Sales of the popular Ford Mustang peaked at 607,000 units in 1966. But by the end of the first generation in 1973, barely 135,000 customers placed orders. The 1971-73 run had become big and bloated, so the car was reborn in 1974 as the Mustang II, a subcompact pony car. The seller has a 1973 Mach 1, which was sidelined due to a low-speed collision with a fence a few years ago. Needing to be revived with a new front clip, this project ‘Stang is in Dothan, Alabama, and is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $11,500. Thanks for the tip, William Troup.
By 1973, the Mustang weighed 800 lbs. more than it did in 1965 and was longer, wider, and lower than before. The SportsRoof (aka fastback), as used on the Mach 1, had little to no rearward visibility. Buyers were becoming scarcer as the years went by, so the car was reinvented as a sporty Pinto in 1974 – just in time for the OPEC oil embargo. Demand ballooned again, but maybe not for the reasons Ford had intended. The Mach 1 was still the performance model, though a 302 cubic inch V8 was standard.
Finished in Medium Bright Yellow paint with a black interior and body stripes, this Mustang was left in neutral one day and rolled into a fence, causing the damage that you see in the photos. Because the car wasn’t moving fast, the impact may be superficial, i.e., no undercarriage issues. The mileage may have been only 38,000 miles at the time as the cockpit looks to be in very nice original condition.
This Ford has a 4-speed manual transmission paired with the base Mach 1 302 V8. The Mach 1 was one of 35,000 built out of a total Mustang universe of about four times that number. The seller says the machine is otherwise complete, but it’s doubtful it runs (one of the battery cables is disconnected). The paint has issues not related to the impact, so the overall car will need a respray once the front-end problem is corrected. Any takers at the seller’s price point?
Ah, the real Eleanor. Easy fix, could have this driving in a weekend.
Original Eleanor was not a Mach 1..
I could be mistaken, but it looks like there is a LOT of rust on the hood edge, and rust and/or bondo on the right fender. Personal inspection of this one highly recommended! GLWTS!! :-)
302? Seems like it should be a 351W.
Per the ad: “Serious injuries only” :-)
All kidding aside, if I had a sidelined car, running or not, I’d have the battery disconnected.
The battery is disconnected. One cable is off although it appears to be the positive cable that has been removed indicating the person who did it really doesn’t know what they’re doing safety wise.
I can just hear it now,,,( talking to significant other that never drove a stick), okay, let the clutch out slow and give it some gas,,,no, no, too much BAM,,,waaaahh. All is not lost, it’s still a great find. Why no air cleaner? Big red flag there and again, better be handy, it has a rift of issues I’m not sure folks today would be able to take this on. With interest sliding, another couple grand gets a nice one. It’s a really cool Mustang, last of the “true” Mustangs, I remember when ads in classic publications, the Mustang ads stopped at 1973. Purists didn’t even recognize the Mustang ll, until recently. Not sure what will happen to all these cars that don’t need much. Probably going to have to give them away.
Car has some issues, but, it also has some good issues. Interior looks nice, 4 banger, nice color combo. Compared to some of the basket cases out there looks like a decent project for the money with a little room for negotiation possibly. Been listed for a week…
It seems odd that the front is damaged, since you can’t see anything behind the car with that nearly horizontal back window. Maybe they were trying to back up and were looking back while they let the clutch out in a forward gear.
Read Russ’s write-up again for the first time.
The 4 speed must have been added later. The 302 in 73 was only available with a 3 speed manual. No 4 speed with that engine.
Not a 73 Mach 1, that’s a 71 or 72
Original Eleanor was a 71, 72,73 Combined Mach1 for the original movie, it
had a 25 minute part that was shot with live action, one of the best ever, the actor actually hit a telephone pole, hurt badly, then in Eleanor 2 he hit another one and was killed, never finished the movie, during a chase the police radioed in that it was a 73 Mach 1 they were chasing. Same Yellow Color.
Original Eleanor was not a Mach 1 look at the hood no scoops just black painted accents..there is documentary on it.
That does appear to be a ‘73 as the fat front bumper (for higher crash test standards) and the ‘73 grill (with vertical grill lights vs horizontal for ‘71&’72) were one year only parts for 1973. The taillight bezels w/o the black painted trim are also specific to ‘73. It is wearing the “hockey stick” stripes specific to ‘71 vs the correct ‘73 Mach 1 decals. The ‘73 decals have fewer pieces and are much easier to apply. The multiple pieces of the ‘71 stripes are across the entire length of the car and skip over both wheel wells. They’re an PITA to get exactly straight. Odd choice. Buyer beware at $11k.
Tom 71 Mustangs speaks of what he knows y’all. Ask to see his showroom collection. Enuff said.
It’s hard to believe that someone would let a Mach get to this condition.
Well put, Tom71Mustangs
Bondo buggy. Sure shame.
Original 73 according to the bumper and blinkers. Original eleanor was 72 with a 73 grill. And yes halicki hit that phone pole really hard and we know that hurt a lot. Even my 73 convertible had a very respectable 351 cleveland and my 73 grande had a 302 auto..hated it so i traded for the convertible. I now have a 2018 with 460 horses but i would almost trade it for the convertible back..old ones were the best.
Original 73 according to the bumper and blinkers. Original eleanor was 72 with a 73 grill. And yes halicki hit that phone pole really hard and we know that hurt a lot. Even my 73 convertible had a very respectable 351 cleveland and my 73 grande had a 302 auto..hated it so i traded for the convertible. I now have a 2018 with 460 horses but i would almost trade it for the convertible back..old ones were the best.
Original 73 according to the bumper and blinkers. Original eleanor was 72 with a 73 grill. And yes halicki hit that phone pole really hard and we know that hurt a lot. Even my 73 convertible had a very respectable 351 cleveland and my 73 grande had a 302 auto..hated it so i traded for the convertible. I now have a 2018 with 460 horses but i would almost trade it for the convertible back..old ones were the best.
Had a 71′ in grabber blue with the silver stripes and ram air hood. 351clevlend with automatic. Awesome car. To bad I was young and foolish. Worth 6 figures.