New Mexico Barn Find: 1968 Ford Mustang Convertible

If you found a car like this 1968 Mustang Convertible hidden away in a New Mexico barn, what would you do? The owner has dragged it out of hiding and treated it to a good clean. The result of this work has been startling, with the Convertible now looking like a million dollars. The good news is that it can be yours without the need to spend anywhere near that sort of money. Located in El Paso, Texas, you will find the Mustang listed for sale here on eBay. the owner has set a BIN of $16,000, but he is willing to entertain offers from interested parties. See, I told you that it wasn’t a million bucks!

Wow! It’s amazing the transformation that can occur if an owner is willing to put a bit of time and effort into that old-fashioned activity of cleaning. Externally, that’s about all that has been done to the Mustang, and its Gulfstream Aqua paint now holds a winning shine. The owner describes its appearance as being of driver quality, with a few nicks and marks. There is also a color mismatch with the passenger side front fender which suggests a partial repaint for some reason. It seems that the car comes with a double dose of good news. It has spent years in New Mexico, and it now resides in Texas. Both regions feature dry climates, and when we’re talking about the longevity of steel in 1st Generation Mustangs, that fact is significant. I’ve examined the photos carefully, and all of the regular areas like the rockers, lower front fenders, and lower rear quarter panels, look remarkably clean. The owner makes no mention of issues below decks, so this could be a solid foundation for a restoration, project build, or a daily driver. The Black soft-top appears to be in good condition, and the back window hasn’t developed a cloudy appearance. There are a couple of pieces that the buyer will need to source to return the car to a complete state. These will include some replacement rocker moldings, along with the vent window assembly for the driver’s door. Otherwise, the remaining chrome looks extremely nice, and there are no issues with the glass. The owner also includes a collection of small components such as some seals, trim pieces, and original hubcaps.

If the buyer is looking at this Mustang purely as a driver-quality classic, its interior won’t need much. The carpet has some wear under the driver’s feet, but it hasn’t deteriorated to the point where replacement would be a necessity. The upholstered surfaces are in excellent condition for their age, with no rips, splits, or other issues. The dash and pad look surprisingly good, and the factory AM radio remains in its rightful place. The owner has installed a CD player below the dash, which shouldn’t be a problem. I’m not sure where the speakers are, because I can’t spot them in any of the supplied photos. The buyer will need to do a spot of shopping because there are a few basic items that are missing. These include the armrest and all of the internal handles off the driver’s door. Still, none of these items are hard to source or particularly expensive. It’s just curious that these are missing from the same door that has no door vent hardware.

For students of marketing and sales, the Mustang stands as an object lesson in how to do things properly. The development cost of the 1st Generation Mustang was minimal due to the use of an existing platform. Ford focused its marketing on the carefree life behind the wheel of a highly-optioned vehicle but offered alternatives for those who couldn’t afford or justify parking a V8 in their garage. If you don’t lift the hood of this car, it seems to tick all of those lifestyle ideals portrayed in the advertising. That is why although many people focus on the more desirable V8 models, the six was the backbone of the Mustang’s sales success. This Convertible embraces that approach because what we find is the T-Code six backed by a 3-speed automatic transmission. That engine only offers 115hp, and means that the car would take a lazy 20.1 seconds to cover the ¼ mile. It wasn’t fast, but hey, you looked great getting there! The owner says that the car had been sitting for around six years, but he has returned it to a point where it runs and drives. He says that it would benefit from a tune-up, and I’d add a thorough inspection to that list rather than tempting fate by undertaking any extended journeys on a wing and a prayer. In the long-term, the buyer might want to make some changes to the drivetrain. If they decided to slot a V8 under the hood they wouldn’t be the first. This is a project car where the world will be their oyster.

A 1968 Mustang Convertible is never going to be classed as a rare classic because the simple fact is that Ford produced 25,376 examples in that model year alone. However, while they aren’t rare, they are desirable. Values continue to climb steadily, even for those cars with a six under the hood. As an investment, they remain an interesting proposition. If you took $16,000 and plowed it into stocks, you could potentially make a lot of money. However, if the market collapses, you would be left with nothing but a worthless piece of paper. If you took that money and spent it on this Mustang, you’d be parking a tidy classic in your driveway. If values then tumbled, you might have theoretically lost some money, but you’d still have that nice car parked in your driveway. I know which option I’d prefer. What about you?