need help buying 65 mustang?

Question

hey friends, I plan to travel several hundred miles to look at a 1965 mustang thats for sale. I know (remember) very little about them , this was the first car (simular) that i ever owned in 1966 (darn how time flies). the photos i received look fanastic. red coupe with 289ci 2brl carb auto. it was advertised to be in almost? show condition, and redone about 2 years ago, no rust. i am not a dealer, reseller show person etc. and really don't know exactly what to look for. i plan to keep this car (if bought) and pass it on to one of my children. i can use and would really appreciate any advise you could pass on, SOUNDS like an honest person that i have been talking to (current owner) but who knows. did the 65's come with A/C vents in dash are were they all the hang-on type? how is rack & pinion steering different than the original? how do i check the compression and what should it be? what would be a fair (average) price if its in show or almost show?? condition. Thanks in advance

Answer 1

If it has rack and pinion then the entire front suspension has been replaced with something that is not standard and may be difficult to impossible to find parts for unless you know who made it. Also if that has been done then it is far from being "nearly in show condition". All the 65's & 66's had hang on AC's. If it has dash vents then it has been modified to accept one of several aftermarket units out there. Again, you need to know who made it for parts purposes. Take an icepick with you and use it under the car to check the floor boards for rust through. The car is a unibody which means it has a subframe up front for the engine and one at the rear for the rear axle. They are held together by the floorpans. Rusted through floor pans are a MAJOR problem. There's nothing on the cars which can't be repaired/replaced. All it takes is $$$$$$$$$$. Lots of it. I just finished restoreing a '65 coupe with my grandson. We stripped it down to the body shell and rebuilt or replaced everything on it. Two years and $20,000+ later it looks magnificient. Not show condition as we built it to drive, not show. Has a lot of goodies it didn't come with. They're nice cars but you really need to look closely and maybe even see if you can find someone in a local Mustang club, familiar with the old ones, to help you evaluate it. I have a, mostly original, '68 that I drive. Good luck and good hunting.

Answer 2

Do a search for a restoration shop close to the car and offer the owner or an employee some money to go look at it with you. Or arrange to have it looked over in the shop. Make sure it isn't a shop that has worked on the car though.

Answer 3

You should contact a local Mustang club. I am quite sure someone would be available to go with you to check it out. Where is it located and where are you ? I can check to see if there is someone who could help. It could try to explain what to look for, but a trained pair of eyes is much better in this situation.