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Just 7,313 Miles? 1971 Mustang Mach 1

When I first saw this Mustang’s $42,610 asking price, I was a rather curious as to why the asking is so high. While this barn find Mach 1 looks to be in nice shape, it doesn’t look like a number 1 condition car, but once you start to read the seller’s description you discover that this car has just 7,313 original miles! If that really is the case, the asking price might just be realistic. Low mileage survivors regularly fetch more than high mileage examples that have already been fully restored. There are some questions and concerns with this one, such as why it was repainted 7 years ago, but if there’s documentation to prove the mileage it could be a killer find! You can take a closer look at it here on eBay in Canton, Connecticut. Special thanks to Eric for this tip.

Just going off the photos, this Mustang does look to be in great condition. The paint is bright and shiny (should be considering it’s a respray), the interior shows no signs of wear and tear and the 351 looks like an engine that has been sitting in a barn for the past few decades. That being said, it’s still difficult to believe the car only has 7k miles, so hopefully there is some documentation to back up this claim.

Let’s take a closer look at the 351 V8. Ford rated this 4 barrel Cleveland at 285 horsepower. The seller states that the car driven about a year ago, so that hopefully means the engine is in good order and ready for use. There does look to be some corrosion on the block and quite a bit of chipped and flaking paint for an engine that has only seen 7k miles.

I’d really want to see some paperwork to authenticate the mileage. It could very well be accurate, but with a 5 digit odometer there’s always the chance that it’s actually 107k miles. The seller does give the option to make an offer, so perhaps they would accept something closer to what similar condition high mileage examples go for? It will be interesting to see what this one goes for and at any rate, it sure looks cool parked in this barn!

Comments

  1. Avatar RandyS

    Staged picture?

    Like 0
    • Avatar Davey

      Agree with a Randy S. I call B.S.

      Like 0
    • Avatar Classics&More..MEXICO

      Speaking of this MACH ONE
      I WORKED FOR FORD BACK THEM..AT FORD DEALER..BY THE WAY THE HUMIDITY AFECTS ALL THE HINCHES OF THE HOOD AND SOME OTHER PARTS…IT IS NOT A DOUBT THAT THIS CAR HAS THE ORIGINAL MILES..OTHER WAY TO CONFIRM IS IF YOU OPEN THE REAR END CASE (DIFERENTIAL)And make a close view of the inside parts)..diferential has to have code numbers that matches the vin code number

      Like 0
      • Avatar DR Member

        Nope. There is nothing co-ordinating a differential to a car’s VIN on Fords or any other American car.

        Like 0
  2. Avatar Steve R

    The value is based on the low mileage, prove it. It is hard to believe sellers accidentally forget to include the documentation that backs their claims, if it exists it would more than likely be in the ad.

    The days of giving a seller the benefit of the doubt, especially on an aggressively priced like this car, should be over.

    Steve R

    Like 0
    • Avatar Oliver Giles

      I’ts not like the Mach One Mustang was known for being all that reliable in the first place…

      Like 0
  3. Avatar Adam T45 Staff

    At a brief glance the miles seem like they may just be possible. However, there are enough little things that are visible in the (very ordinary) pictures to make me question the mileage. Call me fussy, but if I were selling a car like this for absolute top dollar with such a low mileage claim, I’d be including some decent pictures to back my claims.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Mark S.

      My thoughts exactly, Adam. I like the pic w/ the tarp sort of draped on the fender.

      Like 0
    • Avatar Miguel

      I would do a super detail to make it look new.

      Everybody that has ever bought and sold cars knows, you don’t add value for a low mile car.

      The fact that it has so few miles means it is going to cost a lot of money to get it back on the road. Why pay a premium to the seller for a project car because of the numbers on the dashboard.

      Like 0
      • Avatar PETER P BAUSYS

        I’ve bought/sold cars and I do add value for a low mileage, unrestored car.

        Like 0
  4. Avatar SRT8

    No close up pics of the odometer, usually you can tell if they’ve rolled over. If you look closely at the only pic showing the odometer you can see what appears to be a chunk of the bezel missing. I would say 107k miles would be more realistic.

    Like 0
  5. Avatar Jeffro

    I’m sure it’s the blue tarp that has kept it such pristine condition. Blue tarps have magical powers!

    Like 0
    • Avatar Mike W H Member

      Ask the Smurfs. The true value of the blue tarp is legend.

      Like 0
  6. Avatar Gaspumpchas

    Seems like 42k might be a stretch, but its only worth what someone will pay for it. good luck…

    Like 0
  7. Avatar TR

    I continue to be dumbfounded that these misguided marketing wizards feel photographing high $ cars in the weeds, debris, and mud in poorly lit barns, garages, and caves, that have crap strewn about but totally protected by the blue tarp are the best way to impress the buyer. Last I checked not many seccessful special interest vehicle dealers do it this way. I’m obviously missing something but I do feel better for a little rant. Thanks for reading, good time for a Pale Ale🍻

    Like 0
  8. Avatar 19fiddy2 Member

    I thought the 71/72 Mustangs had a chrome front bumper, while the 73 had the slightly larger body color?

    Like 0
    • Avatar Murphy

      The 71, 72, 73 Mach 1’s had bumpers that matched the car color. The Grande, and non Mach ‘s had a chrome bumper.

      Like 0
  9. Avatar bruce greg

    I thought 1971 was still chrome bumper, then 72, 73 painted plastic?? Also a couple of years ago you could buy a Boss 351 inthe $40K range, which was down from 70K that was all time high, so Iam not sure what this guy is thinking. PS, wash and detail the damn thing before you ask the SILLY prices!!! Snow damage????

    Like 0
    • Avatar Steve R

      Isn’t “snow damage” just a creative way of saying, rust?

      Steve R

      Like 0
    • Avatar Morgan Winter

      The urethane, body-color front bumper was an available option on 71 Machs.

      Like 0
  10. Avatar Nick

    Funny I don’t remember ever having to repaint any of my cars that got snow on them, or ice or snow in zero degree weather, or salt and snow and ice. Look out for bondo under that snow repaint, car’s that have rolled back and need to look decent sometimes do need paint jobs.

    Like 0
  11. Avatar Henry Drake

    Owner should drive it 40k more miles (for a total of 147k) and then claim original 47k miles. More believable.

    Like 0
  12. Avatar DB

    Why would anyone put those junk Metric line of tires on it if it only has 7K or so miles on it? I think it’s been sitting for a while, yes, and has been rolled over. Check the date code on the tires, they will be old, probably 20+ years. That line has been discontinued probably that long. Someone is really going to a lot of work, the car is nice, but not $42,000 nice.

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Classic Steel

    Nice Theatre approach.

    Hello All:

    I have access to a barn should anyone want to rent it for your next car sale.
    We can also use a leaf blower to blow dirt on to add authenticity. :-)

    Like 0
    • Avatar Mr. TKD

      At last! The solution to all the “But it’s not in a barn!” Whiners!

      Like 0
    • Avatar Mike

      LOL that’s good I like your comment

      Like 0
    • Avatar Roger

      By far I’m not a classic car expert, I can imagine how easy must be to fool the beginners in this business by staging a fake barn find.

      Like 0
      • Avatar Eric

        Get in contact with seller and go see for yourself. It’s only way to know for sure.

        Like 0
  14. Avatar Matt Trummer

    There is a problem with these pictures. I am very sceptic of the mileage because they state 71 and all 71’s were chrome bumpers, period. 72 introduced on Mach One’s and standard for 73.

    Like 0
  15. Avatar Troy s

    The beginning of the end for Ford’s “total performance”, if they still even used that tag line in ’71. I stay away from criticizing the dollar value people put on these once hated by many performance cars, I just enjoy looking at them and continually seek knowledge about my favorite kinda cars.
    This car was not a top option or even very rare version of the mach 1, like say a super cobra jet 429 or The killer Boss 351. But these Cleveland’s will absolutely suck the gas just as good as any big block! ⛽

    Like 0
  16. Avatar PJAKABenziBoy

    42K for an 107K not so desirable car with rust and a shady past 🤔🤔. i see i chose the right descision last month when i bought a fully loaded 2017 no owner hyundai for 20K

    Like 0
  17. Avatar KEN TILLY Member

    If you think that this car has only done 7300 miles since new, without documentary evidence, then you will believe anything.

    Like 0
  18. Avatar Joe M

    Based on experience, it is possible to have low mileage, with a car in poor condition. I bought a car from my neighbor’s widow after her husband passed at 91. it was a 77 Lincoln with 23K on it. He owned a business near by and only drove it a few miles a day. It was never garaged and was exposed to the elements. So, how do you price in this type of low mileage vehicle? The repaint was disclosed, but some more background would be helpful. The price is way to high for this car. My own opinion, these were ugly and slow when new, although the Cleveland is a plus.

    Like 0
  19. Avatar LAB3

    There’s only one shot of the interior but a seat with 107k wouldn’t look near that nice. As to the reason for the repaint, those who already commented might do well to read the original ad. It’s not worth that kind of money to ME but then again, I’m not a Ford guy.

    Like 0
  20. Avatar Fran

    That’s no survivor, baby, that’s a repaint!

    Like 0
  21. Avatar Del

    Not sure. Seems to be a lot of suspicions about mileage.

    Have to see it personally.

    But I doubt its worth half the asking price without documentation of mileage

    Like 0
  22. Avatar Cmarv Member

    Marti report ? Not mentioned
    Snow damage ? , building fell on it from weight of snow .
    Bad year Mustang ? (I think so)
    Dreaming @ $42K ? , more than likely .
    And it doesn’t even have a third pedal .
    GLWTS .
    The old saying goes “If you let the worm hang from the bobber long enough a fish will bite”

    Like 0
  23. Avatar Greg

    Its worth $12-15K. Even if the mileage is correct it hasn’t been stored well and it shows it. Will never sell at that number.

    Like 0
  24. Avatar mike D

    a lot of valid points that have been brought up, for one, I am not sure this is a factory color and I don’t like it ( of course that is my opinion) I also question ” Snow damage , does anyone ever say ” rain damage”? they are starting to grow on me, but, I would have to think long and hard for this one.. and.. it is way overpriced!

    Like 0
    • Avatar DweezilAZ

      It’s a factory color and featured in the brochure Mike. Same color as my Grandmother’s 70 Maverick Grabber.

      Lots of missing stripes

      Like 1
      • Avatar Eric

        car was ordered with out stripes.

        Like 1
  25. Avatar wuzjeepnowsaab

    When I was in high school, my friend’s (hot) sister had a boyfriend that drove one of these. I remember him letting us pimply faced little nerds sit in it and all I thought of was how that back window view from inside was like looking through a mail slot

    Like 0
  26. Avatar Bill McCoskey Member

    I can solve the question of this car having only 7,000 miles. Take a look at the photo showing a close-up of the steering wheel. Here is what you will see:
    1. entire steering wheel rim is smooth plastic. Should have a leather grain to it similar to what can be seen on the dash padding. The fake woodgrain “Rim-blow” horn contact along the steering wheel has wear typical for high mileage cars, but not 100,000+ miles. The horn contact’s mylar edges tend to fall apart after about 90,000 miles.
    2. Follow the soft plastic horn pad [on the cross part of the steering wheel], from the center area down to the right end. Look closely at the point where the padded cover of the center spoke joins the hard plastic of the actual steering wheel. The hard plastic is worn smooth, and you can see years of human skin oil/grime in the crevice between the hard plastic and the soft cover plastic parts. Typical of a high mileage vehicle, not 7,000 miles. This is a common point for a driver to rest his thumb while driving, and is almost always a high wear point on Ford steering wheels.
    3. Look closely at the driver’s seat base cushion; in the area where the set back pivot arm fold forward, the arm hits the cushion’s side vinyl panel, and that piece of vinyl material is worn enough that the wear is visible. If the car had 7,000 miles, there should not be any appreciable wear on that side panel. Plus, the base cushion has a few large creases that Ford quality control inspector would never have allowed to be installed in the car, much less been permitted to leave the factory. That center area of the bottom cushion has likely been replaced.

    Note that my first job was a new car prep mechanic at a Ford dealer in 1970 to 1972, I saw first hand what these cars looked like when new. I processed a lot of new Mustangs because we were in a high income area [Bethesda, Maryland].

    While they do point out the car still has the original tires on the original rims, they don’t show the tread surfaces. The tires should have about 60% of their tread.

    More likely this car has between 60,000 and 80,000 garaged miles, with a rebuilt or replacement NOS speedometer installed about 7,000 miles prior.

    Like 0
    • Avatar DB

      Some very good points that I didn’t notice, but where are the original tires? They certainly aren’t on the car, the spare looks original though.

      Like 0
    • Avatar Rick A. Loera Member

      That’s not rim blow steering wheel. By 1971, the rim blow was a three spoke wheel. That is exactly the same steering wheel that is in my 1972 Ford Torino. Also the same steering wheel that was also in my 1972 Mercury Montego, as well as my 1972 Ford Pinto. The horn buttons are located on each end of the steering wheel spoke. The wheel itself is hard plastic and shiny. The spoke is foam padded vinyl. On the front of the wheel the front half of the rim is textured with lines that resemble lllllll texture. Without going into the garage to double check, I think that the texture shown above is only on the lower half of the steering wheel. On the back of the steering wheel are finger divits all the way around.

      Like 0
    • Avatar Eric

      not correct, smooth plastic all the way around.

      Like 0
  27. Avatar Buick Fan

    I agree with all the previous comments suspicious of this cars mileage, and to Josh’s point about flaking paint on the engine, there seems to be no understanding why some engines appear “messed with”, and some are clean regardless of mileage/storage. My ’72 GTS motor has no flaking, with 10 times more mileage. The mustang interior is stunning though…

    Like 0
  28. Avatar gto4ever

    Do people really think buyers looking at this type of car are that easily fooled by a car that shows all the classic hints of use,certainly more use than 7k.
    And when I list something on my websites, I clean the object as well as I can and then take as many pictures of each part of the item as I can so potential buyers can properly evaluate it. seems they could put a little more effort into marketing these cars, especially for the $$ they want.

    Like 0
  29. Avatar Rustytech Member

    MECUM sold one today. 429ci. RamAir 4speed. Made this look like a project car. Price? $41,800. I would say this is priced well over double its value!

    Like 0
  30. Avatar Alford Pouse

    Not run for a year? Leaves on tires and under board?

    Like 0
  31. Avatar Rick A. Loera Member

    Fake news

    Like 0
  32. Avatar Jim

    B.S. on paint! Snow damage? LOL 7XXX Miles? B.S.reversed or rebuilt odometer. Nice looking car tho. Very nice staging barn/garage. Could use it on my next vintage car sale? Nahhhhh too honest

    Like 0
  33. Avatar newfieldscarnut

    Pull a valve cover and if it is actually 7,000 miles it should be near factory clean in there .

    Like 0
  34. Avatar Eric

    Making comments without speaking to the seller, or seeing the Mustang in person, don’t mean very much. as for the car not being clean and the poor pictures, take in mind the owners age. not all adds are fake, you don’t know till you see. asking price is just a starting point.

    Like 0
  35. Avatar Jack

    They never should of re painted it for whatever reason ! The value dropped to me because of that itself.

    Like 0
  36. Avatar Eric

    I agree, but the shop that did the work made that decision.

    Like 0
  37. Avatar DweezilAZ

    The “snow damage” referred to is described by the seller as snow damage to the barn where it was parked partially caving in on the car.

    The “selling for a friend” claim in the ad causes suspicion.

    Like 0
  38. Avatar Tom Justice

    Ten hours left in the auction and not a single offer posted. That should tell you something.

    Like 0
  39. Avatar Eric

    Not correct !
    Time left: 9h 47m 49s Today 10:02PM
    History: 3 offers

    Like 0
  40. Avatar gary fancher

    I would like to see the od, the pedals, steering wheel, driver seat, ash tray, knobs, and arm rests.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Eric

      Ok look there is a pic of steering wheel on BARN FINDS. here are the pedals.

      Like 0
  41. Avatar Leon

    Is that red primer on the left side hood hinge bracket?

    Like 0
  42. Avatar John Descoteaux

    A year ago. My son and I took a 2 1/2 hour ride down from Mass. To check out a 67 barracuda convert that he had for sale. His add and pics of the car were angled so you couldn’t see what he was hiding. From surface rust in his add and on the phone. Was rot on the floors trunk and frame. He claims he didnt know. Coming from a guy who owns a body shop. When he showed me what his son was working on. I seen a yellow car in a barn. So I asked him what was that. Guess what it was? Taaadaa. Be careful!

    Like 0
  43. Avatar Eric

    The owner of this Mustang is 80+ years old. Never owned a body shop, And never owned a Barracuda. Taaaadaa . so in the future you should read all the info in the listing or get in contact with the seller before leaving such a comment.

    Like 0
  44. Avatar Mike

    Not the original front seat covers… looks to be the GW interior code just like mine and there should be “comfort weave” inside the gray of the front seats. Looks to be just plain white vinyl instead which is a common look for reproduction seat covers.

    Like 0
    • Avatar David Fowler

      Comfort Weave is a different combo than Mach 1 Sports Interior Option. One of the few things unique to Mach 1

      Like 0
  45. Avatar Eric

    Mike you are incorrect. 100% original interior including seat covers. This was a special order car. When purchased new, this was not a car in dealer stock.

    Like 0
  46. Avatar David Fowler

    I have one of those Barn Find 1973 Mach 1 Mustangs sitting my barn, lol. I do not think this will bring the big price with so few options. My car has more miles 12,200 but has 32 Factory Installed options and 8 dealer options for 40 total. I ordered it new have order form, two window stickers since so many options and dealer invoice that the dealer gave me. Has sat since 1982 in the barn poured oil down the carb to lube up valves before park. Has had car cover on it but full of acorns from the mice and chipmunks. I have never been offered more than $25,000 for mine. Have offered it to the MOM Mustang Owner’s Museum in Charlotte but they have not said yes. If they do not want will go to museum in Tenn. probably. I have 12 mustangs and some really rare options in the barn and garage.

    Like 0

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