Ok, well my search for a mustang has brought me to a 1966 coupe. It's a one owner 289 car that is all original except the motor, which has been changed out to a 302. The body is in pretty good shape, a little surface rust and one small spot of cancer on the front left fender. The paint looks pretty bad, no luster at all left in it, and looks like it possibly could be original as well. The engine runs strong, and it has all new seals, the owner is a mechanic and he jsut went through the whole motor. The interior looks pretty good as well, only a few tears and is really dirty, as is most of the car. He is asking $3,500, wich my gut feeling says is a little much for a car in this condition, but I really don't know Mustangs too well, so I thought I'd check on here for what people thought.
Classic Value?
- Thread starter Blue Jay
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Cobain03
Active Member
well the 302 is gonna hurt the value a lil since its not the orginal motor, i am right now in the process of searching for mine and if you want my advice here it is. Dont jump on it if you think you might regret it. there are many classic stangs out ther you just got to find them (which is the hard part lol) also you should think about how much you want to put into one and if this meets your needs. "If it can go wrong, it probably will" ha ha classic quote but has a lot of meaning
Well, I only took a few pictures, I wish now that I took more. I will likely take more this afternoon when I go to drive it.
I am not really looking for an all original restore project, I am looking more for a resto mod, so the 302 doesn't really bother me much. What I am looking for is a cheap car that needs work but is driveable. This one meets the bill, but I don't want to spend too much on it.
I am not really looking for an all original restore project, I am looking more for a resto mod, so the 302 doesn't really bother me much. What I am looking for is a cheap car that needs work but is driveable. This one meets the bill, but I don't want to spend too much on it.
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Did you take the top hose off to get a clearer shot? A car is worth what someone is willing to pay. That being said, it seems too much to me. When you test dirve it, trust your gut. I'd try to talk him down, but if you can't, just remember what Cobain03 said. There are lots of Mustangs out there, it just may take some time to get a good deal.
Timmy
Founding Member
You can’t drive it till the radiator hose is replaced. Looks like it’s been gone for a while. I also noticed the floor on the drivers side is WET. That’s not good. More than likely the cowl is rusted out and that will take big bucks and lots of time to correct.
The rust around the back glass might not look like much but that’s a sign of problems. The area around the window seal that you can’t see is more than likely in bad shape.
Is the trunk wet? Check the sides of the trunk. If the area around the window is rusted, it very well may have rusted through to the trunk. Check the top of the trunk, not the trunk lid. Stick you head in there and really look around.
Look over the car and estimate what it’s going to take in time and money to fix it. Then TRIPLE them both. Even that’s not enough on some projects.
I would not give $3500 for it. Just my 2 cents
The rust around the back glass might not look like much but that’s a sign of problems. The area around the window seal that you can’t see is more than likely in bad shape.
Is the trunk wet? Check the sides of the trunk. If the area around the window is rusted, it very well may have rusted through to the trunk. Check the top of the trunk, not the trunk lid. Stick you head in there and really look around.
Look over the car and estimate what it’s going to take in time and money to fix it. Then TRIPLE them both. Even that’s not enough on some projects.
I would not give $3500 for it. Just my 2 cents
Well, the floor was wet because it was muddy and I tracked it into the car. The Hose is being put on today so that I can drive it, as well as the battery replaced. How can I check to see if the cowl is rusted out?
There are also currently no inner fenders on the car, so I can see all the way through. What and where do I need to check for bad rust that would steer me away from this car. What I have found on it so far is simply surface rust, but it was not a very thourgh inspection.
There are also currently no inner fenders on the car, so I can see all the way through. What and where do I need to check for bad rust that would steer me away from this car. What I have found on it so far is simply surface rust, but it was not a very thourgh inspection.
Blue Jay said:
Looks kinda rough for that money, I think you can do better. Especially for a coupe. There is lots out there. Pour water or run a hose over the cowl and check inside to see if its leaking in. Also do this with the windshield and back glass. Good luck.
Ps. The carpet looks like water damage from before you tracked water in. See where it is dark and wet looking going up the side of the tunnel, and then turns to a dry, faded look. Hard to tell from a picture, but when you run the water in the cowl, pull the carpet back from the floorboard under the pedals to check, cause sometimes a cowl leak is not obvious. Also ask if he mindes if you unscrew the sill plate and pull the carpet back enough to get a look at the pans. That way you can see if they are rotted, wet or whatever.
Just take a bucket of water or a garden hose and apply some water to the cowl area, then see if theres any in the floor. Chances are, its rusted out there unless it was previously repaired (I doubt it). Ford did not paint that area inside and years of water and gunk takes its toll. The best way (pretty much the only way) to fix it requires removing the fenders, hood, windshield. The drilling out lots of spot welds and splitting the cowl, cutting out the old panels and welding in repair panels, being careful not to tweak anything, undercoating is popular to spay to prevent future problems. Its very time consuming, but not very expensive if you can tackle it yourself. But if you want a fixer-upper you'll most likely have to do this job. Look under the car and see if you can see any damage or repair panels (good indication of a leaky cowl too).
Blue Jay said:
Makes sense. I did not see the GT gas cap among other things, so I was a little suspicious. Anyway, if it runs good and you want it, make him a lower cash offer and be prepared to walk away. The guy I bought mine from wanted 4k and I held up 29 100 dollar bills and drove it away.
Yea, I am definatly thinking along the lines of making a lower offer and walking away. There aren't a lot of Mustangs really close, but there are a good amount within 100 miles, this is just the closest one. There is also a pretty good looking 72 Cutlass within a hundered miles that I am interested in, and it's about the same price, but in a lot better shape. There is also another 66 that I am going to go look at after I finish with this one. So I have other prospects.
Pakrat
Founding Member
Likely his price has some wiggle room built in, but assuming for a second you don't find the serious problems everyone else has already pointed out, I'd say half of what he is asking is about all I'd pay for it and that would likely be considered an insult to him.
Let's put it another way, if I was looking at 2 identically priced cars of the same make and model, and one has a sh:t body but is running and somewhat mechanically sound and the other has a great body but a seized or non running engine, I'd take the good body one in a heart beat.
I know you said the engine runs strong, but without a hose I assume you were told that and haven't experienced it for yourself, and the engine does not look well maintained, so I would say this car has both strikes against it. Basically a head to toe job.
When is the last time the car was registered? No offense to the 65/66 coupe owners on the board, but this particular model is a dime a dozen. There are probably almost more of this model available out there than all the other years and models totalled. 100 miles is nothing compared to years of agravation and good money thrown after bad. I live in New England and after a 2 year search for what I wanted, I finally bought a car from Missouri. Just weeks before I finally talked myself out of buying this local car I had checked out many times. Believe it or not, they were both asking the exact same firm price, but for an additional $500 in shipping I got twice the car for my money and I have thanked God every day since that I didn't take what I thought was the easy way out or rush to a decision based on emotion and desire over common sense.
Pak.
Let's put it another way, if I was looking at 2 identically priced cars of the same make and model, and one has a sh:t body but is running and somewhat mechanically sound and the other has a great body but a seized or non running engine, I'd take the good body one in a heart beat.
I know you said the engine runs strong, but without a hose I assume you were told that and haven't experienced it for yourself, and the engine does not look well maintained, so I would say this car has both strikes against it. Basically a head to toe job.
When is the last time the car was registered? No offense to the 65/66 coupe owners on the board, but this particular model is a dime a dozen. There are probably almost more of this model available out there than all the other years and models totalled. 100 miles is nothing compared to years of agravation and good money thrown after bad. I live in New England and after a 2 year search for what I wanted, I finally bought a car from Missouri. Just weeks before I finally talked myself out of buying this local car I had checked out many times. Believe it or not, they were both asking the exact same firm price, but for an additional $500 in shipping I got twice the car for my money and I have thanked God every day since that I didn't take what I thought was the easy way out or rush to a decision based on emotion and desire over common sense.
Pak.
There are probably almost more of this model available out there than all the other years and models totalled.
thats cause the 65/66 coupes are the best!
that engine doesnt look like its been touched in years, i'd be willing to bet that he didnt go through it and replace all the seals...if he had he would have at least cleaned the crap off it. the rust around the bolts and the intake manifold tell me that that motor hasnt been removed or dissassembled in a long time.
thats cause the 65/66 coupes are the best!
that engine doesnt look like its been touched in years, i'd be willing to bet that he didnt go through it and replace all the seals...if he had he would have at least cleaned the crap off it. the rust around the bolts and the intake manifold tell me that that motor hasnt been removed or dissassembled in a long time.
I have already gotten a little of the wiggle room out of him because it was originally listed at $4,500, but he told me $3,500 on the phone "was the lowest he would take." I just don't know how much truth there is in that statement. I was thinking offer around $2,000 firm and walk away providing it runs strong and there are none of the aforementioned horrible problems.
dolfan87
Founding Member
Blue Jay, You're on the right track...no more than 2000.00. You had mentioned earlier that the "inner fenders weren't on, and you could see right through"...what did you mean by that?
Are you talking about the splash shields under the front fenders, or did you mean in the trunk?
This comment had me worried a bit.
Are you talking about the splash shields under the front fenders, or did you mean in the trunk?
This comment had me worried a bit.
LMan
Founding Member
3500 is too high by a bit. Looks like rust hiding under there...Id pay 3500 for a truly rust-free 66 coupe with a blown engine rather than the other way around, serious rust dooms the early Mustang. See what the cowl looks like and check the frame rails closely.
