Hey guys -I had an 05 on order til my dealer called today to tell me my car couldn't be built, and they were refunding my deposit. So now I'm thinking about ordering an 06, but i need a car til then. Ideally, i'd get a 66 or 67 fastback GT (not a shelby or even a clone - I'm not that rich!) and have that as a daily driver (more or less, i know I'd have to put some work into it regularly to keep it running, and other little details that might leave it in the shop 1 or 2 weeks at a time, occasionally) but tell me if I'm being reasonable here - can I find a good, near daily driver quality 66 or 67 fastback GT for around 20K? I'd resell it in Nov. to get the 06 (not necessarily trying to make money on it, but not losing much)

 

I didn't know you'd post in this forum (heck, I should've suggested it), but here's my response in the 05 forum thread.

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?showtopic=17896

 

yes, you can get a nice DD fastback for that price.

 

Good points, Blake in the other post. I guess my question is why do you want a 40 year old daily driver? Let's face it--they aren't practical. We drive them because we love them. I've been driving my GT for around 20 years and I still work on it. I don't mind it--it is what I do to relax. Still, if you are buying just to resell, I'd say save your money and keep what you have now. You don't want to dump cash into a car that you may not get your money back out of.

If you want a Mustang NOW, go to the other dealer. If you are willing to drop 20K on a car to resell in 6-9 months, pay the extra 1500 and get what you REALLY want now.

You realize that if you get a 67, you may realize that all of that cushy comfort is for weenies and stick with the rugged, testosterone dripping old car. 8)

In a nutshell, for that amount of money, get what you want, not something to tide you over.

-P

 

Man, I sound like such an adult. I think I need to go lay down.

 

Paul - good points, especially the one about not wanting to go back to the cishy new ones I'm basically considering the 67 bc its the car I've always wanted, and this is kind of a chance for me to get one, even if its just for a little while. I love them, but it would need to be a daily driver, reliable, and that can really only happen in the summertime. I wouldn't want to put the car through a KC winter anyways - the streets have more salt on them than a pretzel! But while I'm waiting for the 06, I figure I need a different car than my town car (9 years old now, and definitely due for something expensive to break on it), so what better to get for one summer than a 67?

 

Well thought out. As a Mizzou grad, I'm up close and personal with MO winters. My parents are north of St. Joe.

Sounds like you've thought it out. Remember, air conditioning!

--P

 

I say go for it. You should be able to find a nice 67 for $20k, maybe even one with a 5.0(EFI) in it for better driveablilty?

 

Doesn't sound like a very good plan to me...

People search months - sometimes years - to find a nice vintage fastback. Forgive me if I'm blunt: but you sound as if you think you can just make a couple calls and have one in your driveway tomorrow! Then when you do find one, you expect to just plop in it and take off? It's just not reasonable. These little cars are often a struggle to keep running well; and to expect daily duties from one is a pretty tall order. Even if you do find one in a relatively short time, you're likely to encounter hidden problems that the seller didn't own up to. It's a simple fact of life: you will have problems with a "new" vintage Mustang purchase.

My '66 fastback is my daily driver; but I'm self-employed and don't have to deal with commutes. I have the occassional meeting; but dread the thought of downtown Austin traffic with no power steering. It just ain't much fun! If you're not used to driving a vintage Mustang, odds are you'll feel terribly uncomfortable. Probably even a bit unsafe (until you get used to the loose steering and manual brakes).

If I were you, I'd find a Fox-body or SN95 that someone is looking to unload. It's going to have all the power goodies; a V8; and it's still a Mustang. I think you'd be better off leaving the vintage fastback until it can be a second car.

 

The only other car I've had as a daily driver besides my 96 town car is a 1963 Thunderbird. I've also used as a reliable driver a 1957 Thunderbird, and a 1950 Ford D-coupe. I'm pretty confident with stick shifts, no power steering and even (ugh) no A/C. The only thing that really does concern me, as you pointed out, is finding one. My family runs a car museum out here, so we go to several different car auctions a year, plus we keep in contact with a few other classics dealers. I think I'll be able to find one, I was just concerned with the price- after the whole Eleanor thing, there are so many fakes and real ones in bad condition, I just didn't want to get burned. The people that search years I imagine are searching for some special fastback, thats inexpensive but won't require too many years of restoration - I'm willing to put in the money it takes to get a good restored one, (as long as its not much over 20k), I'm just not too keen on getting one I have to spend all summer restoring, ya dig?

 

Yeah, dad... I dig! B)
Sounds like you have a few "ins" that will make things easier on you.
Good luck with your search, and be sure to post some pics of what you find.

 

:scratch:


Are you going to take good care of her?E-mail me

 

God, thats such a gorgeous color on that car - I'm looking for a green or black one. I dunno - take care of it? I was gonna street race it a while, maybe do some drunk driving in her, when I'm done I'll probably just wreck it for the insurance... are you mad? heck yes I'll take good care of it!!!! Thats a great car, John! - I can tell you've taken great care of her - I'll email you when I can afford it, but I'm selling my 1950 D-coupe to get the money for the 06 anyways, and it hasn't sold yet (only put it up for sale less than a month ago tho) but when it does sell, and I imagine it will by April or May, I'll definitely email you!! I detailed a car that looks a lot like that when I was a teen - and an S code, too - did you get that baby in KS?