Because there were over 680,000 of them built and there are plenty to go around, 1965 Mustangs have always represented a rare combination of affordability and collectability in the classic car marketplace. These days, however, they seem to be drifting out of reach for middle-class collectors looking for an easy-to-maintain hobby car, especially the fastbacks and convertibles. Take for example this 2+2 that’s currently for sale on eBay in Waukesha, Wisconsin. It’s being presented as a one-family-owned Mustang with a 1980s paint scheme that has spent much of its life in storage. With a 289/four-speed combination, it’s got some desirability on its side, but being a Great Lakes car, it also has some rust repair in its past. Whether or not that will drive people away from the $32,995 “Buy it Now” price remains to be seen (there’s also an auction going with a current high bid of $3,075).

As the owner of a once-rusted Great Lakes ’65 Mustang myself, I know what our rust repair often looks like, and this trunk floor resembles so many salt-belt cars that were given home refurbishments over the last 60 years. The seller mentions that there have been some “quarter panel and floor patches,” but that the “bones” are still good. The word “patina” then enters the conversation regarding the paint job, and you can take that as you will.

The car itself was certainly a fun fastback when it was new. Here’s a rundown of the data tag:

• 63A: Fastback with standard interior
• H: Caspian Blue Paint (a darkish blue)
• 22: Blue vinyl standard bucket seat interior
• 26C: Scheduled March 26, 1965, build date
• 44: Twin Cities (Minnesota) District Sales Office order
• 6: 2.80:1 open differential
• 5: Four-speed manual transmission (it should be a Borg-Warner T-10)

In the VIN, the codes follow:

• 5: 1965 model year (all ’64 1/2 and ’65 Mustangs are registered as ’65s)
• F: Dearborn Assembly
• 09: Fastback bodystyle
• C: 200-horsepower 289 two-barrel V8

The seller’s video shows that the engine sounds good and the car seems to drive as it should. It looks like the engine is stock except for a chrome dress-up kit, and the same rust repairs one often encounters here in the great white north are visible in the engine compartment, namely in the aprons where the fenders are attached, a common spot for corrosion. I’d like to see pictures of the undercarriage if I were interested in buying it; our standards of what constitutes a “solid” car are different in the rust belt, and it’s not a big deal to see some patches. It’s how solid those patches are that really matters. The ad mentions that a front end rebuild kit is “on order and will be installed before the new owner takes possession.”

The interior is perfectly presentable, although the holes cut in the door for the speakers can only be repaired by welding in new metal patches; unfortunately, the inner doors were stamped with a “grained” pattern that is difficult if not impossible to emulate. A new carpet (which is readily available) might spruce things up. Another thing to note: the dashboard has also been cut for an aftermarket radio.

This is an interesting Mustang. It’s clearly someone’s fun driver that was returned to the road decades ago and stashed away for a while when life got busy, and it could be driven and enjoyed as it sits, but it needs a LOT of work to be a “nice” car. The proof will likely be in the top bid offered at the end of the auction at the end of the week. It is unlikely to meet reserve based on the “Buy It Now” price, but it will give us some insight as to the market for a fastback in this condition. What do you think?