We have a very long list of cars we would love to find stashed in an old barn, but sometimes you have to pass on the barn find of your dreams. Perhaps it is too rusty to be saved, maybe life just doesn’t currently permit it, or any number of other reasons. Sometimes you are able to get that dream find home only to have to let it go before finishing it. Well that’s what happened to the owner of this 1969 Mustang Mach 1. After finding it in this Maine barn and getting it home, they are now having to move and can’t take it with. It is partially disassembled and is going to need a massive amount of work, but does come with lots of extra parts. Have a look at it here on eBay.
After sitting in this barn for 30 years, this Mustang has lots of rust. Thankfully replacement parts are plentiful and the seller already has sheetmetal for the rear quarter panels and outer wheel wells. We are going to assume that it had some work done to it prior to being parked, but we can’t tell what all was done. It has obviously been repainted and it appears the rear deck lid was originally white. We would want to inspect it for any accident damage, especially around the trunk. Hopefully it isn’t anything serious, but with all this rust it probably doesn’t matter much.
There is nothing worse than not being able to finish a project, but we see this all the time. Buying one of these unfinished projects can be a nightmare, as you simply don’t know the quality of the work that has already been done. This one has had some of the metal work done, but there is still a lot left to do. While it’s scary to have it apart like this, having it open should make inspecting it much easier.
We would have loved to stumble across this Mustang, but with all that rust we don’t know if we would have brought it home. If you have been looking for a Mach 1 with the 351-4V V8, than perhaps it would be worth the work, but we think we would rather find something more solid to start with. That being said, we hope that someone will snatch this project up and finish it before it decays any further. So are you brave enough?
Too bad this wasn’t found several years ago. This is my husband’s dream car, he would have had fun working on it and restoring it.
If I had the “know how” I would snatch it in a heart beat and restore it myself.
Unfortunately my husband passed away so he will never be able to see his dream come true.
With prices as insane as they are, there would certainly be room for a profit if you got this for less than $10k and put $20-30k in a ground-up, frame-out restoration. Personally my best friend had a ’69 Mach I back in ’76-78 and I have lots of good memories of that time. If I was going to do this car I would do it like his. That is, white with a black interior. Would that affect value when you went to sell it? That it would not be the original orange with white interior? Also, interestingly, this Mach I has the ‘knit vinyl’ bucket seats but the seams go side to side. My friend’s car had knit vinyl seats but the seams went front to back. Checked and have found pics of both. Hm, lots of questions and research to be done if I was buying this project…
I don’t see anything in the pictures to terrify me of the project if it were to be completed where it sits. However, the structure is now seriously weakened by the lack of a quarter panel and wheel arch, and would be difficult to move without risking damage to the structure. I also see no pictures of an engine or any of the ancillaries or brackets to go with it. The nice thing is that it’s a Ford Mustang and you can pretty much build one from scratch without a single Ford part, save the VIN tag. Thus, you don’t really have to worry about what is there-so long as you are not worried about originality and auction value. Even still, it’s not a particularly rare or exotic model as the 351W was a mild upgrade over a 302 and isn’t really lusted after by enthusiasts.
Ooops… I missed the most obvious first picture in which there is indeed an engine. I wish there was an edit button…
Obviously, Maine cars looks like our Upnorth cars, all rusty. So sad that mother nature eats them up. While I was restoring my 70 Bel Air, I realize that I should have bought a southern car. Or at least find a good starter frame and then put all the stuff from the Mach 1.
Happy 50th Anniversary Mustang!
With the right price I would restore the body update the interior then hunt for a newer high horsepower mustang wreck and put the new chassis underneath the classic body!!
Eastport, Maine – furthest east town in the USA and loaded with salty air from the Bay of Fundy. The exact opposite of a dry desert car – I’d be afraid to go near it.
Barry Thomas’ “Wheel to Wheel” blog