From one extreme to another, that’s usually how things go at Barn Finds. Last week I covered this beautiful ’67 Mustang and today, we’re going to go two years newer but take a southbound turn on condition with this 1969 Mustang SportsRoof. It too is notable for its condition but not in the most positive way; still, it’s worthy of a review. Mark_K uncovered the listing for this Denver, Colorado domiciled Ford – thx Mark! It’s available, here on craigslist for $16,000, firm.

Not a Mach I or a “Boss”, this ordinary SportsRoof model at one time possessed a 290 gross HP, 351 CI V8 engine connected to a four-speed manual transmission. Unfortunately, both of those sale enhancers are long gone. The seller suggests that he has a less powerful 351 CI motor and an automatic transmission that can be substituted. The transmission swap seems like a lot of work to undertake when a manual gearbox would make this car more desirable. It might be a more worthwhile exercise to accept the engine and transmission, uninstalled, sell the automatic transmission, find a manual gearbox, hop up the engine, put the whole shebang back together and then install – just a suggestion of course.

The exterior of this pony looks rode hard and put away wet, especially considering the disappearing act that the lower quarters are undertaking. Beyond that, there’s evidence of Bondo, surface rust, and the obviously missing grille, headlights, front bumper, roll pan, etc. The seller says that he has a lot of additional parts included that aren’t pictured. The deep rear Keystone classic wheels (with yellow centers?) and the extended leaf spring shackles provide a real old-school vibe.

As far as the interior goes, I think this Mustang could win an award for seeing how much “stuff” can be shoved inside. The instrument panel looks OK but it’s hard to get a thorough look at much else. I’m really uncertain why sellers do this to themselves – it’s a real disservice in promoting a car but I encounter it time and time again. Anyway, the aftermarket steering wheel is far from original but I like it, it’s a nice swap.

Originally, this car was nicely equipped with its four-barrel carburetor fed, high compression V8 and a four-speed manual gearbox, all wrapped up in an ordinary SportsRoof model – one of the things that I really appreciated about this vintage Mustang. While always a first-gen Camaro fan, the Bowtie required that you step up to the Super Sport (SS) trim level if you wanted all of the go-fast fun. They did have some COPO plain brown wrapper options but they were rare and expensive. Back to the case at hand, however, this car is going to need a lot of work. I would try for originality, or as close as I could get, again because this pony isn’t a Boss or a Mach I, but that’s me. The world’s your oyster, what would you do?