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Caribbean Coral: 1968 Ford Mustang

When it comes to Mustangs, most collectors associate “special” cars with high-performance models like a real-deal Shelby or a Hertz rent-a-racer. Then there are the California Specials and a few others sprinkled in there, but a car like this – a special-order “Caribean Coral” model – is seemingly a harder car to find in terms of how many have survived. It’s also a hell of a lot cheaper than a Shelby or a C/S model, as this one is listed here on craigslist with its California black plates still attached for the reasonable sum of $5,800.

I’ve seen this color pop up for sale every now and again, but it’s definitely a rarely-seen shade. Personally, even though I’m not a pink shirt guy, I love this color. Few shades of paint ever live up to their name, but this really does remind me of the hues of pink and magenta you see in a Caribean sunset. It just feels tropical. The seller doesn’t go into the history of the car or how he ended up with it, but I’d love to see someone trace back the story of a special-order car like this. Who ordered it? Why did they love this color? How long did it take to show up? And so on. The Mustang does have rust, as you can see, which is a shame considering a West Coast car usually gets you out of that repair bill.

The interior is in very good shape, much better than you’d expect looking at the outside. Perhaps this rare bird was loved before being parked outside and left to sit idle for seven years, which is the last time the engine fired off. The Mustang left the factory with a 289 and automatic transmission, the latter of which is still presumably numbers-matching; the original engine is long gone, however. The headliner appears to be in exceptionally good condition for a project car, which again reinforces the notion that it wasn’t always left outside to bake in the sun. A new dash pad is included, which would presumably mean the original pad is cracked.

The seller doesn’t explain why the engine was removed and a replacement dropped in, or whether it was a factory warrantied replacement that was at least the correct date code for a 1968 model. It certainly looks like it’s been there a while, and given it is a replacement, one would hope it would come back to life without too much of a struggle. In the case of a car like this, I don’t think the non-matching engine is a value killer because anyone who wants to restore this Caribean Coral project will likely do so entirely because of the paint code. If you want a rare Mustang that doesn’t cost Shelby or Saleen money, this ’68 could be a good option.

Comments

  1. Avatar Squigly

    Chick car. Men never drove pink cars back then, and those who did, wellll, we formed certain opinions about them.

    Like 19
    • Avatar Ken Vrana Member

      Try doing that today.

      Like 7
  2. Avatar Keith

    Car apparently came from Isackson Motors in Arcata, California as it appears to have the original black & yellow plates with a “VQV” letter designation that would have been correct for early? 1968. Aside from that, it’s just an odd-colored pretty much standard Mustang that needs everything. And since Arcata is close to the Pacific, the rust is not surprising. Now if it belonged to a Playboy Bunny…

    Like 10
    • Avatar Squigly

      If it had belonged to a Playboy bunny, you best use a black light in it.

      Like 10
      • Avatar Robert S

        Please use Two black lights just in case one light fails!

        Like 3
  3. Avatar David r

    Hud drove a pink Cadilac.

    Like 3
  4. Avatar Mustang watcher

    Are there any underside pics to see rust Damage there ???

    Like 1
  5. Avatar Joe Bru

    5800 is a lot of money for most folks. Less than 3k is reasonable for a standard coupe with a replacement engine and rust issues. Gotta want the pink…

    Like 1

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