Here at Barn Finds, we see our fair share of Mustangs that are described as “project grade”. Some of these are not too bad while some can be pretty marginal due to their propensity to rust. This 1966 Mustang looks like it could be a good one for you to get started on that long-desired project. You will find it listed for sale here on eBay. Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, it is offered for sale with a clear title. Bidding has reached $12,600 at the time of writing.
I think that we’ve all seen our fair share of Mustang horror stories in the past. What can look like a remarkably sound basis for a project can turn out to be hiding a huge amount of rust in all the wrong places? This one appears to be a good one. The seller provides a multitude of nice clear photos of all of the known trouble spots, and they all look remarkably good. There is some surface corrosion in evidence, but overall the prospects on this one look quite good. This Mustang has undergone a re-paint at some stage, but there is no evidence of any rust repairs. The seller does admit that there is some evidence of minor dent repair and also that the paint is in pretty poor condition, but that’s probably not surprising since the car spent the majority of its life residing in the New Mexico desert.
We don’t get much in the way of information on the interior. The seller does state that it is complete and that the seats will need recovering, but we know little else. There are a couple of photos of the rear area of the car and they don’t look too bad for a car that has lived in the desert.
The original drive-train for this Mustang is long gone. There is a 289ci 4V which is backed by an automatic transmission and an 8″ rear end. The motor was said to run four years ago, but the seller hasn’t attempted to start it. He doesn’t specify whether he has actually checked the engine to ensure that it does turn freely.
The price of this Mustang is certainly creeping up, but at this stage, it hasn’t headed into the stratosphere as can so often happen. If the pictures are an accurate representation of the condition of this car then it certainly qualifies as a solid candidate for a project car. Given that we’ve recently seen some pretty ordinary ’66 models going for fairly decent money, it will be interesting to see what this one finally sells for.
It’s a “K” code, and a fastback, so it is a keeper for sure…and the price on this one should go through the roof, even without the original engine…wish I still had the energy to take on a project like this…nice find!!!
My biggest concern is that it looks like there’s a ton of bondo lurking under that poorly done repaint. Hopefully it’s just poorly done dent repair. Other than that, it looks super solid! Wish it was a 67′! I like the wider body 2nd gen. Since the original drive train is gone, I’d be tempted to put a modern Coyote motor in it (if it’ll fit).
I’m not a restoration purist, but why do a coyote engine swap on an original K-code car? The early Mustang, more so than almost any other pony car, has an abundance of lowly 6 cylinder and low horsepower V8 cars floating around to butcher for just such a swap.
Real high performance models, even without their original drivetrains don’t exist in great numbers anymore due to that line of thinking. There was nothing wrong with such swaps in the 70’s and 80’s when these cars were plentiful and cheap, but those days are over, and have been for quite some time.
Steve R
The matching numbers drivetrain is long gone, so what’s the point of replacing the K-code engine?? How much would a correct K-code hi-po 289 V8 with 271 horsepower cost? The 5.0 Coyote engine was available starting in 2011 and puts out 412 (2015 puts out 435 hp)!
I’m not saying it isn’t a viable swap, just that there are better cars to start with.
By the time you buy the Coyote engine, wire it, modify the front suspension (which would likely consist of converting it to rack and pinion and removing the shock towers) then purchasing all of the other ancillary parts needed to complete the swap, a K-code should be significantly cheaper. The cost comparison would really go upside down if the labor needs to be farmer out.
Steve R
This is absurd. There are a zillion Mustangs out there, parts are easy to come by,
I don’t understand all the price hysteria around these cars. They are production Fords (I’m sure that comment will annoy Mustang heads) that were a sensation when new. Twelve grand is simply too much for this car economically. Market prices aside, it’s a low thousands car to start with. And it looks like a $40,000.00 restoration. If you want a decent driver, cut that number in half. I found a 66 Coupe, with a bench seat and Air in Arizona and drove it to my home on the Left Coast. It was fine, sold it profitably, so the experience was good. The number I paid was in the low 5 figures, spent $2800.00 on the car.
Only 13,000 of 1,700,000 64-66 mustangs had a k code engine. Rare enough to try and put one back in this car….imho
Does anyone know how much a correct K-code engine would cost?
Probably 8-10K in the current market. Then there’s the correct carb, distributor, fuel pump and more. I was lucky that mine still has the original driveline. Not many do.
The sheet metal on these is among the most attractive of the first and second gen cars. Never really appreciated that til I saw one resto/restored a few years ago in a local parking lot.