Used Car of the Day: 1965 Ford Mustang

by Tim Healey

Published: June 6th, 2023

Today's UCOTD is a 1965 Ford Mustang fastback that appears to need some work.

This car has a 289 cubic-inch motor and needs to be restored. The motor cranks but it's not clear if the car runs. And there is rust.

It's an eBay auction linked to our forums, so the price might vary. Check it out here and here.

[Images: Seller]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.

#UCOTD #Ford #UsedCaroftheDay #FordMustang

Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

More by Tim Healey

Comments

Join the conversation

4 of 23 comments

Tassos on Jun 07, 2023

I know some would want to own a collectible Mustang. (sure as hell not me. This crappy 'secretary's car' (that was exactly its intended buying demo) was as sophisticated (transl. : CRUDE) as the FLintstone's mobile. Solid Real Axle? Are you effing kidding me?

There is a huge number of these around, so they are neither expensive nor valuable.

WHen it came out, it was $2,000 or so new. A colleague bought a recent one with the stupid Ecoboost which also promised good fuel economy. He drives a hard bargain and spends time shopping and I remember he paid $37k ( the fool only bought domestic crap, but luckily he is good with his hands and can fix lots of stuff on them).

He told me that the alleged fuel economy is obtained only if you drive it like a VERY old lady. WHich defeats the purpose, of course, you might as well buy a used Toyota Yaris (not even a Corolla).

1 Reply
- Lou_BC on Jun 07, 2023
  
  I don't see Americans paying this sort of cash for Merc's of the same vintage.
  If one uses an inflation calculator that 2k would be 19,261.14. That's very close to the reserve price for this car.
  
  Like
- Jeff S on Jun 07, 2023
  
  Lou_BC--A Mercedes has to be very old before most of them are worth anything. Some of the mid 80s Mercedes are becoming collector cars. Anything made by Mercedes in the last 20 years will likely never be collector cars because they are not built to last. The worst buy for someone without money is to buy a used Mercedes the maintenance alone is enough to make many go broke. The early Mustangs will likely increase in value and hold their value. The worst Mustangs for holding their value in the past have been the Mustang II but even nice examples of those are starting to increase in value. True the Mustang originally was a sporty car based on the Falcon platform with many Falcon components and the original price made them affordable to many secretaries especially with the straight 6 but the image of the secretary's car has long passed and to put that stigma on most of today's Mustangs is outdated but then some on this site are outdated. An almost 20 year old diesel Mercedes doesn't evoke a sporty image for most of us. When I was growing up my dream car was not a diesel Mercedes but more like a Mustang, Shelby Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, GTO, 442, Chevelle SS, Impala SS with a 409, XKE, Grand Prix, and Charger with a big block engine. Most pre-teen and teen boys in the 60s dreamed of those cars and none of the dreamed of a diesel Mercedes. A gull wing Mercedes would be the only Mercedes a boy of that era would dream of but they are truly a beautiful car and a work of art.
  
  Like
BEPLA on Jun 07, 2023

I think it's cool the way it is.

If I had the money, time and space - I'd buy it, clean it up, and just do enough to get it running properly.

Then take it to Cars and Coffee and park it next to all the newer Mustangs.

Like Reply
- Jeff S on Jun 08, 2023
  
  I think this Mustang running even without restoration would draw a lot of attention at Cars and Coffee or any car show. Most of the Mustangs of this vintage you see at shows are the notch backs or convertibles you rarely see a fastback.
  
  Like

Recent Comments

ToolGuy Good for them.
ToolGuy "I'm an excellent driver."
Tassos If a friend who does not care about cars asks me what to buy, I tell her (it usually is a she) to get a Toyota or a Lexus. If she likes more sporty cars, a Honda or a MiataIf a friend is a car nut, they usually know what they want and need no help. But if they still ask me, I tell them to get a Merc or AMG, a 911, even an M3 if they can fix it themselves. If they are billionaires, and I Do have a couple of these, a Ferrari or an even more impractical Lambo.
ToolGuy Good for them, good for me.
Tassos While I have been a very satisfied Accord Coupe and CIvic Hatch (both 5-speed) owner for decades (1994-2017 and 1991-2016 respectively), Honda has made a ton of errors later.Its EVs are GM clones. That alone is sufficient for them to sink like a stone. They will bleed billions, and will take them from the billions they make of the Civic, Accord, CRV and Pilot.Its other EVs will be overpriced as most Hondas, and few will buy them. I'd put my money on TOyota and his Hybrid and Plug-in strategy, until breaktrhus significantly improve EVs price and ease of use, so that anybody can have an EV as one's sole car.