Apparently with FOMOCO’s blessing, a Ford dealer in Beverly Hills, California, created about 50 “Musteros” in 1965 and 1966. They were conversions of coupes into Ranchero-like pickups, and many were exported. This 1966 Mustang is not one of them, but a tribute build that was recently done, retaining the patina of the original car. Located in Rochester, New Hampshire, and available here on Bring A Trailer, this current bid is $7,650 with no reserve. This cool tip is brought to us by “Curvette”.
Back in the day, Beverly Hills Ford (which no longer exists) took a standard Mustang (usually a coupe) and shortened the roofline to reduce the passenger compartment (goodbye rear seat), and a small bed for cargo was fashioned out of fiberglass. We assume no adjustments were made to the structural integrity of the original cars. There was nothing special about the propulsion of the “Mustero” as they retained their factory inline-6s and 289 V8s.
This Mustang coupe was acquired by the seller just two years ago, and that’s when the conversion began. It was already non-stock as the original 289 had been replaced by a later 302, which was rebuilt and modified by the seller. The C-4 automatic transmission may or may not be original. The interior was redone in a combination of parchment and black, and other mechanical refinements were made (like an aluminum radiator).
The exterior was mostly left as it was found, complete with patina, early rust holes, and loads of stickers indicating the car previously traveled the country, perhaps following a racer on his journeys. The conversion is said to have been documented and involved 2,000 hours of labor to pull off what you see now. Styled steel wheels are at each point, along with BFG T/A tires. Only 200 miles have been added to the Ford while the seller has owned it, and the overall total is likely somewhere north of 100k. The buyer will receive a New Hampshire registration as the state didn’t work with titles in those days.
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