We have decided to liquidate the Barn Finds fleet in order to make room for some new acquisitions, so it is with heavy hearts that we put our 1965 Mustang up for grabs. Josh and I have had so much fun with this one that it is going to be really hard to let it go. We completed our first TSD rally in this car so it holds a lot of memories for both of us. Our tight deadline for the rally made it hard to get many updates in, so we thought this might be a good opportunity to show all the work that we did get done while also presenting it for sale. We also wanted to give our readers first dibs on it, so please email us if you’re interested. If no one here is interested, off to eBay it goes!

The interior underwent the most dramatic transformation. We knew that we needed a clean and comfortable environment if we were going to survive the 1,800 trip. All the time and money spent was well worth it too. New foam went into the front seats and new upholstery kits were hog-ringed into place front and back. The carpets were cleaned and the original seat belts were installed. We also threw new floor mats and a dash pad in there for a nice mix of new and old. The cassette player stayed in place, but we were thinking of just sticking a blank out plate over the hole. The side windows could also benefit from some new rollers as they are sticky and can be hard to roll up and down. Finally, the only other major change we wanted to make was to replace that steering wheel. It had an unpleasant smell that we were not able to get rid of completely. The rest of the interior is clean and usable as-is.

A little cleaning works wonders! After removing all the junk we cleaned the trunk a little and threw down a vinyl cover. The trunk floor could still benefit from a wire brush and some paint, but we were on a deadline and not all that concerned about cosmetics. We just needed a clean space to store our tools and luggage. The fuel tank underneath had already been cleaned out and treated so we really didn’t need to do much back here. Many of our readers have suggested that “tank armor” might be a good idea. It is basically a thick piece of steel that goes over the top of that tank and protects it from splashing into the cockpit in the case of an accident. We survived the trip, but any safety measure you can take are smart.

It may not look much different under the hood, but if you look closely, you will see a few differences. The battery was flopping around when we bought the car because the tray was completely rusted away. So, we drilled out the bolts and installed a new battery box. We also replaced two sections of the wiring harness because they looked a little shabby and we really wanted our gauges to work. The wiring is all done in sections and each group of wires has a connector that plugs into the firewall. It really was an ingenious idea that makes repairs a cinch. New oil pressure and temp sensors went in, along with a full tuneup. We also replaced the single master cylinder with a dual bowl setup for an added measure of security. The brakes had all been gone through before we bought the car, but we replaced one of the hoses in the back because it looked a little old. We would have liked to thrown some speed parts in there from Classic Inlines, but just didn’t get around to it.

A new exhaust was welded into place. It sounded great, but welding it together was a bad idea in the end. We must have cracked a weld so it is now blowing some exhaust into the cabin and is louder than it should be. The next owner will want to order the correct muffler and pipes and put it together with clamps. We should have done that in the first place because it would have made roadside repairs much easier. When the new exhaust goes in, the next owner may also want to replace the manifold. We spotted a little crack, but luckily there is a good spare in the trunk. We wanted to stick a larger diameter exhaust or even a dual setup with headers in there, so we will leave it alone for now and let the next owner decide which direction they would like to take it.

While they are under there replacing the exhaust, they may also want play around with the suspension. New lower control arms were bolted in place and the rest of the suspension looked good upon a visual inspection, but there are a few things that we wanted to do to make this pony handle even better. Many people have suggested the Arning/Shelby drop. Basically, you just use a pattern to drill a couple of holes to lower the upper control arms. It changes the geometry a bit and was a trick used on the Shelby GT350s. It would have been nice to see if it really made much of an improvement, but we just didn’t have time to do the job. Hopefully the next owner will throw some new shocks under the car and perform the conversion then. We would love to see how the car handles after that!

There are still plenty of projects to undertake here, but the good thing about this car is that you know you can drive it while you go through all the little things. It performed well on twisty roads during the rally and was a competent highway cruiser on the journey back and forth from Boise to Portland. We cleaned up the paint the best we could without digging into the rust on the rear quarter panels. Yes, there is some of the nasty stuff, but nothing major and the body is very straight overall. The real challenge here will be resisting the urge to repaint the car. This car has garnered the most attention from passerbys than any other car we have ever owned. Everyone loves Mustangs, but about half of them always ask, when are you going to paint it?

You can view more photos here and feel free to leave any questions in the comments section below. Also, be sure to read through all the past features on the car to get an idea of its condition and what all has been done. We don’t have anything to hide and just hope it goes to someone who will continue where we left off while keeping us updated along the way. So, what do you guys think it’s worth?

Recent Project Updates

• October 1, 2014 – Our Mustang Is For Sale!
• July 29, 2014 – Back Home
• July 27, 2014 – NW Classic Rally: Day 3
• July 25, 2014 – NW Classic Rally: Day 2
• July 24, 2014 – NW Classic Rally: Day 1
• July 15, 2014 – Calling In Reinforcements
• July 10, 2014 – Making This Pony Shine!
• July 7, 2014 – NW Classic Rally Or Bust
• June 27, 2014 – Introducing Our New Project Car