This 1965 Mustang fastback checks all the boxes on paper. After its racing career, it’s been stored in dry storage in California for many years and was recently moved to Wentzville, Missouri. The owner of 47 years (!) has listed it for sale here on craigslist, where we are thankful that Barn Finds reader T. J. saw it and sent it in. I’m sure the $44,900 price listed is negotiable as most craigslist prices are.

Thanks to the wealth of online information available, it’s pretty easy to determine from the data plate how this Mustang left the San Jose factory on April 26, 1965 (my first birthday). It was painted Raven Black with the black “luxury” interior package, had the famous “K-Code” 289 V-8, a 3.50:1 rear axle ratio, and a four-speed manual transmission. In other words, it was equipped very nicely! However, since that point, it looks like this pony was ridden hard and put away wet. Somewhere along the line, 1966 GT-350 type rear windows and scoops were fitted as you can see in this picture.

The seller also points out that the rear wheel wells were enlarged during the car’s drag racing career, so some bodywork will be necessary there too. I’ve been trying to figure out whether or not that’s an aftermarket GT-350H stripe or just a reflection from the floor. What do you think? Given the remnants of two stripes on the cowl, I think it was.

This is where the battery was relocated to in the trunk for better weight distribution. Unfortunately, it appears that leakage from the battery has damaged the rear frame rail, trunk floor, and lower tail light panel on that side. So you’ll need patch panels for those as well. There’s not a really good picture of the other damage.

Thankfully, almost all if not all interior parts for these Mustangs are being reproduced. That’s a good thing because apart from having solid floors, I don’t see a whole lot to be happy about here if you are looking for originality. I’m curious, would any of our readers want to restore this car as a race car? That might be an easier route to take, but I don’t know what that would do to the value of the finished car.

Supposedly under that massive manifold lies the original 289 V8, albeit with some pretty cool Shelby cast valve covers and a similar oil pan. Seeing this pretty elaborate setup really makes me wonder again about the race car route — anyone recognize these twin four-barrels? Are they anything special? I can’t wait to see what you think of this Mustang!