The Mustang had its second restyle for 1969 using the same platform that launched the car and genre in 1964. It retained all the styling cues that defined the original Mustang, with perhaps the most noticeable change being the use of four headlights now, with two inset in the front fenders and two within the extreme edges of the grille. Other than one repaint, the seller’s ’69 Mustang is largely the way it was more than 50 years ago, sans the effects of Father Time and Mother Nature. Located in Hobbs, New Mexico, this ‘Stang is offered here on eBay. The bidding has reached $18,600, having just satisfied the reserve.

Demand for the Mustang was in decline by 1969, but the market was thoroughly saturated with competitors by that time. The Chevy Camaro would come close, but still undersell the Mustang by tens of thousands of cars for ’69. At just shy of 300,000 units, the standard fastback like the seller’s was about 19 percent of all Mustangs built, or about 56,000 cars. The 302 cubic inch V8 was the most common motor in these machines, having replaced the venerable 289 the year before. That engine was good for 220 horsepower even with the 2-barrel carburetor.

The seller’s car has been in the same family from new, likely passed from one generation to the next. This Mustang is in nice, unrestored condition with its Acapulco Blue only having been redone once in the past 52 years. The body is not flaw-free, but close. You’ll find some rust brewing in the bottoms of both doors which may be corrected without a full-repaint. The area on the passenger rear side by the taillight is cracked, and there is a ding in the rear bumper.

The original 302 engine and 4-speed manual transmission have north of 55,000 miles on them, but the speedometer/odometer is broken, sot the actual mileage is unknown. The car has power steering and brakes along with non-working factory air conditioning (disconnected belt under the hood). The original interior looks quite nice and if you can get the factory radio with 8-track player going again, you could listen to some tunes (or get out your iPod). This is said to be a good running car carrying a brand-new set of tires.

If you’re looking for something other than one of the many 1965-66 Mustangs that are out there and don’t want the bigger, bulbous Mustangs of 1971-73, this looks like it could be a sweet middle ground car to start from. Fix the rust and the couple of gremlins that come with the automobile and start enjoying 1960s technology once again!