Per the advice of another member I am posting this question here. I am looking to buy a Mustang this summer, 65-70 model years, and was hoping to get some advice. I want a V8 and something that I can drive without having to spend a lot of money on. I certainly dont want a show car and I'm can't really afford to spend more than 10 grand. Any advice you could give on what I should be looking for, what I should watch out for (how to tell a good car from a lemon) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Looking for a Classic Stang
- Thread starter jimbo1177
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LMan
Founding Member
To find a nice driver for less than $10k you will probably have to stick with a coupe; the fastbacks and verts have just gotten too expensive and you will most likely have to put a lot into a $10k FB or convert. On the plus side you should be able to get a really nice coupe of any year you want, plus have a bit of cash left over for some rims or something. I would recommend keeping an eye out for a 289, 302, or 351 v8 car, as they are the easiest and cheapest to maintain and tune. I would also look for a 4 speed manual, as it is a little bit more exclusive and fun than the majority of coupes out there.
68converted
Member
I got my daily driver 68 vert. for $4200. It was in pretty decent shape, but I am sure if I had been more patient I could have been able to find a better ride for a few bucks more. If you are willing to drive to another state you can do a search for used stangs in the local papers (online listing of course) and find what you want.
I searched for one for a couple of months. My suggestion is to do your homework and you can find a nice daily driver for under $10K. Just leave some cash out for a few fixes and you will be set. I looked in all the southern and western states, (mine was a "garaged" seasonal driver out of Kansas) Good luck.
I searched for one for a couple of months. My suggestion is to do your homework and you can find a nice daily driver for under $10K. Just leave some cash out for a few fixes and you will be set. I looked in all the southern and western states, (mine was a "garaged" seasonal driver out of Kansas) Good luck.
LMan
Founding Member
BDT 1967
Member
I got a great deal on my 67 vert, the owner was going bankrupt and he was willing to take half what he was asking, I ended up paying 5,500 for my car. But I did have to drive 3 states to get it. And then I ended up putting at least 15k in it to restore it. Any way, take a magnet and run it along the lower parts of the panels and fender wells so check for bondo, I would also recommend checking the trunk and floor pans for rust, one of the worst jobs i did on my car was replacing those floor pans.
zookeeper
Founding Member
The very best advice I can give you is to set a budget (which you've already done) and find the absolute nicest car you can for that money. I think you can find a nice car, maybe even a fastback for $10K if you're willing to be patient. Never, ever buy a rusty car, and that includes a car that's had serious rust repair. A guy I work with replaced the floor pans,quarters, doors, fenders and trunk lid on his '67 coupe and thought he was through with rust. But then a couple years ago he saw rust bubbles in the rain gutters. When he stripped the gutter area for repair he found it was rusting from the inside out! The whole roof was rotting when he looked under the headliner. Now how are you going to repair that? Replace the roof? When do you throw in the towel on a car? Common areas to look for include the floors, lower door edges (feel under the door edge when it's open) the rain gutters, and the dreaded cowl rust. You can't see if the cowl is rusted, but if the car has one of those plastic cowl covers over the vents ahead of the windshield, it's rusted. Pour a quart of water into the cowl and see if it winds up in the carpet if you want to know for sure, it should drain behind the front wheels if it's ok. Other than that, just treat buying a Mustang like any other used car. That is, check the quantity and quality of the fluids, ask to see any service records or receipts and don't believe the seller if he/she says the engine and trans was just rebuilt, but they lost the receipt. If they can't prove it, it didn't happen.
68converted
Member
jimbo1177 said:
Keep in mind that you can find great "project" cars in your area. Meaning someone could have picked a car up from a southern state, started to restore it, took it all apart, and something came up and they have to sell. Almost happened to me when I got a divorce last year. Also, look for the too good to be true deals. I know that sounds stupid, but my buddy liked my car so much he started looking for one for himself. He found a 67 convert. in South Dakota, that a lady was selling to get back at her ex husband. He bought it for 1500, in fairly nice condition and running. Sucks to be her ex when she told him what she sold it for.
fasttback
New Member
jimbo1177 said:
Here are some engine codes browed from another site:
Model 65 66 67 68 69 70
170 V
200 T T T T T T
250 L L
260 (V8) F
289 2V C C C C
289 4V+ D
289 4V A A A
289 HiPerf K K K
302 2V F F
302 4V J
302 4V Boss G G
351 2V* H H
351 4V** M M
390 2V Y
390 4V S S S
427 4V W
428 4V P
428 4V CJ O O
428 4V SCJ R R
429 4V Boss Z Z
+ 64-1/2 -only-
* Cleveland -or- Windsor
**Cleveland -only-
Yes, certain codes usually bring different prices.
fasttback
New Member
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