This one’s simple math: can you pay the price of this 1969 Mustang Mach 1 being auctioned here on eBay, do the needed restoration, and come out ahead? If you think the answer is yes, then hit that bid button. If not, well, maybe you’re the wiser. But you won’t be going to Morris, Oklahoma to collect your win in that case.
There’s no question about the desirability of the end product here. A 1969 Mach 1 has the look and the oomph to make any owner happy. But despite the ad image that shows this one sitting, all together, under a carport as if it’s ready to roll, there’s a lot to do to get this Mach in shape. That’s because it’s a twice-abandoned project. The owner prior to this one parked the car years (read: “decades”) ago. The current owner has had the car for a decade, and he’s decided it’s not going to happen that he’ll get it on the road, and thus he has put it up for bid.
What does it need? Well, the good news at first is that there’s rust only in the corner of the deck lid. But the ad copy also says that there’s Bondo in the tops of the front fenders and in the right rear quarter. That should be a giant “ding!” alert bell that the next owner should assume the body needs help. The engine is supposed to be original, but the FMX tranny has been replaced. And in any case, the engine is stuck, so you can decide that that’s going to involve in cost and hassle. If this is the factory engine, and that’s the presumption, that adds value if it can be freed up.
The problem with figuring out what you’re getting for the money is not just the dearth of specifics in the ad. It’s the fact that the longer the ad goes on, the less specific, and less hopeful, it becomes. The seller ends up saying, in effect, “Please don’t ask me too many questions,” like “Is it numbers matching?” He’s not going to bother chasing the truth for you. The car, in fact, does not have to be sold, he claims. So why is it up for bid? He doesn’t say it, but let’s be real—he’s seen the recent appreciation in values of even the hulks of these cars that sit in so many side yards, and he has decided to cash in. At upwards of $25,000, he’s got to be happy that he’s doing that, because it certainly sounds like he’s forsaken any plans he may have had to make this his passion project. But his loss might be your gain. Just make sure you’re in positive territory as the bidding heads skyward. On the plus side, the exterior pictures look good, like you could put this car into service pretty quickly. Oh wait–the ad warns against that kind of thinking too, “AS IS condition” it says to keep us hopeful dreamers’ feet planted on firm ground.
I love these cars, but I’d run fast from this one.
Not worth even half of the asking price. Guaranteed that none of the current top bidders would want the vehicle at their bid price, they are searching the reserve.
I don’t understand anything that you wrote.
If they “search” (what does this mean?) and meet the reserve they have to buy it. They could back out of the sale, but I believe there’s a significant fee for that.
I like the ACCC auction site because at the bottom of an article there is a graph of how far from the reserve the bidding is
Searching for the reserve, fishing for the reserve, call it what you will. It basically means that bidders are throwing bids at a listing to see if they can stay under the reserve to see if they can figure out what the reserve might actually be. Even if they do manage to meet the reserve they can always retract their bid. Only the sellers on ebay pay any fees. There are no buyers fees and the most someone who wins an auction and does not pay for it might receive is a non paying bidder strike.
Is marijuana legal in Oklahoma? While I would like a Mach 1 I would not put up $25,000 for it. Just by the pictures there are significant rust issues and given the wording in the ad this person really doesn’t want to sell it.
Let the obligatory “I am unaware of and/or don’t understand the current market for 65-70 fastback mustangs” comments commence.
Here is a great video from 1969. Go to 11:40 to 15:00. Walter Cronkite gets hooked up to a heartrate monitoring device and gets terrorized by pretty much this exact car to demonstrate stress levels generated by aggressive drivers. Hilarious and delicious to watch now.
https://youtu.be/aIeDpNzzalE
What a pile, and it is at $25,100 now with 5 days to go.
I always scope out the bids on eBay to see if the price is being run up. “0” Feedback is a good indicator. This one has one bidder with that distinction. Seems like a lot of money but bid on.
Correct Shuttle guy, I do the same thing. So much Fraud out there. Wonder why he didnt pick up the trunk mat…Hmm that would show how rotten the trunk is. I dont have to sell it…thats right up with Testing the waters. 351w 2 bbl and ford didnt have matching numbers on these. Automatic . mach i??
Nah
Cheers
GPC
By the supplied VIN and the Marti report this is an M code 351 4V car. Starting with the 1968 model year Ford did VIN stamp all their engines and transmissions.
A “fool” and his money is soon parted!