Next to the coveted fastback, the most desirable of the early Ford Mustangs has to be the convertible. Sure, this one has a six-cylinder engine rather than a 289 cubic inch V8, but if you’re looking to just cruise, it’s pretty nice. Located in Burien, Washington, this daily driver needs a little tinkering but nothing major for Cars & Coffee. It’s available here on craigslist for $17,500. “Curvette” comes through once again in the tips department!
The buying public couldn’t get enough of the Mustang when it was introduced in April of 1964. It would go on to sell 607,000 copies in 1966, the car’s best year, and 72,000 of them were drop tops. Standard was a 200 CI inline-6, which produced 120 hp, ample propulsion that would deliver 25 mpg on the highway (that’s what mine got). The seller’s edition also has a floor-shifted automatic transmission, and the lack of power steering or brakes shouldn’t be missed.
This little ragtop has a posted 88,000 miles, but with a broken odometer, the seller suggests it’s already turned over. No mention is made of any drivetrain rebuilds, though the brakes could stand a little TLC. But the master cylinder is newer, as is the starter, and everything works except for the speedometer, heater, and some of the gauges. So, are there some electrical gremlins at work?
The dark red paint looks really good except for some scratches on the driver’s side front fender. And the interior doesn’t appear to need any attention. The car sports Mustang alloy wheels, which look great on this pony. An aftermarket stereo system has been added (nothing was cut up to accommodate, we hope), and the car comes with some spare parts, including a kit to convert the front brakes to discs with a power assist. The price seems pretty fair given the market.
The Night Stalker Special?
Fell in love with these as a kid watching Darren McGavin getting the hell away from whatever demon or zombie he had found. The dude never opened the door, just jumped over it.
I was working at a gas station while in college (1982) and a girl who lived up the street from me owned one that her Dad had bought and restored for her with this same color combination and powertrain. She was cute, but still in high school, so not of any interest to me, but the car was gorgeous! I used to see it parked in their circular driveway, Mom and Dad parked in the garage.
This is not the same girl who lived next door to me, who also owned a Mustang, but the one owned by the girl next door was in much worse shape. The adjective “tired” applied to that one.
So you had 2 Mustang Sallies in your neighborhood. Ride Sally ride!
A nice car for cruising. I was wondering about the dual master cylinder.
Probably a retrofit, for safety. A sensible change, I would do the same thing. 1966 was the year that Congress passed and President Johnson signed into law the National Highway Safety Act, which created the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA, see link below).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Traffic_and_Motor_Vehicle_Safety_Act
Under the Act, Government bureaucrats could impose safety requirements on all new cars sold in the USA, and one of the first requirements was to equip all new cars with dual-circuit master cylinders. Early Mustangs built in 1964 or early 1965 had single-circuit master cylinders, but later cars got the dual-circuit master cylinders as a running change. One other requirement that the NHTSA bureaucrats imposed starting in the 1966 model year was to equip all cars with emergency flashers. I only remember because Dad’s new company car at the time, a 1966 Ford Galaxie 500, had the emergency flasher switch located in the glove box! His company always bought their new company cars in December, to get a better deal on the new models, because Christmas time is traditionally a bad time to sell cars, and the dealers would give his company a better deal on the leases for the new company cars. They traded the cars every two (2) years, so the dealers liked that part of the deal.