My parents are Mustang people, so there’s never been a point in my life where there hasn’t been at least one Mustang in the family (currently there are four: my parents own two, I have one, and my wife has one). Recently, during one of my frequent moments of mental abstraction, I found myself wondering what my favorite Mustang was, and I think it might be the “flatback” Mach 1 of 1971 and 1972 (probably an unpopular choice, and I know the ’73 is similar, but I don’t like the stripes and decals as much). My dad had a Grabber Lime ’71 before I entered the picture, and those fading family slides had their imprinting effect, I guess. The Mach 1 has steadily gained in value over the years, and a nice driver will set you back something in the twenty- to thirty-grand range, a little too rich for my car-hoarding blood. This one, albeit with fading paint and a velour interior, is priced at a very reasonable $13,500. It’s listed here on eBay and is located on Staten Island in New York.

I know what you’re thinking: “Staten Island, huh? I can’t even imagine the rust.” Shockingly, that doesn’t seem to be an issue at all; the seller has posted several pictures of the undercarriage, and none of the usual Mustang rot lurks.

The car even comes with a Marti Report that shows that it’s a fairly original car. It came with a 177-horsepower (net) 351 Cleveland two barrel with the Ram Air option. (Fun Fact: The four-barrel 351 wasn’t available with Ram Air; apparently, there were some discrepancies in the government drivetrain certifications, and the four-barrel didn’t make the cut.) This one has been upgraded to a rebuilt Autolite 4300 four barrel, and it also has a new fuel tank. The seller says that you can drive it home; it runs and stops well (on its factory front disc brakes).

It also has the “Mach 1 Sports Interior Option,” which included special seats, molded door panels, an instrumentation group, bright pedal pads (which seem to be missing here), and other trim upgrades. The seats were obviously reupholstered decades ago, but Mustang upholstery is readily available from numerous Mustang parts houses. The transmission is the FMX automatic, Ford’s middle-duty option, and the rear axle ratio is 3.25:1.

Not everyone loves the big ’71 to ’73 Mustangs, but I love them for reasons I’ve already mentioned (and I just think they look cool). The Marti Report tells us that this one was originally painted “Bright Red” with a “Vermillion” interior, so it’s mostly original; I’d love to see it on its factory whitewalls and without the “shackled up” look so many of them seem to have, but I prefer my cars to look stock. Regardless, at $13,500, I can’t imagine this one will last long, and I hope it goes to a lucky Barn Finds reader.