“Well begun is half done.” Mary Poppins wasn’t talking about dusty old cars, but this 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 in Snohomish, Washington has benefited from attention in key areas including new rear quarter panels. That’s not an easy job; I did one on my ’89 Mustang and it took about 1000 measurements and adjustments to get it right. Factory equipment on this classic includes the 351 cid (5.8L) Windsor V8, four-speed manual transmission, power disc brakes, and power steering. More than 50 bids here on eBay have raised the market value above $13,000 without meeting the seller’s reserve.
With the new quarter panels in place (let’s hope they were leaded in the C-pillar), one of the hardest jobs is done. However this car also gained replacement panels across nearly all the lower horizontal metal: trunk and floors panels and more. This raises questions about the extent of structural rust in the sub-frames, cowl, but (as many TV shows demonstrate) anything on a car can be replaced with fat applications of labor and cash.
The listing does not describe this as the original or “numbers-matching” engine so assume it is not. However it does look highly original aside from normal replacement parts. It runs, though, with “no smoke or noise.” That’s good news, but this pony car is certainly not roadworthy yet.
The interior tells a story of a never-restored and never-scavenged Mustang that needs a boatload of cosmetic parts, and few cars offer more possible vendors and easy-to-find parts than a ’60s Mustang. If we’d shown this car before work began, it likely would have been called out as too far gone, but now? Now it has a great chance to become someone’s pride and joy. Can you get it over the finish line?
Where’s the link, Todd?
If you haven’t found it yet:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1969-Ford-Mustang-Mach-1/202773975848
Thanks!
The link is fixed now. Sorry, everyone, for the rookie mistake. Thanks for sparing me the flogging I deserved, and posting the link. May your tent be always upwind of your camels, or your mustangs in this case.
Talk about crazy Mopar prices? This one is crazy $ given the work required. If it were even a 390 I might sort of understand, but this for a 351 Windsor with auto needing virtually everything?
It’s a 4 speed manual.Actually says that in bold lettering in the opening title…
Healthy 401ks! Hope mine’s doing this well when I get near retirement (not looking like it).
If anyone wants question answered let me know. This used to be my mach 1. I Did all the metal work. Quarters, trunk floors, rear upper and lower panels. It was done right, and it took LOTS of hours!
Its runs real nice. I drove it about 20 miles. Power steering works flawlessly. Has a bad clutch.
It is a complete numbers match (born with)drivetrain. Very original drivetrain!
I’ve honestly driven cars in years past that were in worse shape than this. As long as it stops fairly well we can make it go
It’s a great project if bought right but it seems to me it will be north of that buy it right price!! Was never a big fan of the 351 Windsor motor either!!!
After just checking out that white cobra jet powered Mach 1, that 351 just looks so…..boring! It’s a neat car with all the styling and aggressive charm the Mach 1 delivers, but number matching or not that engine need some warming up, especially being a four speed car.
I had a 428 Mach 1 and three 351W Mach 1s. I’ll take the 351W thank you. The engine seems perfect for the Mach 1 but a 4bbl version would be my pick. The 428, uncontrollable power but the transmission didn’t let it rev for long. The 351W, rev longer and better for the street. This is probably going to sound stupid to you all but in today’s world the 351W is a much better engine for everyday driving, the 428CJ not so much. Now, I never had the pleasure of driving both of them brand new but I did see them when they came out in fall 1968 and fell in love with the cars.
The 428 was heavy, the 351W was not. When you stroke a 351W to 408 cu in, you’ll get the power of a stock looking 351W, but power that could and does exceed that of a 428, all in an unsuspecting 351W block.
Not sure why one of the posters didn’t like the 351W, what’s not to like about it? Stronger than a 289/302 by far, lighter than a 428 with the ability to far exceed the rwhp of a 428CJ. Check out the 408W details here: https://www.stangtv.com/tech-stories/engine/408ci-small-block-ford-engine-550-hp-build/ It seems like almost all of them have 500 – 550 hp at the flywheel which means a healthy 425- 450 at the rear wheels all on pump gas. If you want my opinion, that’s pretty healthy with over 1 hp per cubic inch. JMHO