is that the headlight buckets with the little shark gills has a later style without the 64.5 drop down, which were also installed until the stock was used up. More photos would be great but it is very possible.
I doubt the claim that this is an original unrestored C code car. Notice the GT rear valence (on a C-code car is very unlikely) and as you mentioned the additional gauges are deffinately not original. The car does look great however, and I would love to have it.
Old black polishes up nicely, but it is hard to tell with these pics so a personal inspection is needed. It already looks like it will go for too much. I see the rust on the rear bumper around the lower bolt holes so inspect it all first. These rusted just sitting dry.
nice looking stang, So it is a 4 sp !, color combo is great. Only thing that got me thinkin is the rear lower valance with the dual ex. I thought that was gt only. I,m I missing something or is that not right with the package. anyway if it where my car I would have added that because it always was a cool addition.
Appears to be a nice car, and it’s quite possible, based on close examination of the interior and engine compartment photos, (slight wear and wrinkling on the driver’s seat, paint finish on the air cleaner housing, etc.) that it is a a 40K miles car. It definitely is NOT an unmolested, virginal car. The seller claims it’s equipped with a 3.73-geared “posie” nine-inch rearend — Ford did not even offer a 3.73:1 gear ratio in any Mustang through model year 1970 and (to the best of my knowledge) the nine-inch rear axle was only offered in K-cars (the High Performance, 271hp 289 in 1965 and ’66. “C” code ’65 and ’66 Mustangs came with a single exhaust, exiting below the rear valance, only GTs came with the dual outlet exhaust with the decorative tips exiting through the rear pan, and that coupe is definitely NOT a GT. With those discrepancies jumping out in a two-minute cursory look over the eBay posting (as well as NO underside photos of a rust-belt car) I can’t help but have some semi-serious doubts about the car and some very serious doubts about the seller. And I do know my way around old Mustangs — I worked for half a decade as a staffer on a Mustang magazine and I have owned a ’64 1//2 D-code convertible, a ’65 C-code (three-speed manual) coupe, a ’69 351/automatic fastback, three SVOs (one ’84 and two ’86s), an extensively upgraded ’90 5.0L LX hatch and a ’91 GT five-speed convertible, as well as a couple of the closely-related 1984-85 LTD LXs.
Well said. And as you mentioned that is just a glance in the pics provided. Thanks for your well informed comments.
I’ve owned ’65-6 Mustangs, ’65-6 Shelby’s, ’70 BOSS 302 & ’95 Cobra “R”s, (and still have some of these) since 1968(yes I’m old).
For the record, I agree with everything SoCal has mentioned. The gears, exhaust, and I’m a mechanic from the rust belt(Ohio), moved south.
It sounds like the seller is a bit overzealous, or reads a lot of Ford magazines.
P.S. Respectfully, I think the shifter knob shows to be a 3-speed. The factory 4-speed had a reverse lock out T-type handle with the bottom of the knob being chrome with a dish on top that I can’t see(I might be blind). The 3-speed knob was closer to being round without a dish on top.
After looking closer to the e-bay pics, the shifter knob looks like there is a dish on the top. The t on the handle could be hidden behind the steering wheel rim. If so, being the transmission man that I am, and very familiar with Mustangs of this era, it is probably the T-10 version, instead of the more durable “Top Loader” trans. I actually bought a ’66 289 4V GT Mustang one owner original car that had a T-10 in it.
Sorry for any misleading on my part.
I do not think it is original. These cars got the wheels driven off them. Some cars got babied, special edition cars, maybe K code convertible’s but a coupe C code. I doubt it. If there was documentation, repair receipts, oil change records, etc and owners that could back it up then you could consider that it could be original. Without it, this car is a nice coupe in good condition and that is all. But I love it and would love to have it.
It looks pretty shiny for Ford Acrylic Enamel and it looks like a 3 spd. to me. The AC wasn’t standard either. It’s a Mickey Mouse add on. I’ve had two stangs, A new ’66 c-coupe 3 spd. and a new well optioned 68′ with vinyl roof. factory AC and auto. My son has a ’07 CS, 5spd (summers only driver) Flomasters, some kind of new intake air system, Some kind of big sound system with big boxes in the trunk, new brake system,etc., I can’t keep up on all this stuff, but you get the picture. It’s his baby–we’re a Ford family.
In ’65-66, Mustangs optional factory air looked like an aftermarket add on, with the Ford emblem on the front. I’m sure they sourced it out.
I agree about the 3-speed.
After looking at the e-bay pics, the air unit IS aftermarket. But as I said the Ford Factory units were under the dash in ’65-66.
And the 3-speed knob does look like it has the dish of the 4-speed knob.
Sorry for any misleading on my part.
it sure looks good in the photos and it would make a great daily driver but after reading the prior comments it does need a very good PI by a vintage mustang expert before bidding. it is already at $13100 with more then 5 days to go so i think the price, when it is done, is going to take it out of the range where someone would daily drive it. great find maybe.
I agree about the exhaust cut outs that I think only came on the GT models but it is a nice finishing touch. The extra hupcap in the truck does not match the ones on the car. It is a very nice clean car though even with the 4-speed, v8, A/C combofor a ford even though I am a Chevy fan.
As already said, nice car but it does not look completely original, even apart from the added guages. The guages and the historical plate in the trunk say the car was owned at some point by a Mustang fan who did stuff to it, like the guages, posi rear end, GT rear valence, maybe the Tecumseh compressor A/C system.
Also doesn’t add up that it’s a long-time barn dweller in Ohio, otherwise there would likely be rust somewhere.
The ODO numbers are out of line bigtime, so without a very complete paper trail, which there is no mention of in the auction listing, I’m thinking it’s likely been turned back at some point. That and no photos of the tags make me ask Why?, and tell me to be very cautious on this one.
I don’t see a need to pay a premium for this one. Without the info and documentation this coupe isn’t likely to appreciate as much as a C-code fastback that has the right tags and features but isn’t a totally original barn find. If it were an A-code fastback, it would be no contest. Asking prices for fastbacks are already up noticeably in the last couple of years.
Simply: a pic of the authentic and original door tag would clarify a lot. It’s gonna sell for good bucks and make someone proud, but the tag info would increase the appeal to the passsionate Mustang enthusiasts. And, some of them are willing to pay MORE!
There’s been a LOT changed under the hood for 40k miles. Hoses, belts, wires, cables, radiator cap, shocks, etc. The shock tower sticker looks like more than 40k aging as well, and I don’t think FoMoCo was putting Flowmasters on. Trunk mat’s pretty beat for low miles too. Doesn’t match the relative age appearance of the interior at all. Not a ‘survivor’.
listing has been ended by seller due to error in listing!!!!!!!!! says it all right there.
Something is amiss. Thel isting was pulled because of “an error in the listing”
Relisted, with a decode sheet, but not the door tag. No all original claims now either.
This could be a nice car, but I’d like to see the underside in case the road salt has eaten it. Since it’s not pristine stock, a nice little 600 CFM 4BBL would increase the horses a little and actually make it run better with better mileage (that’s what I did with my C code). Put in a pony interior to dress it up some more, and clean everything. I saw all the non stock additions to it, but it still is a nice driver quality car. Wonder why they put in a 9″ without increasing the power?
Kudos to Barn Finds and everyone who commented on this car! In a matter of hours after the Stang appeared on Barn Finds and was critiqued — severely but not at all unreasonably — the seller pulled his original eBay listing and relisted after making corrections to almost everything that was in error. Well done fellow readers!
Where are the side scalops….GT exhaust ?…Im not seeing this quite like the owner is seeing it. But V8’s with 4 speeds are always fun
The side scallops were standard unless the option was checked to delete them in favor of the ‘tiffany stripe’ that is present on this car. The GT exhausts, however, were never a factory option on a c-code 65.
Looking at the new listing, the Decode sheet, and some new pics, and even with the after market AC, this seems to be a very nice machine. But I’d still like to see the floor pans before spending the kind of coin it seems to be worth to some. Assembled in Cinncinati, this Stang probably never left the sate of Ohio. I guess I wasn’t aware the 4 spd. was available when I took my new 66′ home or I’d have had one. Both the salesman and me were pretty dumb on that one–but I was young and that was a long time ago.
Lots of good comments on here about this early Mustang, and it’s good to see them mostly taken seriously by the seller.
The previous auction listing made too many claims for my comfort, and the revised listing still doesn’t show the tags, which makes me wonder why not because, unlike underside photos, they are simple photos to take. A VIN decoder printout is OK, but for top dollar I want to see the real thing. The GT features are still not explained, but with a reseller doing the selling that’s to be expected since the history isn’t known.
The ODO numbers aren’t lined up, which would make me hesitate to pay a premium for what might not be a 40K mile car. It’s too bad there isn’t any paperwork mentioned that could document the car and the miles, especially since people who care about a car enough get it through 5 decades as a low-mile unrusty beauty are usually the same people who would put every piece of paper in a file they keep on the car.
I’d prefer to sink more $$ than I’d pay for this coupe into a genuine fastback, even if not with such low miles. Fastbacks have appreciated and will keep appreciating more in the future than coupes.
The upside is it is a 4 speed car. Standard interior, no…it is not a GT only GTs came with A and K code, water and oil gauges are not working as they have installed aftermarket gauges below the dash, other wise why would some install them?
The biggest rust issue is the fresh air intake below the windshield. The drain holes were not made low enough. I is possible for the firewall to rust on early Mustangs.
There are other spots to look for…………….
The ad is to vague
Nicest Mustang in the trailer park………..Tiffany stripe,learn somethin every day
I recently purchased this 66 c code. I’m the 3rd owner. The original owner was a Denver single female who sold it at mecum in Denver in 2015. I did sum research and as far as I can tell it is close to orig. With exceptions of holly 4bbl. Edelbrock air cleaner & twin pipes, ignition, red stripes.. I haven’t detailed the engine bay or undercarriage yet but it’s clean and rust free. C4 transmission factory air & tinted windshield. The gentleman I purchased it from was experienced in classics and loved this car but has health issues. Don’t want to flip it but wud to get another 66 k code coupe in raven black 4 speed. Any takers? Liked everyone’s comments on the barn find. Please comment on mine. It’s a gem. I think. I could use experienced input. Thanks everyone.