newb from Vancouver, BC

[sugarYUK]

Up here, $16K for a fastback in decent condition is actually pretty decent, most mustangs up here are treated like gold, guys asking a small fortune for dismantled rusted pieces-o-crap. Owner of the 65 says drivetrain in great working condition, complete new brake system and power steering. From pics body looks good, owner said it had previously gone thru a restore years ago, but signs of rust have come back. He says to bring it back to prime, he would redo floors and all quarters. Towers are good. here's some pics...




If I have to put at least $10K into it, which I'm sure won't be hard to do!!, then it brings it up to the 71 mach 1 price... which has gone thru a total restore already and might be more of a collector than the 65 which is a plain-Jane fastback (looks to be somewhat of a GT clone). Hmmmm....what to do?

[Mustangmike]

The car looks good and so does the body panel alignment but pictures can sometimes be deceiving. The car also looks complete in regards to having all the parts which is a plus for the 65/66 because some of the pieces are not reproduced and hard to locate. Second, I agree with you 100% that there are overpriced rust bucket fastbacks out there that need every panel replaced and have missing or damaged interior pieces fetching prices over $7k, which I can't believe. In my opinion $16k is not out of the question for a drivable 65/66 fastback in decent condition especially if it is an original 8 cylinder car. But if you have to factor in the amount of work that the current owner is suggesting costing an additional $10k then I would say the car may be very close to,if not over, the value of what the car may be worth (unless of course it is a K-code). This meaning, if you decide to sell it you may end up in a deficit situation. Depending on how bad the floor and quarter panels are you may want to use these as negotiation points with the seller. Also, with all Mustangs you need to look carefully at the cowl panel and frame rails especially if they were not addressed on the first restoration. Depending on where the floor is rusted it may indicate a rusted cowl panel which is even more work. The last I thing I would hate to see happen is for you to spend $16k on a project car and have to tear it all down especially since there are many great classic Mustangs out there in the $18 - $26k range ready to show. I really think the 65/66 fastback are great cars, nice and light, and are pretty desirable, too. If you are interested in seeing a torn down 66 fastback project you can look at my 66 here online. Mine is an example of needing everything. Please keep us updated.

[JTS71 Mach1]

I knew you'd be the right guy to steer him to as you stated it very clearly. Good job Mike and your right, that the pics look good but can easily be deceiving. I always heard it put "Pictures don't Lie, but Liars take pictures" Thanks JTS 71 Mach1

[sugarYUK]

Looks like the 65 Fastback is out of the running. After speaking to the owner, it sounds like it needs more work than I wanted to get into. He said floor boards looked like previous owner to him had new floor welded over the old floor? Is this something that is commonly done? Sounds like a wasteful Band-Aid solution. Rails were also partly patched in spots, sounds like someone did bare minimum to restore it. If it had been a K code or even a well optioned GT I may of considered it. I've still got work to do on the Vega so I'm in no rush to find the perfect one. And price of the 71 Mach 1 has dropped from $29k all the way to $28.9K!!

[Mustangmike]

Glad to hear you backed off on this one. Keep us updated on any other opportunities you come across.

[Steven Harris]

Definitely sounds like very shoddy work on the fastback. By no means a practice of any respectable shop or DIYer.

Well with the drop in price on the Mach 1 like that you will be fighting inflation to ever see value!