Hey there, I'm brand new here. I used to drive a '97 Cobra back in the 90s-early 2000s and always loved mustangs. I've always intended to pick up a first generation mustang as a project, and haven't gotten around to it until now. I've identified a car I'm interested in, and I'm coming in as a novice to scoping out vintage cars as well as a novice to restoration.

From what I can tell it looks pretty clean on the surface, owner says everything is original on it (there does appear to be a rebuilt carburetor). It's a hard top. The interior has some holes in a seat and looks aged, there's a little surface rust on the suspension and the engine looks to be in clean shape, no rust. I couldn't see any rust on the body. The paint is original, there's some scratches and small dents to it, but still looks pretty nice. Engine is 289 2v and I checked the numbers, they match. The car does run.

I'm close to pulling the trigger on it, but as a newbie, I'd like to know what are some things I should look out for, and what price ranges I should offer on this sort of condition. The prices I see vary wildly online, but is somewhere in the 5,000-7,000 range fair for what I've described (barring any red flags you folk might be aware of) Thanks for the help.

 

Any history of restoration? If so, what documentation/photos?

It may look nice. But I'm willing to say that, unless it has been a desert-climate car for the entire time, there will be plenty of hidden rust. Some in places that require a fair amount of work in order to repair.

I am not casting any aspersions on the seller. But be aware that other vintage Mustangs have been offered as restored, and looked good. Upon detailed inspection, unspeakable nightmares were found.

Got a local shop or mechanic that has some specialty in Mustangs? Talk to them and let them see the car too. If the owner declines that inspection, it is red flag time.

 

It's not been restored at all, he's touting it as all original. I will be taking someone with me to inspect next weekend.

It's been in California the whole time, so not desert but not humid either.

 

Alright I did some inspecting over the weekend and here's the skinny: It's a 1965, 3 speed, 289, hard top coupe. Numbers match. The interior is beat and needs replacing, paint job needed as well. It's got some dents on the rear (quite a few but not major, needs a rear bumper too) and has a spot just behind the door where it's flat by the trunk that had some bondo and looks like someone dropped something on it. The paint actually is in pretty decent shape for old paint other than those spots.

There's little to no material rust on the car, looks like it's never been touched or restored. The engine definitely is in need of a rebuild, does have a new carburetor, but it does start and run, breaks need replacing as well. It's not completely beat to heck though, most the body's in pretty good shape. What kind of offer would you say is fair to make this guy on a car like that? I want this for a restoration project of some sort, want to get it up to close to show quality, will not be using as a daily driver.

 

Just make sure that the car has never been in any sort of wreck. Speaking from experience, bought a 1966 Mustang, looked great, paint job okay, interior presentable, $3500. After about three months of work, we brought someone over to quote us on a new paint job and he told us the car was hit in the passenger side rear wheel well and the frame was most likely bent. You would not know it at a glance, their rear quarter repair was an excellent cover up. We had to sell the car because our home-built skills only go so far. It ended up for the better though, we bought the 67 for $1500 and I am even impressed with the results. In summary, just be careful because outward appearance can be very deceiving. Other than that, the Mustang you found sounds like a fairly good buy, probably exactly what we were expecting that our 66' was going to be.

 

There is no such thing as numbers match for a 65. That didn't start until 67.

Expect to overhaul the trans and maybe the rear end. All of that costs money. I have a 65, believe I know.

 

I too have a 65, and doing things right does cost BUT Mustang parts are plentiful and relatively cheap. Enjoy.

 

Yikes! That's a frightful story. I'd hate to find that out. It doesn't look like it's been in anything too bad, just a few scrapes from what I can tell looking at it. The guy balked pretty hard when I offered him $3,500 though. I may go up to $4,500, not sure yet. Still going back and forth trying to get some information (he lost the trunk key, I need to see inside). I don't want to lose my shorts on this, basically. Restored, I'm guessing I can get in the 10k range?

I'm a little scared of the bondo spot, but it looks more like something heavy was dropped wrong on the top while trying to get something into the trunk more than a wreck type of injury from the way it's situated.

I meant the Vehicle Warranty number and all of the parts match for what they're supposed to be.