By 1973, it was painfully obvious that the original Mustang formula had run its course. The car had grown visually larger with each styling refresh, despite a lot of the underpinnings remaining similar to the original 1964 ponycar. However, the car still sold well! This 1973 convertible has been owned by the same family since 1975, and they have done an excellent job of preserving the car. It’s located in Oregon City, Oregon, and is listed for sale here on craigslist with an asking price of $34,900. Thanks to frequent finder Curvette for sending in this cool find!
1973 model year Mustangs recorded a slight (~7%) increase in sales over 1972, totalling over 134,000 cars. Of those, only 11,853 were body code 76D convertibles, second only to plain fastbacks in rarity. The Mach 1 was not available as a convertible. Code 76D did bring with it the highest base price of $3,102. I was curious how that compares with a 2026 Mustang convertible’s base price of $40,440 in 2026 dollars; it turns out those 1973 dollars would be worth about $23,540.27 today. So I guess this car was a bargain in 1973! It features a 351-cubic-inch V-8 engine but only a 2-barrel carburetor, presumably for fuel economy reasons. The engine was completely rebuilt in 2007, and the seller is including documentation of that rebuild. An automatic transmission provides the gear changes.
The Mustang appears to have the Decor Group, a set of appearance options including a black stripe and a different grille that were offered by Ford to differentiate the car from ordinary Mustangs. I’ve always thought the wheel trim rings combined with center caps gave these cars a unique look, but I’d rather see the sport wheel covers or, better yet, the factory aluminum wheels.
While the car has been repainted, it seems to be a quality job from these pictures, and presumably this is the original 2B “Bright Red” color (apparently Ford was retreating from their earlier outlandish paint color names). The interior is claimed to be original, and the uncracked dash supports the claim that the car has been garage-kept since 1975.
Even the plastic wood seems to be in great shape!
I’m not sure that positive battery cable is supposed to be red (internet sources vary), but apart from that, the engine compartment looks pleasingly stock. What do you think of this Mustang? Have the lines grown on you over time as they have on me? Let us know in the comments, and share any 1971-73 Mustang experiences you have!
It wasn’t until my later years that I came to appreciate the convertible of any car manufacturer. I always liked this style mustang in any model. Nice car that probably cruises effortlessly. Price a tad high in my opinion but what isn’t these days good luck to new owners. 😎