This Ford Mustang Mach 1 is in a sad state right now, but the once-beautiful custom paint job still shows beneath the tattered exterior, suggesting someone really loved and cared for this car long ago. The seller lists this as a 1969 model, but Barn Finds reader 8banger has a keen eye and pointed out it’s a ’70 front end; then Woofer chimed in, noting other evidence that it may actually be a 1969. We’d like to thank both for their valuable input! If you’ve got the funds, I suppose you can repair and restore just about any automobile, but this one will take a lot of time, effort, and especially cash to get back on the road, so it might make more sense to find another that doesn’t need basically everything. However, if you’ve got strong DIY skills, this 1969 (or 1970) Mach 1 is in Chicago, Illinois, and can be found here on eBay. You can buy it now for $12,000, but the seller has also wisely added a make-offer button.
The seller is a man of few words, and the only specific information he shares is that this car has been sitting for 30 years and has a 351 engine and an automatic transmission. There’s no word on why it was parked decades ago, and it’s unknown whether the Windsor is original or if it will still turn. From the looks of things under the hood, I’m guessing the V8 will need to be torn down and rebuilt, unless the buyer chooses to swap in something else.
One positive about the exterior is that the custom stripes still seem to be in place on all the panels, so the sheet metal was likely in decent condition before it was parked, and the panels (sans front end) probably weren’t just pieced together recently for a quick sale. Sadly, the good news mostly ends there, as many exterior sections will need replacement or repair. The north section of the hood is somewhat mangled, but the scoop is still there, and thankfully, the exterior appears pretty much complete.
A few interior parts are missing, including the headliner and rear seat, and no information is provided about those red front buckets. It’s hard to tell from the photos whether the floor shows mostly surface rust or is unstable, but fortunately, the rails look fairly solid. However, I’d still go over the platform thoroughly first, before getting too far into the restoration, to make sure there’s a strong foundation to build on. Is this Mustang a promising project, or would it be better to let this pony continue sleeping for another 30 years?
O Brother. Y Bother.
Am I high or isn’t this a ’70?
Your not high, the seller is with that price…
It’s a 69 with a 70 front end. I always disliked the 70 front end because it looked like the headlights should still be there from 69. Eyes poked out! 🤣 Scracpola!
Let me try to clear things up for you, 8banger. If you’re high, you’re feeling better than me right now. Anywho, that is a 1970 front clip but there are several more clues. I’m going to claim it’s a 1969 because of the taillights. Those could be changed also but one would have to cut the panel out and weld a new one in, not an easy job. Next, the vents in the quarter panel are 1969 only, the 1970 was smooth with no vent. Don’t even bring up what a BOSS 302 or a BOSS 429 had for vents, it’s very confusing. Larry Shinoda had some issues. Next, the 351 Windsor was popular in 1969, in 1970 Mustang went with the 351 Cleveland. Next, the ignition key was in the dash in 1969, on the steering column in 1970. I would bet $10 this is a 1969.
Note that the 351 Windsor was available in 1970 also. It was the base engine in the Mach 1.
Also look at the side marker lights. That style is 69. 70s were larger..
This is without a doubt a 69 with a 70 front end.
Sure a lot of grungy cars being sold by sellers who don’t know what they are doing this week.
That radiator cap may be salvageable…
There were 5 upvotes when I clicked and it became 12… anyone else experience this ?
Happens to me all the time. Sometimes 1 thumbs up changes to 8 or 15. Thought it was just me!
Simple – It just means that many others have clicked Thumbs Up since you loaded the page. Sometimes I’ll load a page and walk away. I’ll come back, read a comment, give it a thumbs up and it will jump way up.
They could not have picked a worse view to feature for the cover
Can not imagine paying asking price, but every pot has a lid.
Every time I think nothing can top the insane asking price for a bucket of rust and complete garbage I see this, even at $1200.00 this would be overpriced.
I think 12 cents would be over price!
Put it out of it’s misery.
So first the front end hit, and then came the flood !? Got it.
I agree with Woofer, it does appear to be a 69 with a 70 nose.
A customer of mine is about a year into restoring a 69 Boss 429 that didn’t look much different then this car. The scarry thing about his car is when they got the Boss apart, the hidden rust was 10 times worse than the visible rust. If it wasn’t a Boss 429 it would have made more sense to restore it using a Dynacorn body. But then if it wasn’t a Boss 429 it would have been scrapped instead of restored…like should be done with this car
Even after seeing many vehicles like this over the years I’ll never understand what possesses someone to take what was once a pretty nice car and just neglect it to the point of there being almost nothing left. And the asking price is ludicrous.
That’s the type of people that, when asked if they want to sell it, they will say” No, I’m gonna restore it, and it sits until all of the floor pans are buried in the dirt that becomes its gravesite! I hate people like that. Gave up on a 71 Nova here in town where I live. Was on it for over 10 years, then gave up. The car is still sitting in the exact same spot today, only buried a little deeper. Also tried to buy some 66&67 Barracudas from a guy that had 4 of them in a barn that ended up falling in on them. The old fella died and his family had them hauled off for junk. 😠
This Mustang must have looked good, cruising the late night hangouts, back in the day. I find it fascinating to think what happens in someones life that they let this happen to to an obviously, at one time, loved car.
Camaro buckets maybe? Why? Just why!!! Should be jail time for this kind of crime.
If this was a real four legged Mustang it would be animal cruelty.
It just seems like people let their cars sit outside after breaking down for eons, then decide they will never do anything to restore it, and before it buries itself they decide to try and find a sucker to buy for an outrageous price. Jmo
you have got to f n kidding, right? looks like it was pulled from Chicago River. the nerve of some people.
I’m not really sure if there are any words that would adequately describe just how looney tunes i think this price is, other than to say that free would be too much. And that my friends, is a totally honest opinion.
I had a friend in high school who’s father bought him a brand-new ’69 Mach 1 as a graduation present. It was dark green with gold accents. He first had the gold panels custom painted with cob-webbing, then a few months later he went whole hog and had the entire car done over in orange, white and red fading with more webbing. In it’s day it was beautiful and really turned heads. He kept it polished like a jewel. Then he got into dope and we parted ways. I next saw the car about 6 months later and it was totally trashed.
A fraternity brother had to scrap his 69 Mach 1 in 1980 because the shock towers were too rusted to repair. Can’t imagine this car surviving one pothole.
Ok Mike Stephens, own up to it! You and your writer companions have a bet going on as to who can present the worst/ most rusty piece of junk! With a side bet of who gets the most comments! I saw the picture and read Chicago (my old home town) and decided it wasn’t worth reading anymore of the text and just went to the comments. To me it just seems like a waste of time and effort to write a story about this one. Unless, like I said, you guys and gals have a couple of bets laid.
Forgot to add….from the price listed the seller of this POS is on dope, too.
its TRASH – push it off a cliff !!!
Yes, use the one in Alaska that they use for 4th of July entertainment because it doesn’t get dark enough for fireworks. And at the end, everyone is allowed to strip what they want off the pile of cars when they are done for souvenirs!
A fun watch on YouTube if you have never seen it!
00 too much
If I didn’t know better I would swear John Wick got ahold of this thing!???
Crime Scene.
Asking price reduced to $9,500
This car is Werth what the clean title is Werth . About a $1000. Order in a new body and frame , it will be easer and cheaper. Good luck to who ever gets it .