OK, so this 1972 Ford Mustang “Sports Roof” looks pretty good at first blush. It looks to be a nice example of a non-muscle car version of a popular muscle car but it has been sent off to Just Donated a donation vehicle processing center in Orange, California. Well, that tells you something’s up, so let’s dig in and see what got this Mustang banished. It’s available here on eBay for a current bid of $6,766 with 50 bids tendered so far.
This second year of the BIG Mustang appears to be a standard model, not a Mach I, and it looks as if it has seen at least one repaint over a lighter shade like white or gray primer – there are traces of an underlying color showing up under dings, on the leading edge of the hood, and where the quarter panel end caps are attached – more on this to follow. Regardless, and in spite of the blue hue’s faded condition, the exterior, overall, presents pretty well. There are some scrapes and dings but no obvious indication of rust or crash damage. The Ansen Sprint-style wheels pay homage to the early ’70s and are perfectly at home on this vintage Mustang.
There’s no listing description of the engine but the VIN claims it to be a 177 net HP, 351 CI V8. The listing states, “THIS VEHICLE RUNS AND DRIVES, STALLS MISFIRE, ENGINE NEEDS SERVICE, GEAR HANDLE IS BROKEN, DOES NOT WORK PROPERLY, A/C DOES NOT BLOW COLD, THE BATTERY WAS JUMPED FOR TESTING PURPOSES BUT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED“. The mileage is stated as showing 76K odometer miles but there’s no claim to that reading. Gear changing happens automatically via a three-speed automatic transmission.
OK, here we go. First up, you open the door and get a glimpse of the trim tag. A quick decode tells you that this Mustang actually is a Mach I (Body=63R) and the original color was Medium Green Metallic (Col=4E) with a medium green knitted vinyl interior (Trim=GR). Interestingly, the axle code of R translates to a 3.25:1, limited slip carrier.
Now, feast your eyes and get a load of that interior! Ripped and shredded green bucket seats, red carpet (including the trunk), lime green door jambs, orange upholstery panels with a lower painted dash, and…wait for it, shag orange carpeting on the door panels and the dash top. Even the headliner has been changed to red. Whoever outfitted this interior was a man (or a woman) on a mission! It leaves me speechless and explains exactly how this car ended up in the donation doldrums.
The 50 bids are made up of ten different bidders and it’s hard to imagine that they’re all color blind – to each their own I guess. Final thoughts? GLWTA – and better luck to the acquirer, right?
I see it’s got a few extra ponies…
Watching this one.
My friend had a 71 Mach 1 with a built Cleveland when we where in high school in the early 80s,he destroyed it,he was the kind of guy who could F-up a anvil with a rubber mallet.
No AC compressor present. May not have ever had AC. Hard to tell from pix. Co worker had a new1971 Mach One with the 351 Cleveland 4 barrel and C6. We put in a cam, headers, rear gears and Bruce 7″ slicks. Ran low 13s in Quarter. Dipped into 12s a few times. He hated the lack of visibility out of the rear window. I think he gave up drag racing shortly after 1971.
Car has A/C controls, so it’s likely to have been factory equipped with A/C.
Pix I saw did not show AC controls. Just engine pix did not have compressor. Back window is so close to horizontal that you can’t see out from the front, but back seat occupants can get a nice sunburn.
That interior is mighty sad. 61 other vehicles listed, but many negative feedbacks.
No will be shagging in that pony.
The interior needs scrapped but mustang parts are cheaper
I like it and it has potential 👍
Looks like there’s a lot of potential, to me.
Power windows, hard to tell but I’m
Pretty sure it has a tilt wheel, and possibly heated rear window. All pretty rare options.
The soft trim
Is all available and you’d probably need to replace it, anyway. Who cares what color the torn up stuff is.
Could be a cool car.
You know this is a special Mustang when you see it has three running Mustangs in the grille ! LOL
I think I know why this car has soooo many colors in it’s portfolio — the former owner was probably colorblind, and only saw pleasing shades of gray.
If one can overlook the color choices, the original color of light green can be glimpsed at the extreme left edge of the VIN label on the door post, and yes, it is a Mach 1, it’s got the tach, A/C, power windows, even the correct AM/FM stereo radio.
I suspect the former owner found another Mach 1 with a red interior, and combined the 2 interiors, I think the seats are the only original parts in the interior [except I suspect the interior panels on either side of the rear seat are original, but have been painted red].
This is an easy restoration, it’s likely a rust-free California car with A/C*, and all the pieces needed to restore it are readily available.
*When many of us boomers, who want cars like this today, were much younger, we didn’t want A/C, and cars with A/C often had it removed and thrown in the trash. Hell, back then many of us lived in non-air conditioned homes, drove cars without A/C, even worked in unairconditioned offices or shops. BUT TODAY all our modern cars have A/C, our homes, garages, and work places have A/C, and we [myself included] complain about how much hotter summer days are now [global warming?], and therefor muscle cars with factory A/C tend to bring a lot more $ today.
I thought 1972 had only two horses in the grill??!!
Good lord! How many window switches are there and what else do they operate?! The saving grace for this is being a Mach 1. Freshen up the engine and trans, add an interior kit (for heaven’s sake!) and shoot a quick original green paint job. This looks like a solid, fun project and it’s already up to $9100 with 2 days to go! With it being a true Mach 1, I expect this to bid up to at least $15k for a serious Mustang enthusiast.
The back windows were powered as well as the doors. The fifth switch is a window lockout so your passengers can’t operate them.
A good friend bought the lime green version of this one new in ’71 when we were in high school. It was almost as ugly as it was slow, but it withstood a lot of abuse.