1965 Ford Mustang

Coupe

6 - Cyl.

Automatic

Gasoline

A plain-jane '65 Mustang that's definitely been around the block a few thousand times. This was my sister's first car, purchased around 1980 in the Midwest (Ohio or Indiana, can't remember). In the mid-'80s my sis moved to California and the Mustang came along for the ride. It's been here ever since. Yellow is not this car's original color, which was a metallic copper. Pretty much everything else is original, including the six-cylinder engine and automatic transmission. The little 200 six is ridiculously reliable and doesn't smoke. It does have a slightly leaky exhaust manifold gasket though (always did, as I recall), and since the car wasn't started for quite awhile, one or two lifters are a bit noisy. I believe the lighted grille pony was a dealer-installed accessory, and it's about the only "deluxe" item on the whole car. The original AM radio still resides in the uncut dash, below which are mounted an ancient FM converter and CB radio. Hey, it was the '80s. Who knows if those things still work? The dashpad has one large crack, the carpet is disintegrating, and after a weld broke on the driver's seat about 30 years ago, the two front seats were switched with each other. Virtually all the stitching on the original headliner is coming apart, as seen in one of the photos. In other words, conditions you'd find in a well-used car of this vintage. Outside, the Mustang definitely shows a bit of Midwest heritage. The quarter panels are intact but obviously have seen rust. I think a little piece of the passenger-side floor was patched a couple decades ago, although I believe the driver's side is original. I'll check further and add notes to this listing as necessary. If I were to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure there's an arrow-straight panel on this car. It was well-loved but well used. All the glass is in good shape. In the early 2000's it needed a front-end alignment and I simply parked it in the back yard and used my other car instead. And it's not been driven since. I kept the registration up to date until a couple years ago, when California's auto taxes went up prohibitively. It's now registered as non-operational, which is cheaper. While it was parked, the gas tank developed a pinhole leak, so now the Mustang has a brand new tank and sending unit. The changeover allowed inspection of the trunk floor where the tank mounts; it's in perfect shape (no rust), with every sheet-metal bolt capable of being turned-down tight. The Mustang starts and drives, shifts into all gears without slipping, and--surprisingly for a car that's been sitting so long--the brakes are very good. Still, I wouldn't trust them without at least an inspection to make sure all's well. All lights, accessories, and gauges work. The actual mileage is a complete guess, but the term "spring chicken" no longer applies to this pony. :-) Letting a car like this just sit around is a travesty, but I don't really have the time or space to keep it. It deserves better treatment. Happy bidding!On Nov-26-10 at 09:35:56 PST, seller added the following information:I've had several questions about rust, condition of the floors, etc., so I snapped a few more photos of the car's underside. View them here: http://www.rightafterthis.com/onlinesale1.html The passenger floor is slightly more damaged by rust than the driver's floor. On the plus side, you can see that most of the original sheet metal is visible from the bottom. On the minus side, it's obviously seen the effects of the "tin worm", almost all of which is at the angle where the floor slopes upward at the front. The rocker panels appear to be in very good shape. One photo shows the car from the underside with the camera facing rearward. It reminded me that a few years ago we had a new exhaust system installed, and as well, I believe some of the front-end (steering components, etc.) was rebuilt. As for the alignment issue, it could be anything from simple adjustments to rust-related. I simply don't know. I think this car--before the newer front-end parts--had power steering, but the pump belt was never connected (who needs power steering on a 6-cylinder anyway?). The steering components are now manual, although I believe I still have the bracket to mount the pump to the engine. My sister had that work done so I wasn't around to "take notes." Photos tend to hide flaws, so take that into account. This little car has seen a lot of miles. The paint is an Earl Scheib job dating back (I think) to the late '80s. To clarify my original listing description, there actually ARE a few straight panels: the hood, the trunk lid, and the roof. The bumper fit is poor; not sure why. I do have some service records, although it's probably not a complete file. At least it gives some idea of what's been worked on.