Ford never produced a Mustang Station Wagon. If they had, you have to wonder just what it would have looked like. Perhaps this custom-built wagon gives us some sort of idea. This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen this particular vehicle. It previously featured in this excellent article written by our illustrious Jamie Palmer back in 2018. We normally avoid repeat appearances here at Barn Finds, but this Mustang has undergone a few changes since we saw it last. These would seem to make it worth revisiting a car that generated plenty of interest and comments the last time that we saw it. Located in Lantz, Nova Scotia, Canada, the Wagon has been listed for sale here on eBay. At this point in time, there has only been a single bid on the vehicle, and this has been for the sum of C$22,000 in what is a No Reserve auction. However, there are currently 85 people watching the listing, which suggests that it is a vehicle that has generated some interest in the market.
When I look at the Madagascar Orange Mustang, I do have to agree with Jeff’s original assessment of the vehicle. Like him, I’m not sold on the shape of the rear side glass, and the chrome surround looks out of place. I’ve been trying to determine just where that glass originated, and I can’t quite pin it down. Any ideas on that? I do wonder whether there might be other glass available that would be a more appropriate fit and shape, and the next owner might choose to investigate this further. Of course, that all comes down to a matter of personal taste, and it’s also worth remembering that in any custom conversion such as this, there are aspects that can look a little bit alien. This is especially true when you are dealing with a classic like the Mustang which possesses such iconic styling. Otherwise, the rest of the conversion work looks to be very neat and professional, with no signs of any rough edges or bad workmanship. Another vehicle characteristic that Jeff noted in his original article was the bumpers. Both the front and rear were color-keyed, and the front bumper had been cut to provide a “split” appearance. These have now been replaced with standard chrome bumpers, and this makes an enormous difference to the vehicle’s overall appearance. The Mustang also wore some decals on the rear fenders, and these have been removed. The wheels have undergone a change, and while I like the current wheels, I can’t say that I felt any form of dislike for the previous items either. Both styles suit the vehicle admirably. The owner doesn’t mention any problems with rust, and the vehicle generally looks to be very clean and solid.
The VIN for the Mustang indicates that it left the factory fitted with an H-Code 351ci V8 under the hood. Equipped with a 2-barrel carburetor, this engine produced 250hp. When you look at the engine now, you have to wonder whether the addition of a Shaker is an indication that things might not be altogether standard. Beyond that, we do know that the Mustang also comes outfitted with a 4-speed manual transmission, power steering, and power brakes. The owner doesn’t indicate how well the Mustang runs or drives, but what I will say is that the presentation of the engine bay is about as neat and tidy as you could ever hope to find in a vehicle of this type. One aspect that I do like is that the owner hasn’t let the wild exterior custom work influence the presentation under the hood. The temptation would potentially have been there to add plenty of chrome and dress-up items, but thankfully, the owner has avoided falling into this trap. This is an owner who has chosen to let the body do the talking for this car.
When the Mustang last featured here at Barn Finds, the interior presentation and condition were something of a highlight. The photos that the owner provides this time aren’t the greatest, but they tend to indicate that the trim and upholstery remain as good today as they did back then. I can see no real problems in the supplied photos, and they seem to indicate that the interior remains unchanged from how it was in this photo from Jeff’s previous article. From my perspective, I can’t see any problems that the next owner will be forced to address.
One welcome additional photo that the owner supplies this time is of the cargo area. This generally looks to be quite nice, and the overall impression is pretty positive. I do notice that the fit of the upholstery and trim around the lower rear corner of the side glass is a bit bunched and rippled. It isn’t clear whether this is an issue on both sides of the vehicle, but as it appears to be either cloth or carpet, a good upholsterer might be able to tidy that aspect a bit. It is also hard to determine whether the rear seat is still present and folded down, or whether it has been removed completely. The board front on the leading edge of where the seat should be would tend to indicate that it is either no longer there, or that sitting in the rear seat would be an uncomfortable experience with that board digging into the back of your thighs. If the seat is still present, returning it to a useable state might not be a big job. Otherwise, the next owner would probably be best-served to consider the Mustang as strictly a two-seater.
Custom builds will always have the ability to polarize opinion. We have seen that in the past here at Barn Finds, and I expect that the same will be true of this car. There will be enthusiasts who will feel that making such radical changes to a vehicle as iconic as a 1st Generation Mustang is completely wrong, while there will be others who will applaud the bravery and ingenuity of the person who undertook this conversion in the first place. I actually quite like it, and the number of people currently watching the listing would seem to indicate that I’m not the only person who feels this way. What will be interesting will be to see how lively the bidding eventually gets, and what the Mustang finally sells for.
My guesses:
Rear side glass: From an AMC Hornet/Concord wagon
Rear Hatch: From a Pinto
I agree that the shape of the windows are kind of awkward, and don’t mesh with the original Mustang styling.
I agree that the rear side glass is Hornet Sportabout/Concord Wagon/Eagle Wagon, but the earlier article mentioned that the liftgate glass was from a later Gremlin.
Those windows don’t fit the lines of the car at all, though I love the idea of a longroof Mustang.
Vote down 😉
Interesting but to me its like Ford bastardizing the new Mustang SUV name 🚙 with their coming out soon gimick. I don’t like it… they should of just called it a pinto or maverick ….
Just my opinion here..
I do think the work performed was top shelf and someone will definitely enjoy it👍
Please, Drive It Backwards In A Demo Derby Until It Returns To Normal.
Why?
why not?
Love it. Making the body lines work on a shooting brake is tricky, I think they nailed it.
The rear glass looks like it came from a Pinto hatchback.
I think it doesn’t look too bad. The have ch window is pretty scratched up, I think it’s plexiglass.
The nice wheels and shaker hood scoop save it for me. Make it rumble like the Mad Max family station wagon and we’re good to go.
To me the glass looks like a front door glass from some thing turned backwards.
Pinto rear glass is too big to be used and make it look correctly. It looks like they grafted a roof and back glass frame from an AMC Gremlin. The back glass and frame is definitely Gremlin. The rear side glass doesn’t fit the contours of the car which makes that addition not too well thought out.
Somebody had a vision / fever dream of the Mustang Mach-E four decades beforehand.
Interesting design concept, but the side view is just plain hideous. Some of the 65-66 versions done looked much better. I might add that people watching ebay auctions really doesn’t mean much, many prefer just to see what the final price was.
All the pictures in the auction are sideways. How do you let that happen and say “oh, well….”
I checked this car out on e bay and did as the seller suggested and Googled the car. There are several pictures of other Mustangs that have been converted to wagons and they all have better looking side windows than this one.
Considering the amount of work it would take to replace the back windows you could take the windows out and make a panel for that area. Might look like a panel truck but the lines would be better. Thought hard but could not come up with a window that would fit that shape. Rear hatch looks good and nicely done.
Last time this was posted I did some “work” on one of the photos and got rid of the side glass. Looks much better that way (to me). Issue between this and 65/66 model is no different because of the roof rake. The builder started with a fastback. Had they worked from a coupe the window line would have been straighter instead of the curve downward to follow the fastback roof line.
Saw your photoshop and it does look much better.
https://barnfinds.com/canadian-1969-ford-mustang-station-wagon/ (scroll down)
That side window has to go.
I got a headache and a crick in my neck from unsuccessfully trying to view the pictures on ebay!
I also Googled the car as well, and although there were a lot of well done side window station wagon conversions, I didn’t find a picture of another 69 other than the featured vehicle.
Looks better than the Corvette variations on this theme. I like it.
Terrible
That’s a whole lot of work for very little effect. The problem with all of these custom wagon conversions is that there is typically zero effort put into getting the body lines to match. Sorry, but this is aesthetically awful. With the possible exception of the Saturn wagons that used the sedan rear doors, no automaker ever built a car with so discordant a set of lines. This car reminds me of that abomination two door Vista Cruiser in Florida that has been for sale for the last decade or so.
Could have done much better. Must have had cheap parts in stock. Where ever the new owner drives it, it will be embarrassing. Sorry.
IMHO, the reason the side glass looks weird is because it doesn’t follow the top flow line of the door glass. If it followed the flow line of the door glass, it would look “factory”. Otherwise, a sweet rig that I would love to own.
It doesn’t follow anything. The rear quarter glass doesn’t match the door glass. It doesn’t match the tailgate glass. It doesn’t even match the top of the rear fender. That’s why it looks like crap. Once again, the fact that you CAN do something doesn’t mean that you SHOULD.
Lose the roof rack!
A real grocery getter!
No Surprise. Whenever you create a custom build ,you open yourself up for lots of comments ,many that become very negative. The auction ended with the high bid of $15K, and I assume didn’t sell. I personally like it and at $15K, it would be a bargin. I would make some changes ,but I think it would be fun to have, but I like different and creative.
Mustang Fastbacks are very pretty cars but coupes ,not so much.This is an improvement .
Ended because it is no longer available.
Too bad, it would have been interesting to see what it might have gone for.
I’m going to go with a Gremlin rear as well.
My wife is bidding on it, it’s time to trade in her car, kids are up in age so she wants to finish off with the transporting of the kids to whatever in style. I’ve already taught her how to handle red light hole shoots in 7 am traffic to smoke the other 7 am moms.
I would agree with a some of the others. It looks like an AMC may have been the donor vehicle. I like the idea and the nice clean workmanship but for me the side glass design takes away from the factory built look I would have tried to achieve on in a build like this. A few years ago I designed and built a Gen5 Camaro Wagon I call NOMARO. Nicest compliments are when people think it was a GM Concept and tell me the car looks factory.
It’s a total waste of a good 1969 Mustang. Complete crap.
True…but there are still a lot of Mustangs out there, but not too many Mustagons… And it works out since there aren’t very many Mustagon customers out there either….:-) :-)