1983 Ford Mustang GL is a Total Time Capsule

By John Coyle - December 13, 2020

This 1983 Ford Mustang GL wasn’t the most potent offering of its year, but its condition makes it super special.

When gearheads dream about finding a decades-old Mustang that’s been lovingly preserved, it’s probably safe to say that a brown 1983 GL with a V6 and a three-speed automatic isn’t exactly the model which comes to mind.

But while this example which recently popped up on Bring a Trailer is far from the hottest machine to ever sport a Blue Oval, the fact that it’s been kept in near-showroom condition since the first years of the Reagan administration has given it a luster it just didn’t have when it was new.

Because while this is a two-owner car, there are just 66 miles on the clock. According to the listing, the first owner was — somewhat unsurprisingly — a car dealer, who plucked it from the crop of Mustangs available that year and decided to add it to his collection. Given that the first Radwood wouldn’t happen until the 2016, the motivation for doing so is a little unclear. One of the commenters over on the auction site floated the idea that keeping this turd-brown Pony in pristine would be a hilarious joke, and honestly, I think they’re on to something.

Because normally, when a car this pedestrian survives decades unscathed, it’s completely by accident. For a car like this — which is basically about as boring as Mustangs get — to make it into the 21st century in this shape, it couldn’t even have been the property of the proverbial little old lady who only drove it to church on Sundays.

Well, unless she was a complete heathen who lived right next to her preferred religious institution. And even then, staying this squeaky clean would have been a big stretch. In that way, this wheezy little coupe is more of a unicorn that the Shelby GT500 I wrote about last week. There’s actually a better-than-good chance this is the most well-preserved 1983 Mustang GL on the planet.

Of course, the question now is how much is something like this actually worth? And for the record? I’d like to say that as I write this post, the answer is way, way more than I would have ever expected. With nearly a week left to go, it’s sitting pretty at a very respectable $7,500, which — at least for me — is enough to score at least two far more interesting vehicles. Seriously, who are the buyers who want to bring this home? Are there that many folks who need this machine in their life. Am I missing the joke here?

Check out the auction, and the always-illuminating comments section, and see what you think. Because if you have any theories, wild or otherwise, about exactly how this sad trombone of a Mustang remains ready to play in the modern day, hit me up and let me know. There has to be a hilarious story here, and I’ll be keeping an eye on the listing to see if I can find out exactly what it is. So stay tuned…

Photos: Bring a Trailer