As early Mustang values have climbed, later less desirable Mustangs have also gained in value. Of the many iterations of the Mustang, I’ve long felt that the ’71 to ’73 restyled cars have been undervalued and vastly underappreciated. It seems that more and more people are starting to feel the way I do about these cars, as they have been going up in value over the past few years. This 1972 Mach 1 was built into a drag car at some point in its life but looks like a nice solid example. The seller is asking $40,000 for it, but is including the trailer that it’s sitting on! Special thanks to Gunter K for this tip.

I’m still kicking myself for letting a deal for a 1973 Mach 1 351 Cobra Jet fall through. I was 17 at the time and a classmate wanted to trade me his Mach 1 for my Eagle Talon TSi AWD. Obviously, I jumped on the offer, but his father had given him the car and told him he could only make the deal if I gave him some cash. I really liked the Mach 1 but didn’t think it was worth a trade plus cash, but I should have done it! I guess you live and learn, right?

The ’71 restyle of the Mustang was definitely polarizing, it seems you either love or hate the shape of these cars. The fact that engine options were limited and horsepower was down from previous years hasn’t helped things either. Having driven a few cars from this generation, I get that it isn’t the same experience as a ’65, but it’s a uniquely ’70s car and to me feels very much like a muscle car. Sure, horsepower numbers were down, but much of that drop can be attributed to the change from gross to net ratings. The 351 is a great engine and can easily be tuned to make more power. You won’t have to worry about that with this car, as it appears the 351 Cleveland has already been worked over for racing, so it should offer plenty of grunt!

These cars can actually be quite fast, especially if they are set up with the right gearing. The seller doesn’t state what kind of quarter-mile times it was running when they last raced it, but the cage would suggest it’s quick. Looking at the original invoice, it looks like this car was configured to go fast from new, with the 4-barrel engine, Traction-Lok rear, and the optional rear end gearing. As cool as the drag racer look is, I’d want to tame this car down a bit and make it more streetable by removing the cage and disabling the exterior kill switch (I’d leave the switch and just bypass it so people aren’t messing with it).

I really like the looks of this Mach 1! It looks very solid and well sorted. The seller has owned it since 1989 and has clearly done a good job of maintaining it. The asking price might seem high when you think about how cheap these were a decade ago, but interests change and these are starting to get more popular with collectors. Add in all the performance parts, the trailer, and the overall condition and it looks like a good deal to me! You can find it here on craigslist in Livonia Michigan. What do you think though? Are you a fan of this body style or do you prefer the looks of the early Mustangs?