For those of us who went to high school in the seventies and eighties, it is hard to convey just how awesome the automotive hobby was at that time. Everyone loved cars. Especially older cars, since many of Detroit’s offerings left folks yearning for the good old days. If you want a rolling escape to the days of street racing, Cragars, and shackled up muscle cars, then have a look see at this 1969 Ford Mustang fastback for sale on eBay in Ballwin, Missouri. With bidding at a lofty $13,601, is this forlorn time capsule’s current bid a reflection of the Mustang market or bidders who want to return to their glory days?
I don’t know what it was like where you grew up, but my high school parking lot in the late 1980s was half beaters and the other half would make for a pretty good Saturday morning Cars and Coffee. Mustangs and Camaros of every vintage and powerplant were scattered everywhere. Some kid daily drove a 1952 Chevrolet coupe. Rich kids usually drove late model Mercedes sedans and convertibles and the occasional small BMW. One very rich kid drove his dad’s new Porsche 930 Turbo when he wasn’t knocking side view mirrors off parked cars with his full sized Bronco’s bumpers. Me? I drove a clapped out Porsche 914. You could tell which parking spot was mine. It looked like the Exxon Valdez beached itself there.
The star of the parking lot was Marvin. Marvin was a retired guy who guarded the exit of the parking lot to make sure nobody left during class time. Well, somewhat. If Marvin liked you, or he was too deep into a cheap bottle of booze in a paper bag, you just waved as you went out. Marvin spent the day in his faded orange Maverick. A friend and I stopped to talk to him one day and were amazed to find that the Maverick had a souped up 302 under the hood backed up by a four speed with a Hurst shifter. To add to the surprise, Marvin gave us a burnout demonstration that would have made Don Garlits proud. Go figure.
The auto shop was fully equipped to handle any issue, and was packed with kids covered in grease. You would sometimes see them exiting the shop with a teacher’s car to do a performance test in the neighborhood. The auto shop was also occasionally open late. How do I know? The fire department (cue the Gary Oldman Everyone! meme) came by one night because a neighbor reported copious amounts of smoke pouring out of the roof. It was a Chevy Vega with really bad rings that caused the issue. The exhaust hose was (for once) hooked up because it smoked so bad.
The Mustang fastback you see here would have fit in perfectly in that parking lot. Many of the cars were “shackled up” and Cragar sold a lot of five spoke mags to the students of my high school. Whoever sold the cheapest raised white letter tires in town also made out like a bandit. Going out to your car to do a burnout for your friends rarely raised an eyebrow unless you really did a good job of it. Thank God most of the cars were low on horsepower by today’s standards. We were crazy enough with 55 MPH speed limits and low horsepower V-8s.
The only thing on this car that doesn’t fit is the No Fear sticker on the windshield. That fad came later I think. The seller must have used it for quite a while, as the ad says that it is being sold after 40 years of ownership. The car comes with a 351 cubic inch V-8, an automatic transmission with the coveted floor shifter, mud flaps, hood pins, and a set of air shocks. Air shocks were must haves among the more affluent among us. No need for shackles when you can just add air at the filling station. Those were a thing too.
The pictures sadly allude to this car being off the road for some time. While it doesn’t help the value any, it did kind of preserve it as a time capsule. The era when this car was both cheap and popular was a great one. With bidding currently at $13,601 with ten bids total may mean that at least a few of us want to go back to that time in some way.
What was your high school parking lot like? Would this Mustang fit in? Tell us about your misspent youth with cars in the comments.
Great write up Jeff! Our school lots were about 99% Chevy, we had a Chevy/Fisher Body plant in town. Always fun to watch the bleach burn outs while having a toke in my van.
These were called a Sportsroof by Ford,although they still
are a fastback.This one’s going to need a ton of work,First
thing I’d want to do is to get rid of that sunroof.
Those particular sunroofs were very common back in the day. I took my brand new 1976 Honda Civic in & had one installed. Very hard to watch while they hacked a hole in that brand new not paid for roof !
One of these in my school parking lot back in the day…awesome burnouts…
You too had a run down 914 Jeff? Mine was a ’72 purchased 2 months before graduation in the early 80’s. I had to get a loan for the $3,500 price. The bank was EXTREEMLY reluctant to hand out the money even when using my company’s credit union AND with my parents cosigning (remember when banks were stingy?). It ran intermittently and needed a bunch of work. People at school were always asking when is it going to show up and I couldn’t deliver. It was finally reliable 2 weeks after graduation. It got toasted in a garage fire 4 years later.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=1584710
I couldn’t afford a car in high school. I had to walk 5 miles in the snow during winter.
Jim, was it uphill both ways?
Started out in Bowling Green Ohio just south of the Toledo (Jeep plant), from high school in Ohio a 1969 GTO with snow tires, a Gremlin 304, Duster 340, 1971 Boss 351, me in a 1976 CJ 7 258 with snow plow lol my 1st vehicle . In Florda i got my 77 Trans Am but a buddy of mine had a CJ-5 he could pop wheelies with which you dont see that eveyday! Chrysler Newport 440 my buddy had was awesome , My arch driving rival drove a 1969 chevelle 396 pretty sweet ride & fast( he cheated his dad was a mechanic)
My high school car was a 66 Impala 396 automatic, after I graduated I purchased a stock 69 dodge dart 340 automatic completely stock that held the track record at the old Manchester dragway for E stock automatics with an ET of 8.01. sure do miss that one, never was beat in it, kept the trophy’s hidden from my dad to avoid a beating
Lets not forget Mike Ambrozini with his Plum Crazy 383 Challenger convertible that always seemed to have the prettiest girls riding in it. It reinforced the fact that the hotter the car, the hotter the girl. Every high school parking lot had a Mike. I drove a beat up Chevy pickup and while any wheels was good, it wasn’t quite the same. The top photo captured the spirit of the time perfectly, but it would be hard to reproduce, even with the same car, today because all the people that cared about the look are grey hairs now.
You’re right ; I sure wasn’t able to pick up any girl in high school with my rusted and beat up 6 cylinder white four door Falcon. You’d have to be really good looking to do that, and I sure wasn’t – and still not !
My car journey began in 78. Worked on a farm and earned $350 to purchase the neighbor lady’s white 66 Impala Super Sport. Not SS, but actually spelled out on both front fenders! 327, powerglide. I slapped a set of used white letter tires which looked good with the spinner SS hubcaps. I sold that for $500 and bought a gold 69 Impala Custom with a 327 paired with 3 speed auto for $650. That was the last year GM dropped a 327 in anything. It had a set of Western slots and Remington 60 series XT-120 raised white letter tires all the way around. So gas jumps to $1 a gallon and traded that to a red 72 Pinto hatchback. When I graduated in spring of 80 I purchased a silver 77 Trans Am TA/6.6 (real 400) right at the time I got out of school. I wish I had them all in a garage now…even the Pinto!
Yea, I graduated in ‘80 also. First car ‘70 Gremlin 199 i6. Good times.
Our highschool parking lot was a mix
of cars and trucks from the late ’40s
to the early ’70s with the rich kids having the latest and greatest muscle
cars that Detroit had to offer. Most
of the kids that were driving back then got saddled with hand me down
family cars and did their best to make
them look cool by adding mag rims
and wide tires. Saw a lot of tri fives,
Beetles, and type 2 buses. And some
days, even my ’66 Cadillac Calais 4
door hardtop. Those were great times indeed!
Graduated in ‘75, so from fall of 70 the high school parking lot was teeming with Camaro’s Cuda’s GTO’ Mustangs, even a late 50’s Corvette. Certainly many Olds 88’s and Buick LeSabers, full size Chrysler and Dodge’s that were all hand me downs.
Mine was a 66 Chevelle SS but the big block had been replaced with a built small block. The best car a student drove was an AAR Cuda, orange w/ 4 speed. A shop teacher had a built 69 elcamino and an English teacher a 70 Nova SS. Wish I took more pictures back then…great memories.
Your opening reminds me of my favorite quote about eighties cars
“Anyone that took performance cars seriously in the eighties drove something from the sixties.”
These radwood events where kids fawn over 4 door econoboxes no one liked when new are a little confusing for me. But, I get it, nostalgia is a powerful drug.
Hey I resemble that remark! First car was an ’81 Dodge Omni, in 1990. If I were to relive my past with one I’d want, if not a GLH, an ’88-90 model with EFI though. I’m not a total masochist.
Early 80s my rides we’re a hugger orange 68 Baja bug with Yellow tube bumpers and a 2 door post 57 Bel air with 60 over 283 /3 sp with Mr gasket floor shifter.
My high school car was my Grandmother’s 1954 Buick (in 1964). A girl dissed it and I never asked her out again. Counseling has allowed me to recover from the embarrassment (lol).
$14,000 now for this pile?? Not the best feedback.
I remember those days from 67- 71 I had a 1966 mercury colone 390 automatic, maroon and black interior every nice, paid 1,500 dollars for the car
Seller has had it for 40 years and he is finally ready to sell it.
Well sure, now that it has deteriorated into way too much work.
Being an MCA gold card judge, the person who paid $16k for this car is already upside down. Waaayyyy too much work. Could put $30k-$45k in this ‘69 EASY!!! And it’s not even a Mach 1.
This car restored to like factory still wouldn’t be worth but approximately $30k at the very most.
Wow, what people will do when they’re in a heated bidding war. Too bad!
Had all kinds of cars wen I graduated highschool in the parking lot . I drove a 67 ford Fairlane 500 to school. And on the weekends if you seen me out in my first Pontiac it was a 70 lemans with a stroker motor in it you know it was time to go to work . Lol miss them cars
Don’t forget the traction bars with the jacked up rear and a few stickers on the glass showing you had Gabriel Hi -Jackers, Hedman Headers. Had all of that on a 69 roadrunner
Jensen Tri Axles, Pioneer Super Tuner, air shocks and freak feathers hanging from the rear view…
And lets not forget Cherry Bomb glass packs, oh crap i am showing my age.
Downer HS, Downey, CA. Made the scene in a ‘57 Chevy Nomad wagon, metallic silver over metallic dark blue. Bucket seats, 3 speed stick on the floor behind the original 283 with glass packs sending power to goodrich white letter tires on cragar steel mags front and rear.
Let’s not forget that a ” three quarter race cam” whatever that was made your car the coolest.
I didn’t have anything nice in high-school in the late 80s. First car was a 73 Valiant sedan with a slant six but was bullet proof and after that was a 80 Olds Cutlass sedan with a 231 V6. There was a kid who had a early 80s green Monte Carlo that had a 267 V8 all stock that was kinda nice looking. Another kid had some kind of brown CJ Jeep with side pipes and a 360 V8. Another kid had a 82-83 red Trans Am with a 305 4 barrel. There was someone else that had a green 71-72 Grand Prix that could’ve used a paint job. Paint was dull and had some primer on it but was solid. Always wanted one of those and still do. Same kid eventually had a 77 1/2 white Z28 Camaro. I don’t know if Chevy even made one. That was the rumor around school. Last car he had was a blue mid 70s Lemans. Was nice but students were saying it had alot of tiger hair on it. Sorry for the long post.
Tiger hair? What’s that?
Beautiful Mustang I would love to own it and rebuild it. To bad my social security wouldn’t cover it I would definitely buy it and love every minute working on it. But I would have to sell my Jaguar to be able to afford it. But like I said absolutely beautiful piece of muscle car history. If it could speak to me I would love to hear the stories that it would tell……
Those days are evaporating. All the Grease monkeys are in their 60& 70’s including me, my gas guzzler was a 70 Galaxie with a 351, had to disconnect the accelerator pump on the autolite 2v when gas went from .49 to .79 a gallon. Used tires were $10 mounted and balanced and so was a quickie inspection.
Well look at that would ya! Can’t believe it’s complete with engine and transmission. Looks like a solid start for a project. These cars are going for such crazy prices $16,000 actually sounds pretty fair.
I was in HS in the 70’s myself. First car ‘70 Gremlin with 199 i6. Quickly swapped to a 304 V8, but didn’t realize the wiring was completely different. But me and stepdad got it done. Was going to tech school after I graduated in ‘80 and a little old Man pulled out in front of me and totaled my prize Gremlin!!
Took the cash from insurance and bought me a ‘66 Mustang coupe 289 3-sp for $600.
Drove it till 1994. Would love to have that Mustang back today!!!
Good ol’ days for sure!!!
Like the windshield on this car, I wore a t-shirt that stated “No Fear”…but, there was some fear…
Ended:
Jan 29, 2023 08:58:48 PST
Winning bid:
US $16,100.00
High school in the early 80s, my ride was a fully optioned 64 Impala convertible in silver blue with a black inside and roof. Needless to say I really didn’t fit in. Stainless skirts, whitetails, wiper quiet exhaust was NOT the fad. My friend had a 68 Mustang coupe with a 429 from an ex 71 state police car. The one wealthy guy had a 69 427 3×2 4 speed Vette that he snapped the harmonic balancer off while doing a hole shot in the parking lot. There were many late 60s early 70s big block Chevelles, at least 3. A dark green 4 speed 69 Roadrunner. Baja bugs,pintos. It was not a time in my life I would want to revisit. The few friends I had have long passed, their cars recycled long ago. My best friend was that 64 Chevy. It was there for me through lots of not so good times. It was my escape and freedom, the one friend that never let me down and is still with me today.
all those were cool memories but if you didnt have a set of Spark-o-matic or Pioneer 6×9’s sitting on top of the rear deck, that aftermarket equalizer under the dash and that brown case with all your cassettes in it, were you really that cool? Now I gotta go find my parachute pants, my Loverboy or Journey world tour shirt with the sleeves cut out, and some Reebok high tops.