Crusty, crunchy, and looking like its paint was applied decades ago and allowed to deteriorate with time, this 1972 Ford Mustang Mach 1 SportsRoof is awaiting a new owner in Tempe, Arizona. That could be you, if you participate in the auction here on ebay. You’ll have to better the initial bid of $7500, though. (Does it make you a bit suspicious that there just one opening bid, and that it’s that high?) How far up are you willing to go for this true Barn Find?
Before you answer that, you probably want to know what will you get for your money, but that’s a bit hard to say, since there’s no story attached to the ad. Not a word, and the only specifics to be gleaned from the listing are that the car has a 351-CID engine and that it shows 82,000 miles. The Mustang is kitted out as a Mach 1, a package that first came out for the 1969 model year and has been offered various times since, as late as 2023. That means the car in question features the NACA-style flat hood with non-functional twin scoops (unless equipped with functional Ram Air) and other appearance upgrades like stripes and “Mach 1” callouts on the body. Speaking of the engine, the prior year of this last-of-the-first-gen Mustangs offered a potent 429-cubic-incher. For 1972, the choice topped out at the 351, though there were variants of that, with the R-code 351HO being the most potent. The seller doesn’t specify which one this is, so it’s either the 2-bbl 351 (the least potent of the three), or a tremendous diamond in the rough waiting to make you wealthy.
The 1972 models, like their year-prior and year-after siblings, were the biggest Mustangs to that time. To some eyes, this body style was more a close cousin to the 1965-70 Mustangs than the sibling Ford positioned it as. Or maybe it’s like fraternal twins: they don’t have to look much alike to be family. To fall in love with this car, you have to have a taste for these big Mustangs, and the guts to drive with a nearly flat and hard to see out of back window.
Hard to believe that this is an Arizona car. It looks like it’s been ankle-deep in mud for a good long time, and guess who’s going to have to figure out just how far up those fenders and rocker panels the rot and bad, old bodywork goes? That would be you. Anything’s fixable, given sufficient talent and/or cash. You could do worse than a red-on-red Mach 1, if this palate is original, but think hard before you dive in. Cars don’t get this beat up on under 100K miles, so along with whatever other expenses you budget, plan on going through the engine from top to bottom end, because this could easily be 182,000 on the clock.
Uugggh.
It’s the base H-code 351 2V. I’ve seen rough 4-spd Q-codes go for less. Don’t think that’s a legitimate bid.
I wouldn’t bet money on the bid not being legitimate. The VIN says it’s a 351C 2V, but it has a Motorcraft 4bbl carb and the air cleaner in the passenger footwell is a factory Ram Air unit. I think only Ram Air hood came with hood locks, but am not sure. It’s rough, but has potential, great color combination, Ram Air (even if it was added later), tach and gauges. The car is in a metropolitan area with 4.5 million people, there’s a good chance someone contacted the seller and paid the car a visit, I would if I was local and in the market. One thing for sure, the seller created an ad guaranteed to bring in as little money as possible.
Steve R
I completely agree with the author regarding that opening bid. I just don’t believe that anyone with even minimal knowledge of this year of Mustang would jump in at that high of an initial bid. While I am far from being an expert on 70s era Mustangs, I simply do not see that kind of value in this thing.
Oldeodder, if this was a 7 day auction, the bid came in in the third day, that not exactly “jumping in”. Not everyone waits to the last 30 seconds. When I see something I want, I bid on it then, I don’t see a reason to wait, nor do a lot of other people.
These aren’t my favorite Mustangs either, but they do have a significant following, which drives prices. When you compare this to many other cars on this site, though far from a bargain, it’s hardly overpriced. Nowadays, bargains are rarely found advertised on a public forum such as eBay, Craigslist, Facebook or others, they are found via word of mouth. When potential buyers find the specific car they want, often their only option is to pay up.
Steve R
Restored value is only in the high twenties. Let’s say $27,500. That leaves you with $20k for bodywork, paint, interior, wheels and just minor drive train work. So it’s a break even proposition at best. If I wanted this I’d start the bidding around $3k, I wouldn’t go in at $7500
Prices are dropping, bad time of year to sell, good time to buy!
Steve R: By “jump in” I did not mean “first thing”, I meant “first bid”. While I am aware that everyone is different, it would seem to me that the prudent thing to do would be to wait a bit and see what kind of interest level the car generated. You may very well be correct in that the bidder just “had to have” this particular car and didn’t want to wait and see what kind of interest it generated. Personally, I would never go in with “guns blazing” because, after all, money is money and it ain’t all that easy to come by. Again, everyone is different and while that approach would not be for me, it certainly is not my place to judge someone else. (I still think that it is too much money.)
Run, run, run away from this one! That opening bid cannot be from a real person who has seen these pics!! This might be a parts car, maybe!
SOLD for $7,500.