Cheap Project: 1966 Ford Mustang Fastback
If you like Pina Coladas, cars left out in the rain, you’re not into health food, and you have half a brain, perhaps you’ll be interested in what’s left of this Ford Mustang, which is listed as both a 1966 and a 1965, and offered here on eBay. The seller states “For restoration! Cheap”.
Well now, cheap is a relative term. The Mustang is one of the few cars I can think of where a hardtop model sells for more than the convertible. Perhaps this makes sense in terms of rarity. In 1966, Ford built nearly half a million regular Mustang coupes, and 72,119 convertibles, but only 35,698 fastbacks. Despite being a sexier 2+2 design, a new fastback cost $200 more than a coupe, and that must have been enough to discourage the average Joe from “ponying up”, har har.
The seller provides little information besides the VIN, a helpful offer to obtain a title for extra money, and the admonishment “what you see is what you get”. What you can see is a hot mess of rust and dents and calico body parts. I did take the time to stitch two pictures of the engine together, which is more than the seller could be bothered with. The fender says 289, the air cleaner says 302… Lucy, you got some ‘splaining to do.
The transmission is manual, like the labor you will be putting in. The good news is, parts are easy to come by. Tony D. Branda of Branda Mustang Parts told Hemmings, “I can’t think of anything that isn’t available. You can build an entire car from scratch, just about.” If you buy this car, you will probably have him on speed-dial as Uncle Tony.
The bad news is, rust and poorly done prior repairs are the biggest problems in restoring early Mustangs. Rot is common in the floors and front and rear frame rails, and the base of the cowl and inner fenders are known to hide rust. On this particular pony, the obvious rust is obscuring the hidden rust. But hey, some guys like a real challenge.
After all, Mustangs are beautiful cars, they’re American icons, and they never go out of style. A little elbow grease and this could be you:
So is this $7,000 fastback how you’d like to spend the rest of your life, or can we interest you in a nifty ’65 coupe?
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Comments
I’ll trade a stockpile of TP in exchange for this.
I think he could be getting a good deal on the trade .
You might want to substitute the Charmon for government grade….
If one is asking seven grand then pull car from the herd and show underneath it ….
TCOPPS- you’d still be cleaning up sh#t if you made that trade.
You would be getting ripped off…this car is only worth about two used rolls.
This thing could bite you in the astronomical wallet.
$700.00 maybe…all she needs is a new body shell.Money pit..sorry seller
A body shell is a good start, but I’m not sure there’s $700 worth of parts there. It needs a complete interior, probably a (likely) non-original motor rebuild, steering, brakes, suspension, chrome, paint, etc. That could be $70K, and you don’t have a numbers matching original car. You’re probably better off starting from scratch with all new parts and building something decent. Leave this one alone.
Camaro Joe…I agree with the spirit of your comments but your $70K is short. A body shell is a good start BUT based on this POS you would need the body shell AND EVERYTHING ELSE! This POS will contribute what?……I see no worthwhile part on this car….anywhere.
This doesn’t happen to me much but this ad and seller makes me angry.
This is NOT even a parts car. Go buy one done & drive it to the car show for 1/3rd of what this one would take to ……oh God, I can’t even say it…..restore it ??!!
Again, don’t say it much but take the 1 or 2 parts off it and crush this neglected (sadly) abused total POS. 7000.00…. what a !*%#?!!
I will do it for all of us. TIME OF DEATH…..LONG AGO !!
^v^v^v^v———————————————————
For the right person, it’s aa TITLE for a Early manual fastback V8 and whatever c,an be salvaged to transfer to a good, cheap, notchback, 6, A/t, hull like I’ve seen with the tri 5 chebbys that turned a 4 door post to a FI, 4 speed, convertible! Lotsa DIY, little money!
On top of everything else thats missing on the car , there is no title
I love the cars that’s why I visit here but keep the snarky comments to yourself…and again, it’s door panels not door cards…
Most of that will buff out. I don’t see the problem!! $0.70 at best
Some see “POS”, I see it as a great Quarantine Project… for someone else.
R.I.P. little Fastback
I have to admit, it will make great lawn art!
Surprise when you go to pick this turd up, its gonna break in half- I cant imagine whats left on the underside.. Why the seller didn’t put this up for auction with no reserve to get what someone would give, is beyond this grey hair. He calls 7 large cheap? There are still somedays to me that a $20 bill is a lot of coin!
Shame to see this pony in this condition. But I’m sure when this one was left out, it was just an old car. Greed and silliness.abound. Good luck!
Cheers
GPC
Too much mustang left in that pile of rust.
Itll take some effort to make it a complete lump of rust.
I’m from Pa. It’s not that ugly from a rust-belt state point of view. I’ve seen worst ones here that had a higher price tag.
I’m glad no one likes it and has no interest. The less interest/bidders the better.
If this owner/seller was a real salesman the car would have been cleaned and taken some decent pics. Put air in the tires and put the hubcaps on. They would make it much more attractive.
I see (as much as the pics show) the quarters have paint on most of the remaining panel. Maybe there are floors and maybe there aren’t, but there appears to be carpet in place. What it lies on nobody knows. I’d like better pictures of the ones provided. And we all know under-body pictures would tell a lot more if the right person took them. I wish the fender apron pictures were better as well. They are shown but they don’t show much. Obviously a hands-on inspection would be best.
The engine looks to be 68-69 by the script style on the air cleaner, the oil cap and the dual vacuum distributor. It does have a dual master cylinder, so that was updated. Maybe a 3 speed since its a C code car, but maybe a 4 speed since the engine was changed.
Interesting rear bumper too, just the left end???
What’s the story on the 61-64 Lincoln convertible behind the Mustang?
I don’t know much about these cars but do love the looks of the fastbacks. I’ve heard mention of folks converting coupes to fastbacks could this have value in that type of project?
Hey, this is just an old junkyard hulk, like thousands of old rusty cars in salvage yards across the country. If a buyer is stupid enough to lay out 7 Grand, then I congratulate the seller for their salesmanship!. I doubt it has more than $300 in usable parts. The engine is a 302 from 72′-74, and also not worth much, compared to building a good 5.0 roller motor for the same $$. Looks like the seller is cleaning out their junkyard, maybe the county blight people are hot on their tail.
Charmin? Who has Charmin? Where can I get it please, this car? Keep it, move on cause there’s nothing here, but if you find Charmin, please get in touch
pop cans