Klutch Has a Project Car

[JTS71 Mach1]

Pretty decent car. Primer can hide a lot of little things but it looks you got something worth redoing and like you said it's all there! Good Job! Congrats! JTS 71 Mach1

[Klutch]

Thanks for the kind words, guys. Indeed, primer can hide flaws of which this car has many. As I'm starting to pull the car apart, I'm finding some "homemade" patch panels consisting of galvanized sheet metal and rivets. I knew some of them were there, but I found a couple more I wasn't aware of. I did expect to find such things.

A few minutes ago I pulled out all the old trunk matting and found a porn mag from 1972. It was very grimy and barely legible. But I could make out the date. I wonder what else I'll find in this car...

[Steven Harris]

Way to go Klutch.

Be sure to take plenty of pictures in your tear down process and post a few of them to walk along with you.

[Rare Pony]

A few minutes ago I pulled out all the old trunk matting and found a porn mag from 1972. It was very grimy and barely legible. But I could make out the date. I wonder what else I'll find in this car...

How about the pictures?

[Klutch]

^^ Good one!

[ScottCash]

Dude, that thing looks sweet! Nice find. Was it a Colorado car? How did you find it? I don;t remeber seeing that up on CL.

[Klutch]

I had to go all the way to Las Cruces, New Mexico for that car. When I was negotiating with the seller, some guy showed up and offered more than my bid in cash. I matched it and got the car as I had been working with the seller for weeks.

Some might say it wasn't worth the effort. I think those who would say so haven't looked for a Mach 1 project lately. It appears you and I were having the same experience until I got that car. I found it on Craigslist by using the free search tool I downloaded.

Here's a tip based on my experiences, Scott: assume everything the seller tells you is bogus. Verify everything yourself or don't worry about it. For some reason, the sellers of classic Mustangs become delusional. They must watch reruns of Barrett Jackson auctions and start to see great big dollar signs in the sky, or something. Therefore, you must come to a compromise between your reality and their fantasy. I think the days of making a lowball offer, flashing some cash and getting the car are about over. That's my take, anyway. Each time I saw a decent car for sale at a price I thought was too high, the seller got that price before I could make an offer.

[Steven Harris]

Klutch,

Was your car an original New Mexico car or was it originally sold elsewhere?

I think you made a smart move by matching the other guy's bid. Wow, that would have been sad to have gone all that way just to miss out.

[Mach 1 Club]

Klutch or a buddy of his played you. I probably wouldn't have matched, but if your happy nothing else matters looks awesome on the trailer.

[Klutch]

Steven, the previous owner has had the car since 1977. So, I'm pretty sure the car has been in NM since then. According to the Buck tag, it was originally delivered to Salt Lake City.

Joe, although I do think the owner was a bit slimy, I don't think he actually played me. We had settled on a price and then he asked if I would match the other guy's offer. He could have just sold the car out from under me. The other offer happened the night before I left for NM.

The owner's family was super nice. His wife really liked my wife and me. She insisted we come back the next morning for breakfast. Her son asked if the family could visit me to see the car in progress. (They sometimes travel to Denver for baseball tournaments.) Based on my discussions with his wife, some guy really did show up with cash. She cried as a pulled away from the house and she watched the car disappear.

Overall, no, this wasn't a screaming deal. But I think one reasonable deal in the garage beats two screaming deals "maybe someday in the future".