The Ford Mustang was perhaps the hottest new car of the 1960s. With its sporty good looks and mass appeal, the company built 1.3 million of them from 1964 to 1966. The fastback joined the roster in the Fall of 1964 when the 1965 models began their full year of production. This one may be a fairly common example, with the smallest V8 and automatic transmission. But it looks to have been sitting outdoors for ages and will likely need everything. Located in Aragon, Georgia, this rusty pony car is available here on eBay for $12,500.
Ford sold more than 680,000 Mustangs from its introduction in April 1964 until the 1966 editions came out in the Fall of 1965. The fastback wasn’t in the mix in the so-called “’64 ½ Mustang” run but accounted for 77,000 sales orders in its first 12 months. The seller’s Ford may have been rather basic though it did get upgraded to the entry 200 hp, 289 V8 with a 2-barrel carburetor (C-code) and C4 automatic transmission (with console). This Mustang has what’s left of a blue interior, but your guess is as good as mine as to what the exterior color was when it left the factory.
I can’t give the car marks for patina because there’s just too much rust, surface, and otherwise. Given the gaping holes in the gas tank, corrosion will likely be found throughout the vehicle, making for a difficult restoration of the unibody. Working in the car’s favor is that the interior, though rough, maybe mostly complete, especially those hard-to-find fastback panels and fold-down rear seat. The glass could be all good and not busted out.
The seller tells us that the VIN on the car and some components match that on the title, which is not encumbered. Some of the parts in the engine compartment as missing, such as the radiator, so it’s not likely this car has run in many years, perhaps decades. The asking price is a lot to pay if parts are your goal, so would you try to restore this project car or look for one in better shape to begin with?
The word Rustang is more than appropriate for this one.
It’s 1965. Newly married twenty-year-olds Bill and Jane have scraped together enough money for a down payment on a spiffy new Mustang. They really like the fastback, and finally decide they can afford the increment in price compared to a coupe. They use the car for several years until they need a bigger vehicle for their growing family. Instead of selling the car, they just park it in the lean-to on the property.
Fast forward to today. Their kids are cleaning up the place, and need to address the Mustang in the now-dilapidated lean-to. Wisely, they do some research on first gen Mustangs. To their amazement they find that a fastback, even a low-option example in rusty condition, can be a five-figure car. And that a coupe in similar condition, well they are everywhere and aren’t worth much at all. Lucky, not prescient, were Bill and Jane.
What other automotive anomalies are lurking out there, which may not reveal themselves until years from now?
Thank you Russ.
Bob, what you said is so very true. Kind of have a similar situation in my family I am looking at now thats going to hit me in the future. Its human nature that we want to keep living, and we keep making future plans even in our 80s with failing health ( not me, relatives). Unfortunately time just races by and that ” One day I’ll get to it” never comes. Then its up to the kids or nephew’s and nieces to handle it.
This Mustang had a middle of the road 289 2 barrel and an automatic. It mustve been a great cruiser back in the day when Bill and Jane picked it out.
Nice story, except they sold it to a dealer who’s going to get 5 figures.
All the Mustangs he has currently listed as well as those that have ended over the last 90 days are in similar condition. It’s more likely they were pulled from the same field right before the hoarders family sold the property to a developer.
This sellers had several Mustangs featured on this site, he has a knack for finding rusty beat up fastbacks.
Steve R
Bob, I like your story, but at the end, good thing that Bill and Jane were not “prescient”. Now that’s not a word I hear every day. I tease my English major wife when she comes out with one like that. But I can spell better than her, so there’s that. She often relies on Alexa, as I tell her the spelling of a word. “It’s just phonetic, ask me first.”
Junk. Sorry to say but If that dealer gets 15k he’ll be laughing all the way to the bank.
Maybe a candidate for making a coffee table but it’s not worth buying at all as a car.
Far too much to get far too little.
Doesnt look like it has the original engine sir ckeaner and valve covers should be gold and the block black
I think that the sir ckeaner is the least of this car’s issues.
Every part inside and out is available from NPD,Classic Industries, Ecklers,Kentucky Mustang and several one man shops.
A friend who owned a body shop in the 70’s-80’s one Christmas had almost a dozen Mustangs in front of his shop that he’d painted for customers, in about every color you could think of using, all for gifts for kids, I guess. He told me way back then that so many Mustangs had been re-done that the rusty ones that were used the first time around for parts cars were getting their turn. He’d be amazed at what people are trying to retore now.
I’m sorry, but this ain’t some rough but fairly rare, (or even slightly rare) 60s Mustang. I think that the author was right on by suggesting that this would probably be too much money as a parts car. Reality has left the building when it comes to what some folks are trying to get out of piles of old rusted junk.
This car would break both your heart and bank account.
It would break both for me. I bought a rangoon red 65 fastback in 69 i sold it in72 Nd gave regretted ever since
At times I think a handful of these sellers have no clue into the man-hours it takes to restore a car in this state. Other times I think they are just throwing poo on the wall to see what sticks. They watch these shows that take a half hour to restore a car…
Very rusty, not worth that kind of money, not sure why the front end is sitting nosebleed high with an engine in it. Riding high enough to make you think there is no engine. Anyway, looking at the pictures I’m not sure why the car appears green on the outside, the floorboard are showing the cars original color. Of course a data plate would confirm exactly which shade, but it is one of the blue shades. Looks too light to be guardsman blue. Could be Caspian blue or twilight turquoise.