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Hiding For 40 Years: 1969 Ford Mustang Fastback

The previous owner of this 1969 Ford Mustang parked the classic in 1982 due to a minor incident. What started as a minor repair has resulted in the car sitting for nearly four decades. The current owner has dragged it out of hiding, and it seems that he has uncovered a complete and promising project car. When parked, it was in sound mechanical health, so returning it to a roadworthy state could be an interesting way to spend the upcoming colder months. The Mustang is located in Saint Louis, Missouri, and has been listed for sale here on eBay. Solid bidding has taken the price to $10,000, but it is yet to meet the reserve.

This photo reveals the reason behind this Pastel Gray Mustang finding itself in its current state. It seems that the previous owner had a minor altercation with a light pole in a car park, inflicting damage to the right front corner of the car. He drove the Mustang into his workshop to repair the problem but only got as far as some preliminary panel-beating of the damaged area when it appears that he was overcome with the desire to refresh the whole car. To this end, he removed some of the trim, badges, and tape stripes before setting to work with the sander on the damaged side. This work stalled early, and the Mustang has looked this way ever since. Completing the repairs to the damaged fender should not be difficult. However, the ready availability of replacement parts makes replacement more affordable today than it would’ve been back when the previous owner parked this car. The years of neglect mean that there will be some trim pieces that have either deteriorated or disappeared, so the buyer might need to embark on a shopping trip to secure replacements. There is rust visible in both lower doors and rear quarter panels. It looks like the buyer could repair this with patches, but that is all that I can spot externally. The owner doesn’t mention any issues with the Mustang’s underside, so we are left in the dark on that score.

I know that we have a group of readers who cringe when they see the words “ran when parked,” but it appears that is the reality with this Mustang. That means that its original 302-2V V8 would have still been pumping out close to its original 220hp when the vehicle had its unfortunate meeting with the pole. The rest of the drivetrain consists of a three-speed automatic transmission, a 2.79 conventional rear end, and power steering. While Ford offered buyers more potent options in 1969, the 16.4-second ¼-mile ET that this Ford was capable of cutting would have been viewed as respectable when the car was new. With four decades of inactivity, the buyer is unlikely to coax this classic back to life in five minutes. However, the owner indicates that the V8 turns freely, which means a fuel system flush and some basic maintenance could produce rewarding results. The car wouldn’t be roadworthy, but it would be a starting point from which the next owner could work.

When the original owner ordered this Mustang, it seems that he didn’t go ballistic with the Order Form and pen at his local Ford dealership. Interior options are limited to an AM radio, with no other luxury features like air conditioning. Looking at it from a positive perspective, the lack of these features means lower overall weight. That is never a bad thing for any owner wishing to maximize the performance potential of their classic. It appears that he hasn’t made any aftermarket additions and that original radio remains intact. However, time marches on, and it seems that it has marched across some of this classic’s upholstered surfaces. The front seats would benefit from new covers, while a carpet set wouldn’t go astray. The dash pad is an unknown quantity, but the remaining upholstery and trim might spring a surprise with a deep clean. The rear seat looks nice, the headliner seems free from rips and splits, while the rest of the interior looks acceptable for an original survivor. If the shopping list is limited to those few items that I have mentioned, it is possible that this interior could look pretty nice without the cost slipping into four-figure territory.

First Generation Mustang project cars will always stir some strong interest when they come on the market, and this 1969 Fastback is no exception. It attracted nineteen bids in less than two days, and there’s still plenty of time left on this listing. I wouldn’t be surprised if the bidding soared beyond $15,000 because this appears to be a solid classic that would make the ideal candidate for a project build. A faithful restoration? A Boss clone? A restomod? The choices seem endless, and I would love to know what the successful bidder will have planned for this beauty. If that person happens to be one of our readers, they might also be willing to provide project updates, and that’s something that I’d love to see.

Comments

  1. Avatar HadTwo

    Go back into hiding!

    Like 3
  2. Avatar Chris

    Waiting for its new breath of fresh air.

    Like 0
  3. Avatar Steve Clinton

    It looks like the rust is working its way back, starting at the front.

    Like 1
  4. Avatar Howie Mueler

    What a rust bucket.

    Like 1
  5. Avatar RSparks

    I just don’t get it. The bidding is up to $11k on this thing. It’s a rusted heap and a 302 2 barrel automatic to boot, not a 428 CJ. It’s definitely worth something but not $11k. This market is not sustainable. When it crashes these things will be sold at a loss. It will take $60k to make it worth $55k.

    Like 4
    • Avatar AnalogMan

      I don’t get it either. This car is a duplicate of the 1969 Mustang Sports Roof I had in high school and college, same pastel grey exterior, same red vinyl interior, same 302 and automatic. Even the same factory wheel covers (at least those are authentically original). I loved that car and have missed it for over 45 years, mostly because it was the courtship car for my at the time breathtakingly beautiful, brilliant, way-out-of-my-league model-gorgeous and genius intelligent, sweet, fun girlfriend at the time (her mother hated my guts, in part because she thought I was a miscreant for driving an irresponsible ‘Mustang’, and even worse, rode a motorcycle).

      But $11,1000 bid? And reserve still not met?? I don’t know what’s more astonishing, that someone would bid 11 large for a VIN plate and pile of tetanus-inducing rust, or that the seller wouldn’t jump at the offer and thinks they can get even more for it. For a base 302 automatic, needing a full restoration. As you said, put in $2 for every $1 you’d get out of it. This would be beyond a labor of love, and even with my past with the car, I wouldn’t touch it with someone else’s money.

      The collector car world has truly gone insane. If this isn’t a giant 30 foot high billboard screaming “Bubble!”, I don’t know what is.

      Like 1
  6. Avatar HadTwo

    Hey AnalogMan,
    Good thoughts and consider this possible scenario: The owner’s beer drinking buddies all know what the Reserve is. so take turns bidding the car up to, but not meeting Reserve. This may help explain some of the 26 bids where a bidder bids higher ON HIS OWN PREVIOUS BID. Haaaaa.
    The hope is to create enthusiasm and maybe someone out there will top
    the last drinking buddy bid and go over Reserve, thus selling the car.
    BTW: Did you marry that college girlfriend? That was a good description.

    Like 3
    • Avatar AnalogMan

      @HadTwo, thanks! LOL, you’re probably absolutely right. Having shills artificially bid up a price is a time-honored sleazy trick in auctions. I hope that’s what is happening here, because if those bids are real, the car world has gone even more insane than I thought.

      Sadly, no, I wasn’t lucky enough to marry the girl of my dreams. She dumped me my senior year in college. To pour even more battery acid into my eyes, she’s still married to the guy she left me for. I knew back then she was way out of my league, but, after 4 years together, had gotten to the point of unrealistic hope.

      Even though it’s been well over 40 years, I still miss her and think about her every day (much more than the Mustang, though it’s hard to think of a 1969 Mustang without also thinking of her). Sometimes, you just never get over someone.

      Like 2
  7. Avatar HadTwo

    AnalogMan,
    You may well have dodged a bullet. Thirty or forty years of a Mother-in-Law
    that hates your guts……YOW…the unholiday dinners, the phone calls with silence on the other end. You being written out of the Will…..ALL being
    NO Joy Ride…Hoping you had some nice girlfriends and more classic cars along the way.
    1969 was a good year for cars, music, travels, pretty much everything, but
    the Viet Nam War.
    Look for another Mustang, but maybe NOT this one.

    Like 0
    • Avatar AnalogMan

      LOL! HadTwo, you may be right about dodging a bullet.

      But the girl would have been worth it.

      Like 0

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