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Unrestored Original: 1965 Ford Mustang K-Code Convertible

This 1965 Mustang Convertible is said to be an unrestored, numbers-matching, original car. It has been kept in a garage for the last 45 years by the same owner, but the Mustang is now up for sale. You will find it listed for sale here on eBay. Located in Mount Hope, West Virginia, it is being offered for sale with a clear title.

At first glance, the overall condition of the Mustang does look to be very nice. While there is no visible rust, apparently there is a single spot of rust right at the bottom of the rear quarter panel on the driver’s side, but this doesn’t appear in the photos. The car has also been fitted with a hood tachometer and luggage rack, neither of which are original. The seller does supply a pretty thorough catalog of photos, many of which are in the gallery below this story, which indicate that all of the known trouble spots under the car are rust-free. The owner also has an incredible collection of documentation that is included with the car, including the window sticker, original sales invoice, original owner’s manual, and virtually every invoice and record of all service performed on the car since new.

The interior presents in about the state that you would expect a fairly well cared for car of this age should. It is not immaculate, but it is tidy. The carpet is discolored in places, and the upholstery on the seats, in particular, the driver’s seat, is also a bit stretched. The thing that I find distracting is the addition of a number of aftermarket items and gauges to the interior. I’m fully aware that these can be removed, but I feel that it undermines the car’s originality.

Of course, when this Mustang was new, the big talking point would have been the K-Code 289ci V8 and the 4-speed manual transmission. The original, numbers-matching drive-train is all present, along with all of the appropriate tags. In the owner’s own words, the way the car drives is mind-blowing.

Okay, now we get to the bit where you are probably going to need to sit down and swallow hard. I think the majority of us have probably have some idea of the value of this car. The owner has set a BIN price of $130,000 for the Mustang (I’ve rounded the price up by a penny). There is also the option to submit an offer. What are your thoughts on this?

Comments

  1. Avatar leiniedude Member

    Well it is a nice rig. I’d have to go back and look, but I bet it is the same seller as that Tucker ragtop as for pricing. And I hope thats a clock on the dash, Three tachs are a bit to much.

    Like 2
    • Avatar Mark Morrow

      That is the Ford accessory clock for Mustang, Falcon and Comet.

      Like 0
  2. Avatar Arthell64

    While it appears to be a nice car I don’t understand the high price for a car with 271 hp.

    Like 4
    • Avatar JoeNYWF64

      subtract maybe 50 hp if you want hp in NET measurement ’72 & later.

      Like 0
  3. Avatar Djs

    I have a third owner 65 289 three speed convertable with all papers and number matching mustang Ill take 95,000 for mine , ho,ho,ho, i think the price is a bit too high hope they get there price then i know ill get mine if i was to sell it .

    Like 2
  4. Avatar Dave Suton

    My thoughts? With the tacky hood tach and luggage rack my offer would be $115,000 less than the reserve.

    Like 6
  5. Avatar stillrunners

    Mopar markers ? Not sure if that repair will be easy….and I thought my dad was the only one to put them on – on his 1968 Ford….

    Like 3
  6. Avatar Bob

    Can anyone explain to me what a K car is? Are they really worth $130K when you can buy a nice same year Mustang for $100K less money. I am not trying to be a wise guy, I just do not understand. Please educate me.

    Like 3
    • Avatar Jim M

      K Code is the option for the high performance 289 engine. Rare, but not $130K rare!

      Like 6
      • Avatar Mountainwoodie

        That’s putting it mildly! I want to see this sell anywhere near this price . Then I’ll know P cars are under priced and I will never again condemn an early long hood seller for his insanity. Also leaving aside the personal touches I wonder what the seller paid the 45 year owner?

        Like 1
    • Avatar Matt Trummer

      Bob and Jim, my 66GT had the K code 271 HP. Any idea how make K codes were not GT’s or vice versa.

      Like 1
      • Avatar Shayne

        Any number you receive is just a guess. My 65 k code is not a GT

        Like 0
    • Avatar Carappraiser

      They a very rare and many parts on the engine are unique to the K code, it’s basically the same engine that was in the Shelby GT350 of the time. The VIn were stamped on the trans and engine so having the original engine is quite a big deal as a lot of these cars were raced and engines were blown up. Documentation is also very desirable you can’t beat having a fully documented car collectors go nuts over that. Overpriced for sure but probably worth $70 to $80k and if you had to have it maybe a bit more.

      Like 2
    • Avatar Chuck Mather

      The K-code indicated a 271 hp engine and a 9 inch rear differential along with several other performance improvements. This was the top line performance option for the early Mustangs (not counting Shelby’s). This was a very respectable performer in it’s day. It would run mid to upper 14 second 1/4 mile times. What was different from many other performance cars of the era is that the K-codes had many performance enhancements to improve handling and braking.

      Like 0
  7. Avatar Jody

    That car is not “original” . It has the ’66 1/4 panel “gills” rather than the correct ’65 trim pieces. Hubcaps and grille bars are correct for ’65. I would be very curious to see what else has been changed.

    Like 11
    • Avatar grantG

      Borrowed my daughters phone so I could say just that. Idk what a K code convertible is worth, but this one isn’t worth 130k. Too many tacky additions and the sellers ideas about originality make me doubt most of his story.

      Like 1
  8. Avatar Bob

    Thank You…

    Like 4
  9. Avatar Martin

    Yikes! Asking price is in 1967 Shelby GT350 category (which has a breathed-on version of the same 289 HiPo). I am surprised it hasn’t been turned into a GT clone by now (although the owner has stuck on GT fender badges on the interior door panels). Don’t know the reason for the towel rack on the passenger-side dash and those crazy star-shaped radio knob bezels.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Neil

    Whilst a very nice looking vehicle I cannot help but feel the owner has had a little too much of the Xmas spirit when setting the price tag. Or misplaced the decimal point too far to the right…
    I understand the “K” code vehicles command a premium over a normal mustang of the same vintage – but over $100,000 more? Seriously??
    It’s not a pristine/concours example, not yet at least. The additional gauges really need removing and the panels/trim being made good/replaced as appropriate As it stands now I think if you take $105,000 off that would be what I’d be prepared to offer.

    Like 2
  11. Avatar Joe Mac

    Maybe it’s the Cherry Bomb mufflers that brought it to $130k. You know those are classics….right?

    Like 3
  12. Avatar Barzini

    Can’t you buy a later Shelby for this kind of money?

    Like 5
    • Avatar Rob S.

      Yes this is high shelby money. Even big block shelby money. This is big time dreaming money.start big, and negotiate. So they say….

      Like 0
  13. Avatar glen

    It doesn’t sound original anymore, a good solid vehicle, but isn’t an original example.According to the Hagerty website, a #1 Concours is $87,100.00

    Like 1
  14. Avatar Suttree

    Seller may be suffering from BarrettJacksonitis.

    Like 19
  15. Avatar Jimmy Ding

    Definitely a fairly untouched original, but the fact that it hails from Mt. “Hope” says a lot, as I think that’s what the current owner has a lot of – “hope”. And he self-admittedly didn’t even bother to vacuum it! As many here feel, even though it is a HiPo 4 spd ragtop, if you drop the “$100” off at the beginning of the price you might be a little more in line. And yeah, the two-tach thing is interesting. For the life of me I can’t figure out why anyone who appears to have babied this car for decades would drill holes into the hood to install ANOTHER tach! :-) (and a reeaally ugly one at that…). Maybe he had one wired up to each bank of the V-8 to make sure the right 4 and left 4 were going at the same speed…can’t be too careful…

    Like 6
  16. Avatar Poncho

    I like the hood tach…but not on this car. Big fan of them on GTO’s and Firebirds with the 400 hood. Even the 1970 Torino looked intriguingly sharp with the shaker hood and hood tach. For $130,000, I’m pretty sure you could be close to a ‘Holy Grail’ Mustang Shelby GT350 or maybe a GT500. At least a Shelby. Heck, I understand that when the top goes down, the price goes up, but…in this case, originality does not equal great value as far as a 6 digit sale price.

    Like 1
  17. Avatar Fordguy1972 Member

    The asking price is absurd. For a lot less, you could certainly buy a concours ’65 K-Code drop-top and have a good chunk of change left over. This is a nice car but the hood-tach and the other gee-gaws that were added that required holes to be drilled into this car hurt the value to some extent. You’ll only get the seller angry if you offer him $90,000 less than he’s asking so don’t bother. This dreamer will be holding on to this car for a very long time.

    Like 4
  18. Avatar joeinthousandoaks

    Very interesting car. I have had my share of early Mustangs but would love to own my own K code. The original engine may be missing too if the seller cannot find a VIN. As I understood it, all K codes have the VIN located above the starter. If that is not there then a replacement block was probably installed. The 1/4 panel trim is very concerning. Did someone just add those later to update the look of the car? Were the 1/4s replaced somewhere in the past? The additional side marker lights don’t help the value nor does the out of place looking hood tach. I think if the seller were to go to Barrett Jackson, he would get a quick taste of reality.

    Like 2
  19. Avatar Kenneth Carney

    Too rich for my blood! Would rather find
    a lesser car, fix all its faults, and save a
    bundle of cash along the way. I’ve seen
    quite a few lesser Mustangs that present
    themselves better than this one does–
    most of them right here on Barn Finds!
    Maybe medical science can find a cure
    for Barrett-Jackson Syndrome so that
    we don’t have sellers testing P. T.Barnam’s theory about a sucker being
    born every minute. Relax folks, he’ll have
    this car a good long while.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Miguel

      Kenneth, I don’t think you would need to find a lesser car.

      I bet you could find a much better car for much less.

      Those add ons tell a disturbing story of somebody trying to make this car something it was not.

      Who would add a Pontiac tach and Chrysler side marker lights to a Mustang?

      Like 0
  20. Avatar Jason

    I’m guessing that he really DOESN’T want to sell it but has to show the wife that he “has it for sale”. I did that once with a Harley Davidson that I promised the wife I would sell, put a crazy high price on it!!

    Like 0
  21. Avatar Jackie Hollingsworth

    I love the early Mustangs but this one is way overpriced.I would not pay that kind of money for two like this.

    Like 0
  22. Avatar Jay S.

    I doubt the owner is serious about selling. He probably wants to know the current market value of the car for insurance purposes. What better way to do that than on eBay. Set an unrealistic price and see how close the bidding gets. Then compare the results to Hagerty, NADA, Blue Book,etc.
    It’s either that or he thinks there is ‘one born every minute’.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Miguel

      Jay, he has it on a buy it now, not an auction, so I don’t think he is looking to see what it is bid up to.

      Like 0
  23. Avatar Steve

    The price is optimistic no doubt. But these are special unique cars with specific parts for the engine, suspension, steering and exhaust. Shelby did not build convertibles. Solid valve train and dual exhaust lots of fun in a convertible.
    This and a K-code 2+2 are the premier original Mustangs. Matching numbers too.

    Like 0
  24. Avatar Jay S.

    Good point. He is accepting offers, so, if he does get any, he will have some idea what the market value really is.

    Like 0
  25. Avatar Roy L Fuchs

    How much?

    Like 0
  26. Avatar Jay S.

    At the Wheeler auction a ’65 Mustang upgraded to K code is being offered. Current high bid is $47,000 https://bid.wheelerauctiongroup.com/lots/view/1-1GSVUN/1965-ford-mustang-k-code-fastback

    Like 1
  27. Avatar Jimmy Ding

    Jay, from the blurb it seems as if that black fastback may be a real K-Code but not necessarily a real GT. Really nice car though, whether a real GT or not. If it’s not, someone did a pretty accurate clone conversion on it…

    Like 0
  28. Avatar joeinthousandoaks

    I just got this email:
    You viewed at $129,999.99. It’s now $99,999.99!

    Maybe he does want to sell it.

    Like 0
  29. Avatar Robert Crisafulli

    I purchased this car last year in December 2018. It is a true time capsule and was described accurately and was in unbelievable good condition. All the documentation and window sticker were real. Car starts and drives like a top. This is a project car for my daughter and I. We will fix it up little by little and enjoy it. One day it will get a full restoration. The hood and deck lid have been repaired and repainted and all the “tacky stuff” has been removed.

    The seller is a nice guy but was hoping someone would buy it “as is” and add it to their collection. I did not think that person existed and he finally realized that too. After the lack of interest in the car and the beating over a ridiculous price, I negotiated a fair NADA book price. It took over a week to bring the seller into reality. He was very suspicious I was flipping the car for 10k more.

    I did not tell anyone but my wife I was buying the car. My brother and I drove from Maryland to West Virginia to pick it up. I did not tell him what the car was. The seller drove it to a gas station by his house and when it came in, he said, Mustang convertible. I said wait for it, look at the fender badge, he said 289 Hipo, and I said its real and you’re not going believe the condition.

    The seller was still worried we were flippers, so I told my brother to be quite, let’s do a quick inspection and test drive and load the car up. I gave him the check and we were done. It was an exciting barn find and purchase.

    Like 0

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