MustangLunacy

New to the forum... new to mustangs in general I suppose you can say. It's really my fiancee that LOVES them.. I really needed to get an opinion from some people who DO know about them, and thought this was my best bet.

Okay, some background. Fiancee loves mustangs, and older cars in general. Wants to get that magical "old car in the field" and fix it up. Well, I think I might have found it.

It's a '65 Mustang. In my opinion it looks in GREAT shape for a car as old as it is. It doesn't have a solid coat of paint, but not a lot of rust either. Only two rust spots (at least those bubble up the paint rust spots) and those are right infront of the side doors. The inside actually looks very nice.

The guy who's selling it is interesting. Yard all fenced in, electric wire on the fence.. lots of dogs. A for sale sign on the car, but no number on it to call. So I got brave one day when his fence was open and drove in and rang the doorbell. Older gentleman, quiet. Said he got to to rebuild, but never got around to it. Clear title, etc.

Now, it doesn't run, and hasn't for 10 years the man who's selling it said. He believes the reason it started not running was when he got it it had been sitting with a full tank of gas and crudded up the fuel system. It had also over heated, and he believed that was because of the fan shroud had fallen off. The engine is a strait six and the car even comes with another engine and extra parts (his friends had all rebuilt theirs and gave him their extra parts.). It's an automatic.

Okay! Now for the question, lol. How much should I pay??? He's asking $3000. When it comes to this kind of thing, I really don't have a clue. He's willing to go down, and to even take payments... So! Come on, need ya'll opinions. I was thinking of offering $1700?

Scott H.

Get a certified appraisal. Very cheap insurance that you are getting what you think you are. Pick up a copy of Hemmings motor news, or search the threads here. MustangPammie put a good web link to a company that does certified inspections.
Good luck, and welcome.

The stang II

SHouldn't be worth 3000. My car died on the freeway coming home after we got it bout 8 times. Fuel filter cruded with lead from gas from the 80's.

Bought it for 2 grand because the engine is rebuilt. Only reason why it was 2 grandtoo. 1700 seems reasonable.

mustanglover66

If your Fiancee wants a V8 car don't even consider it there is alot more than just changing engines the whole susention will have to be converted that alone will cost upwards of $2000. If you still are considering that car take a jug of water and pour it in the cowl the grill looking part just in front of the windsheld than look inside the car under the dash and floor if the water goes inside take your money and run away from that car as fast as you can that in about the worst repair these mustangs usally need done. if that checks out I would offer about $1000 and work to a max of the $1700 you mentioned and no more than that.

MustangLunacy

Now that water thing... I know the seller was talking about those body styles often rusting/a bunch of dirt collecting on the tops of the front side panels (in front on the door on either sides of the hood of the vehicle.. sorry I'm not too car orientated, though I'm learning), though he didn't think this one had any the only way to tell would be to remove the panels... I'm guessing this just makes sure it's just dust and not rust? Or maybe it's not even related. lol I'll see if the guy will let me do the water thing... I'm really not sure. I'm suprised I even went onto his property to ask, with all that fence and electric wire. You know in Texas, shoot first ask questions later, that's what this guy reminded me of.

At least from what I've got so far, he's pretty high priced. He seemed just to be waiting for an offer.. I don't know I couldn't get ANYTHING out of the guy, even though I tried. I just don't want to **** the old guy off and let him release his dogs on me, :P

As for that inspection, that company only does '80s models and up... That and I really don't have too much extra money (at least without him starting to wonder what I'm doing.). Hoping to at least get all of this by Christmas for a good present. Thanks everyone for your replies, I appreciate it all.

jarrettdad

Crawl underneath it and check the floors and frame rails. The body rust is fixable, as is the frame, but the frame gets a lot more interresting.

mustanglover66

You may want to get with souring he lives in texas, but I don't know where you are at texas is a big state but there are bunch of texens that frequent this form

Lumbergh

What he was telling you about the cowl is part of the story. The reason that the cowls on these Mustangs commonly rust out is two fold. One part is that those drains behind the fenders get clogged allowing water to sit up in the cowl. The second part is the lack of corrosion protection when the car was originally put together. The only really good way to test for leaks is to pour some water into the cowl and see if you get any drips or worse floods of water coming through to the inside of the car.

If your fiancee is a true Mustang nut, like my wife, I recommend against a 6 cylinder Mustang. She'll want a V8. My wife "settled" for a coupe with a 289. What she really wanted was a fastback with a 302 or bigger engine.

Finally, at least around here in Northern California, you can get a running, late 60's, 6 cylinder Mustang, needing paint but no major rust for $3,000 to $4,000 dollars. What you are describing would run around $1,500. In other words, it sounds like he is asking way too much. Resist the urge to buy; you need to be patient if you're going to get a good car. Don't put a time limit like by Christmas, or you'll likely end up overpaying. Afterall, it sounds like it's going to be a weekend type of car not a daily driver; so, there is no real immediate need to buy it.