According to the seller, this is the first time this Mach 1 Mustang has been for sale since it was sold new. The current owner, presumably not the seller, purchased it in 1970 and drove it until 1990. At that time they parked it in their garage for good and that’s where it stayed until just recently. After putting air in the tires, they were able to roll it out of the garage and while it’s dusty and covered in cobwebs, it looks to be in decent shape. It’s going to need to be revived and cleaned up, but who doesn’t want to bring a Sportback (Fastback) Mach 1 back to life? You can find this one here on eBay in Suffern, New York with a current bid of $12,555.
Being a Fastback makes this a fairly desirable car, but there are a lot of unknowns. The seller provides photos of the engine bay which shows more rust than we’d like to see. There are a couple photos of the underside, but none of the floors. They that the floors are “there”, but we would want to see proof before spending that kind of money. It would also be good to know which engine the car is fitted with and what kind of condition it is in. Chance are, it’s the base 250 horsepower 351 V8, but even just a quick look at the carburetor could answer that question.
Given all the rust in the engine compartment, we are a bit concerned about what the underside really looks like. Hopefully, it really is solid, but I’m not counting on it. As long as there isn’t any serious decay in key structural points, fixing it wouldn’t be that difficult. And since it’s already had a color change, you could return it to it’s original Jade color after all the rust has been fixed. So would you take on this project?
351 2v
Looks like a cracked left shock tower.
Do you BF writers ever actually read the ads? Sheesh!
Of course we do Boatman. I went over this ad several times before starting the post and then I came back to it several more times while writing. I even decoded all the numbers that they put in their ad, but the seller doesn’t state what engine it has, they state that the “ID starts with 9T02H”. That’s fairly ambiguous and I figured if I assumed that the H in that code is for the 351 2V engine, I’d have people down my throat for making assumptions.
That’s the problem with featuring a popular car like this – lots of “experts” to rudely point out where you went wrong rather than offer assistance. For future reference, the first 5 digits of Ford VINs of this era tell you model year (9 = 1969), assembly plant (T = Metuchen, NJ), body style (03 = Sportsroof), and engine (H = 351 2v)
what does “FLOORS ARE THERE” mean anyway?
“BRAKES WERE NOT EVEN FROZEN ?? ” is the seller asking a question or making a statement?
Looks like a rusty old dog to me – and a carefully worded ad description.
One pass with a sandblaster and this thing will start to shed metal like an alpaca. I would say too much effort with little return. Once you get paint on this and a rebuild on the drivetrain, you will be well beyond any value you can get back. Having said that, someone will buy this and return it to a presentable form and sell it, the buyer none the wiser for it’s sorry starting condition. If it were a Boss or a more desirable drive train (with third pedal), MIGHT make some sense.
Alpaca’s shed metal?
Oh Grant….I think you know what I meant. Lets settle down.
lol
According to http://www.mustangdecoder.com, the H engine code is the 351 2v 250 hp. Definitely a cracked shock tower. It could be saved, but I think the price is already high for a plain 69.
Not worth $12,555. The only thing that makes sense with this car is to restomod it or turn it into a clone. First, it has to be purchased for a reasonable price.
Never saw an engine compartment rust like that, salt get into those big grilles back in the day? Or partially underwater and dried out?
I don’t know how it ended up so rusty, but I’ve never seen an air filter rust quite like that. Can you imagine what the inside of the engine looks like?
So much rust, so little time… Sad, really.
Looks like his mechanic was SpongeBob SquarePants.
That’s funny.
Tragic but funny.
Stored in a very damp environment doesn’t look good. everything like every contact, switch etc. is going to be corroded.
Suffern NY suffered with alot of flooding from hurricane Irene. This could be a flood car!
Who ever bid 12,000 must want one real bad.probably end up on vanguard motors for 75,000
Looking closer at the front.of the rear quarters, this thing has some serious rust issues. Too bad, was probably a nice car when it got parked.
How is it when flippers buy cars from original owners and resell it as a one owner car? According to my math skills, it is now a second owner car.
I’m betting there’s a big hole in the middle of the dash where the center speaker was. The blue grill is from something else.
What do you think?
Too lazy to replace the speaker the right way. It’s easier to cut a hole in the dash to access it.
It looks like a cold air return grill ! wonder if they upgraded the speaker ? lol.
Josh,
The correct name for this body style is a Sportsroof, not a sportback. And as has been pointed out already the engine code H in 1969 was for a 351W 2V.
Amen. The 69 Sportsroof is my favorite Mustang of all time. If I had the money and the space, I’d love to add one to my collection.
Suffern succotash.
Mopars don’t rust nearly this bad…..
I can post some pics of rusty Mopars if you like. Just about any BF Mopar is rusty.
Right! That’s why they sell for so much on the market – Mopars are all rare, because most of them have long since rusted away.
It’s called sarcasm Tony
I grew up not far from that area. It was not uncommon to see cars like this as daily drivers throughout there lives. Winter just meant snow tires, sand bags in the trunk and leave time to get where you needed to go. When the tin worm took over the owner would throw money at it, patching it up, get it painted their favorite color, and just keep driving it until the tin worm returned, then park it. Like many of you have mentioned, seeing that much rust under the hood raises many more questions then I am sure there are answers for. I know first hand how easy it is to spend more on something then it’s worth. Sooner or later we learn not to do that. I hope the high bidder has a plan, as in person, on a lift, this is going to be a nightmare.
The only vehicle that I have seen where the rust under the hood was that bad . Was one that took a dip in the ocean.
This in my opinion is a fairly decent car. I worked in a Ford dealership in ’69 and one of these came off the transport truck, a Jade Green Metallic and I instantly fell in love. Later in ’74 I bought a puke yellow Mach 1 with a close ratio 4 speed ,290HP 351 W and 4.30 rear end and the shock towers looked worse than on this car. Recently gave it to my oldest son and he has rebuilt it. The 351W was probably the best engine Ford ever built and if the one in this car is ruined they are available cheap. Drove one to 400K miles without a hitch. These are expensive cars to buy now and are probably the most collectible of all Mustangs and there are all kinds of parts available cheap. These cars are relatively simple machines making for an easy restoration, not like a ’66 Lincoln convertible. The only shortcoming is that this is the base engine in a Muscle car and to make it perform in that category one would have to look at upgrading the output of the engine which would take it away from being stock. Hope somebody with the brains and money gets this one!
The color is called Silver Jade in 1969 or Dark Jade Green. Silver is the lighter of the two colors. 1974 Mustangs didn’t come with 351Ws so you had to have bought a modified 1974 model. I do agree with you on the 351W engines but the 351C was more powerful even though the hp was rated the same. You can expect to get these cars from 7500 to 25K for fixer uppers. Nicely restored ones run in the 50K to 125K depending on the restoration detail. I’ve owned 4 Sportsroof Mustangs and currently own a 1969 New Lime Mach 1. Love the car and I am the “second” owner as the first owner had it for 46 years. I’ve had it for 3 years. Car was bought in SC and will remain there for as long as I own it. It will actually be going back to the county where it was sold, Greenville, SC.
The rust on the engine could be from rodents doing there business on the air cleaner amoung other places.
$13k and reserve not met?!? I don’t see $1,300 in those photos. Roof, possibly hood only metal on that car that does not need to be replaced. While I do love my early to ’70 stangs, this one looks well beyond done. Looks more like a Mopar than a Mustang.
The 351 was a first year motor in 1969….should be a 351/290hp….only with 4bl…
I cannot believe someone would buy a new sporty car, Drive it for 20 years, Then store it somewhere where it turns into a rust bucket then expects to get an impossibly high RESERVE. Why would someone only drive it 20 years then decide to store it, I am wondering if something drastic happened to it that he let it sit and rot. ???
Maybe the little puddle of coolant on the front of the engine is a clue as to why it was parked!
Help me with the Mach 1 id. What makes a Mach a Mach? I see the dash badging, but what was the definitive Mach option? The Sportsroof – were all Sportsroofs Machs? Trying to learn here. Is there no exterior badging that carried over after the paint color change?
Chuck in Kansas
Chuck Pierce – The Mach 1 was basically an optional performance package. For 1969, the ‘Sportsroof’ replaced the ‘Fastback’ as the name for the sport Mustang model. Ford offered offered the Sportsroof in a basic trim model, a GT and a Mach 1. The Mach had performance upgrades – shaker hood, spoilers front and rear, slats for rear window, suspension upgrades, hoodpins, special wheels and polyglass tires, different engine options and etc. The Mach 1 did so well, out pacing GT sales (72,458 units to 5,936 GTs) that Ford killed the GT model until much later.
So nothing in the id points to the Mach options? It seems that this car had few Mach options. Interior wood, hood scoop – anything else seen? Thanks TBall for the comments. Chuck in Kansas
I like the style so much that I would be a happy camper to just have a regular Sportsroof without the Mach 1 or GT.
Chuck – I think I’m understanding what you are looking for. If you can get the door data tag information, there are a number of clues. Body Style: 02 = Sports Roof, 05 = Mach 1. Engine; F = 302-2V, H=351-2V, M=351-4V. Body Code; 63C = Mach 1. Easy to get, just google 1969 Ford Mustang Data Decoder. (or any other year/model) to get a handy tool. I have a little book they sell also for my ’68. Take care – Tom in MD
WOW….this happens to be one of the absolute sorriest representations of one of the finest Mustangs to come off of Ford’s assembly lines. Having purchased one (black w/gold stripes) brand new in April 1969, following my return from Vietnam, I was forced to send it down the road after owning it for only one year, as marriage and birth of my 1st child forced me into a family sedan.
Having owned several collector-type cars (’61 Impala 409, LT-1 Corvette, ’66 427/425HP Corvette, other “cool” cars, and my current “weekend cruiser” ’57 Chevy) over the many years that have since past, not a week goes by that I’m not still wanting (and searching for) another ’69 Mach 1…something akin to the first “real girlfriend” that we all had…problem is one that we all have….$$$$$$….prices are thru the roof, and although there are quite a few “candidates for restoration” on the market every day, the time and money needed to bring my dream-come-true to “Saturday night cruising status” takes the realistic possibility of ownership completely off of the table.
My last restoration took me nearly 10 years…and being that I’m now in my 70s, I probably would not be able to pass the senior driving test by the time I would have another project car on the road, if I were even able to pursue a new project .
Getting back on track to this Mustang…and 22 Bids ($13,600), there’s alot going on out there that’s missing from the equation…personally, I don’t think that this car is worthy of restoration. Not knowing what the underside looks like, but seeing all the body panels that need replaced or repaired, sheet metal prep and paint, chassis detail and suspension components replacement, new glass and interior, engine & tranny rebuild, new “period tires”, exhaust system, and so much more, a 2V auto trans car would not be worth the time (hundreds of hours) and money (thousands upon thousands of dollars)…even those out there that are looking to “buy a VIN” would be crazy to spend thousands for a 2V automatic…and I wonder why the Seller hasn’t purchased a Marti Report…
1969 Mach 1…a truly fine product from FoMoCo!