With competition looming, the Ford Mustang got its first restyle in 1967. And, the cars would be little changed going into 1968, but sales declined as Chevrolet, Pontiac, and others were joining the “pony car” circus. From 607,000 units in 1966, Mustang sales were down to 317,000 in 1968, but it was still the best-selling car in its class at nearly 50% of the new Chevy Camaro. This forgotten and ugly ’68 Mustang appears to have the GT option with fog lights and other visible traits. But it’s been sitting outside of a house for what appears to be a long, long time.
The easiest way to tell a ’68 Mustang from a ’67 is the addition of side marker lights (a federal safety thing). The GT was a way to dress up your Mustang and it came with a V8 engine, front disc brakes, the aforementioned fog lights, a GT gas cap, and more. These could all be added separately, so it’s hard to tell a real GT from one that’s not, but given how long this Mustang has been ignored, we’re guessing it’s legit.
Under the grime on this car may be what’s left of its Lime Gold paint and black vinyl roof (it’s in shreds now). The interior may be okay once you fix and recover the driver’s bucket seat and replace the carpeting. A 302 cubic inch V8 may be under the hood as it came along in 1968 to replace the venerable 289 that had been installed in so many Fords before. The odometer on this Ford quit counting at 101,000 miles.
No story or background is provided by the seller. We don’t know when it was parked or why. Perhaps it belonged to a family member who has passed on and the seller simply doesn’t know anything about it. From Brentwood, Virginia, this forgotten pony is available here on craigslist for $3,300. Bring cash, a trailer, and the assumption that the old Ford will need everything.
It’s not unusual for a factory-built GT to have “GT” marked in wax pencil on the radiator support. Barring that, you might find a build sheet tucked into the seat springs or wrapped in the wiring under the dash (that’s where I found one for my convertible). The running horse emblems and “Mustang” scripts on the fenders is a red flag. A GT should have rectangular “GT” emblems in these locations.
Lots of rust here. Just about any early Mustang is restorable, but this one is testing the limits.
But it’s patina! Seriously, no under body shots but the shock towers look solid and I didn’t see any obvious holes in the sheet metal. Still you would be busy prepping this one for paint. Probably not worth it.
The shock towers rarely rust. If they do, it’s at the bottom where they intersect the frame rails, and we can’t see that detail in the photos. However, take a look at the tops of the shock towers where they overlap the inner fenders – completely rusted through. That’s a bad sign. Also, the roof panel is toast, so who knows how long water has been getting into the interior and trunk. I would strongly advise anyone against buying this car without seeing what’s underneath. My guess is there’s not much solid metal under there.
i see a buck tag under hood by spring. that will tell you if GT.
So it was blue from the factory (see underhood – also blue/parchment interior). Not that you wouldn’t be painting everything on this anyway.
I think you would be miles ahead spending more for one that was a decent driver – the coupes aren’t stupid crazy priced.
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bt
Mustangs were chassis black under the hood, so the blue is either an illusion or someone’s custom touch. The interior is probably Ivy Gold to go with the Lime Gold exterior. In any event, it’s been modified, since the rear seat is different and it has the grilles from the deluxe interior on the lower doors, but not the rest of the deluxe interior (molded armrests and woodgrain dash, in particular).
CCFisher you are right! D’oh! I had forgotten all about that as on my 68 GT fastback I went body colour under hood on the restoration.
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bt
Perforated roof with an absorbent pad carpet – what could go wrong?