Whatcha Hiding?: 1965 Ford Mustang Coupe

And now from the land of nasty surprises comes a 1965 Ford Mustang Coupe, shown here on ebay and up for auction with a starting bid of $8,000 and no takers yet. The auction goes until Friday, if you’re keen, but do some looking around and thinking before you jump in to the auction, then head to Rockmart, GA to rescue your new find if you decide to go for it.

Most Mustang enthusiasts will recognize the engine code in the VIN, a “T,” as signaling a 200-CID 6-cylinder. Nothing wrong with that if you want a cruiser, but what state is this engine in? Like with much of the body, there are no images of it, and only the claim made is that it starts and runs, which, to be fair, video proves to be true. The ad does say it must be “picked up,” without suggesting that you try to drive it anywhere. There’s also no word about the fitness of any of the mechanical systems, though with what looks like a bit of neglect happening, you can bet you’ll need to replace anything with rubber components, like the brakes, fuel pump, and cooling system. So eight grand is going to quickly reveal itself as only the price of admission. Interesting as a side note is that the hose on the transmission hump suggests that this was an AC car at some point.

The ad does itself no favors by being mostly vague and being only marginally accurate when it names specifics. The paint is described as “classic Sierra with blue exterior color.” The chart in the Mustang Recognition Guide lists the only blue family of colors for 1965 as Midnight Turquoise, Tropical Turquoise, Silver Blue, and Caspian Blue, though there is an additional color or two if this is a very early car, which is not specified. An original color, perhaps, but when was it painted, and over what? You’re ill-advised to buy without sending a representative to Georgia to see the sheet metal, and that’s not just exterior body panels. What does the floor look like? Have a peek in the trunk. As we all know, the integral rear frame rails can be Swiss cheesed, with only one rough railroad track separating you from the rear wheels ending up, literally or figuratively, in the back seat. (One of three seats the car is noted to have, by the way.)

If I had to have a 1965 or 1966 Mustang, this would probably be it if all the metal proved to be solid. But at eight thousand dollars, no way.  One more convincer from the ad will suffice: “This vehicle has a bill of sale and only two doors.” Not only do these two things have nothing to do with one another, but does it need to be said that a vintage Mustang has only two doors? Every Mustang throughout sixty-plus years of history has had two doors. (The Mach E excepted, but you prove what makes the electric SUV a Mustang, please.) So maybe wait this one out unless you are close enough to the car to have a look over it with a fine-toothed comb and even then, wait for the re-listing, which hopefully will start at a more realistic price.