Over the last few years there seems to have been an increase in the number of older Mustangs breaking cover for sale as potential project cars. This is not just a trend that has emerged in the USA, as the same trend has occurred here in Australia. I’m not sure what has driven the trend in the US, but here in Australia it seems to have coincided with the release Down Under of the current Mustang by Ford Australia. Our featured ’66 Fastback is listed for sale here on Craigslist. Located in Fontana, California, this Mustang is offered for sale with a clean title and is priced at $24,000. Once again our eagle-eyed Barn Finds reader Michael has located another gem for us to write about.
The body on this Mustang looks generally quite straight. The seller claims that there is little to no rust and that it’s very solid underneath. If this is the case it’s reassuring because we all know that with Mustangs it’s not the rust that you can see that you need to worry about. I did notice that there appears to be some rust on the lower front corner of the passenger side door. There may also be some starting to appear in the corresponding location on the driver’s door.
The engine is the C code 289ci that when new produced 200hp. The seller doesn’t indicate whether the engine turns freely, let alone runs. I’ve seen cars with dirtier engines and engine bays than this that have been daily drivers, so there’s always hope. It appears that the car has also been specified with power steering which could be a nice bonus. The owner describes it as a ” true survivor car that has not been tampered with”. This doesn’t mean that it is a matching numbers car, so this probably bares checking.
The dash appears to be in fairly good condition. The original radio is missing but otherwise it looks okay. The dash pad is a little less confidence inspiring. There doesn’t appear to be any cracks present, but I think that it might be warped and discolored. I would be banking on replacing it in the near future because once the color changes cracking usually isn’t that far away.
The seats are in really good condition. The owner states that these are the original ones. If this is the case I’m amazed by the difference in condition between the seats and the remainder of the interior. The carpet and roof liner both need to be replaced according to the owner. The one door card that we can see appears to have some stretching in the vinyl. The trim in the rear passenger area also looks like new.
If the underside of this Mustang is as solid as the seller claims then this would be quite a good project. There’s two things that I’d really love to do. I’d really like to get a look underneath, and I’d really like to know if the motor turns freely. I can guarantee that when our readers see this article, some of you will say that $24,000 is too high. Last month I wrote up this 1970 model. That car was junk and had no motor, transmission or interior and it still went for $10,000. To me that makes $24,000 seem like a pretty fair deal.
Amen on the rust comments Adam. Terminology can be a tricky thing. A popular word in many car ads nowadays is “solid”. I find that a completely worthless statement without more elaborate description, yet many use it as if it has a specific meaning.
As for rust description it seems that you can decipher meaning based on regional considerations. If an advertiser in Arizona, for instance, says “rust free” there’s a fairly good chance it means there is little rust to contend with. If a guy from Michigan, as an example, says “rust free” it’s very likely he means he’s not charging anything for all of the rust through the car actually has.
You couldn’t have said it better. Too many sellers are using open ended words and phrases. Those sellers often don’t take up close detailed pictures, there really isn’t an excuse for either of those anymore, especially if the car has a high asking price. Often people don’t want to outright lie, but they will fudge a description to their benifit. It’s hard to give sellers the benefit of the doubt anymore.
Buyers also have a hand in this too. All too often guys I know, which know better will overlook obvious issues just because a car has shiny paint or is inexpensive. Buyers need to read ads objectively. Make sellers accountable, ask question and get more pictures if necessary, before completing a purchase.
Steve R
Not fair to compare a 1970 Boss 302 to a plane jane 66 fastback. This is WAY over priced.
I realize that the comparison between the two cars probably doesn’t seem fair Karguy James, but I was just using it as a jumping-off point for a comparison. With the Boss a buyer would be paying $10,000 for a set of tags because there was literally nothing that could be retrieved from the car. Therefore, anything that the new owner stuck the tags on would be a clone, and not even numbers matching since the engine and transmission on the Boss were long gone. It just shows that there can be inconsistencies in the market when a set of tags used to build a clone can be worth so much. If this ’66 is solid and I were given a choice between it and a $10,000 set of tags, I know which way I’d go. Having said that, the beauty of having a passion about cars is that we can all have different opinions. I get where you’re coming from and I respect your opinion.
About 50%… given too many variables.
24000 I seen one half mile from house few months ago all matching number and manual trans. Very little rust the interior was a little rough sell for 8000. It had sit in a garage since 86. It must be location that makes this so high. In Georgia 10000 would be tops.
So,what colour is/was this?
Primer!!
I think it was red but the California sun faded it to pink. Crazy price. You can buy a nice restored fastback for $30k
I’d be tickled to death to sell my 65 A code with original paint for $24k. And it’s infinitely nicer than this car. Maybe it’s a regional thing, but in my area this is a true $10k car at best. Yes, you predicted this response. So if any of you want to give me $24k for my Mustang, I will say “sold”! Otherwise, I will say I’m right. :)
OOOOOOO, throwing down the gauntlet! You probably already know you’re only gonna hear crickets. I’d love to sell any of my old cars for what non-buyers seem to claim is a good price in their eyes……………alas, real buyers are a stingier lot.
With good reason.
24k for a tired Mustang with new(er) seat covers? Only in Cali. Fastback production in 66 was half of 65; even accounting for that this car needs too much work to get to 40k at the end.
24k Australian? Is 17,500 USD still overpriced
Why do you think the car is priced in Australian dollars?
“Located in Fontana, California”
Miguel, I think that Scott Tait was referring to my Australian reference in the article, and that I am writing my articles from the land Down Under. As I’ve said before I am not perfect, and I make mistakes. Sometimes these mistakes are tiny and sometimes they are pretty big. I spend 8+ hours per day researching and reading about classic and collectable cars and have noticed this trend in the price of Mustangs.
One of the things that I have noticed is that this trend seems to vary from one state to another in the USA, but that it’s a nationwide trend in Australia. I think that it has a lot to do with population bases because here in Australia we have a large land area, but the market is serving only 25 million people. In the United States you have states that have a larger population than our whole country which is why the prices can vary the moment you cross from one state to another.
Lastly I’ll just repeat what I said earlier: The beauty about having a passion for collectable cars is that we can all love different cars, and that we can have varied opinions. I will always value the opinions of others because everyone’s opinion is important.
10K is what I just offered. Lets see what the response is. It is not really worth that. I am on cloud after my sale of my 69 so cash is ready. STANG
“STANG” only refers to 1974- 2004’s.
All the rest are MUSTANGS.
Clarify please.
Why the worst yrs !! Probably because you could only fit inside them!!
These (74- 04) were when they took a fantastically beautiful, cool car and turned it into a fugly POS.
The fellas fixing these models up usually were young guys that talked like, “yo, check out my Stang, bro”..ha….
Akin to the tuner crowd.
Just my opinion…………
Your opinion!!!!! Those years were the worst yrs to brag about!! Except early 80’s 302 cars make for the best drag car during that time & still today¡!
I paid $10,000 for mine a couple of years ago, another $3000 to get it sorted and new wheels. This price seems high.
Not tampered with? Sure. Other than the M/T valve covers, Holley, Mr. Gasket air cleaner, Huggy Bear purple paint, missing radio, Grand Auto console, why it’s practically stock. Sort of. Please.
you have to look at the value as if it was a bag of money sitting in the place of what it is you are buying…in this case the mustang is a tired looking piece of junk and looks like the owner should pay someone to haul it away. car guys can be fools thinking they have found a diamond in a “barn” and pay exorbitant prices with little or no payback 9 out of 10 times.
Any car that sports a K-Mart console is okay in my book. Where do I send the check?
I bought the same car 15 years ago $600.00 the guy lost the keys and the bank was taking his house I put $20 ignition and sold it for $3000.00 what a fool I was
To me, It’s kind of a cartoon, when people offer their opinions about value… A few examples from my experience:
My brother and I paid:
1) $1750 for our HemiCuda Convertible
2) $1000 for our 1967 Shelby GT500 4-speed
3) $13,500 for my 1965 396 Corvette Convertible
4) $300 for my Cosworth Vega
5) $1000 for my 1971 440+6 Super Bee (super rare, Mr. Norm’s Dodge)
6) $1300 for our 440+6 ‘Cuda 4-speed
7) $6000 for my 1967 XK-E Drop Head
8) $900 for my 1970 440+6 Super Bee 4-speed
The list is endless.
I am a real estate agent at this point in my life. One of the examples I use to orient some of my sticker-shocked clients/friends is this: I own a home that was built in 1955. It originally sold for $15,000. New. When I bought it in 1993, I paid $72,500. I stole it.
It has a current appraisal of $245,000. Had the agent in 1955 told the young buyers to “Just hold it. Enjoy it. When it is time, you will leave your children a $Quarter of a Million”. They would have thought he was certifiable. But, he wasn’t… it’s true.
The moral to the story is this: Consider WHAT it is with greater weight than HOW MUCH it costs. Strive for bang for the buck to be sure, but the money is less important than securing the object of happiness.
Other than your home, you’re analogy doesn’t apply here for this car or any barn find or car as is not restored & needs work. The prices you posted I’m assuming was way back in the 70’s before the muscle car boom began. Maybe the Vette in the 80’s.
@Rocco – Usually, I agree with you, but in this case, you may have missed the point. I can buy a stripped house brand new… the add lots of upgrades (pool, cherry wood cabinetry, marble this and granite that)… or, I can buy a used house and add a lot of money in rehab in upgrades. The money comes back, multiplied.
The car is the same: I could have bought a brand new Cobra and taken excellent care of it, or a clapped out racer, and meticulously restified it.
The precedent was definitely there. In the 1960’s a Talbot, Dusenburg, or Hispano-Suisa was the expensive old metal. Muscle cars had the panache and the rarity… just not the recognition, yet. All of our friends and I knew it.
We just didn’t have the staying power.
Did this address your point?
No I don’t agree!! & I didn’t miss your point!
@Rocco – OK. Sorry.
I think the old saying was “You didn’t pay too much, you just bought too soon.”
Over the long term, price is really irrelevant.
If @ TriPowerVette had paid twice or three times what he did for those cars, in hindsight it would still be a bargain.
Someday people will probably feel the same way about that $24k Mustang fix-up.
You hit the nail right in the head!!
Yo! This is “my” wallet. I control what goes out. This Mustang is way over priced.
Never saw seat covers with different colored piping. Though that is knit picking. If it’s a solid car from a dry area, it’s a great staring point
I hope Mustangs are appreciating at this rate. I sold a 1971 911 to purchase my rust free, numbers matching, Arizona Mustang. Unfortunately I sold the Porsche before the early 911 prices went to the moon. I would love to see Mustangs experience the current Porsche bubble, but I don’t think that will happen and even though early Mustang fastbacks are desirable, not for $24K. I agree that this is a $10K car, tops and that is only if it is a numbers matching car!
TPVette….can you post the years you bought these cars – like the Hemi convert ?
Other than that – wounder what Keith thinks ?
Those seats are the original replacements.
There is one near me like this 100% restored for 30K, just get in and enjoy it. These california folks done lost they minds. LOL
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love this car how much for it email me at baileytra@mhbombers.com
Hi Trace, the original Craigslist listing has disappeared, so there is no way that I can offer you any contact details. I’m sorry about that. I hope that you can find another Mustang because I believe that we all need the chance to own the classic of our dreams.