1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1

As the first of the Mach 1 Mustangs, the 1969 model year has to be our favourite, and represents an impressive effort put forward by Ford in the performance war of that era. This particular Mach 1 is presently for sale on Ebay USA with reserve not met, and bids just over $7,000 USD - find it here.  This represents a fantastic project for someone seeking a strong connection to the original Mustang shape, with the increased muscular aggression that we started seeing in American car design from the late 1960s / early 1970s. We will be watching the bidding activity with keen interest.

With over 72,000 units produced in the 1969 year, the Mach 1 in itself is not particularly rare, but lets not forget how many of these cars have faired far worse than this particular example. This seller claims that this particular car is one of 2,866 vehicles ordered to this specification, and we note that this car was originally fitted with the top of the range "R-Code" engine option, being the 428ci V8, producing 335 bhp. Sadly, the original engine is no longer with the vehicle.

With a bit of panel beating and rust repair, its original 'Candy Apple Red' paint would look great against the Mach 1 body decals, and perhaps you could throw on a set of 12 slot wheels for a period finish. Although the car needs a lot of work, some serious ‘cleaning up’ has already been done by the current seller, and they claim that the panels are all straight, and there are no structural rust issues. The car is sold with a bundle of spare parts, which would be very helpful to any restorer, however, parts for American pony cars are readily available aftermarket, and are much cheaper than their international counterparts.

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UPDATE July 2016:

Following the sale, the purchaser has been in contact with us, and provided some additional images of the vehicle (see the last 10 images in the list). The current owner has started undertaking work on the car, and tracking down remaining original parts that are missing. They found another car (Cougar) with a 69 Mach 1 Hurst transmission in it, and the 428ci engine  - it was running well and has been sent for a clean-up before installation in the Mustang.

The owner confirms the car is in really good shape. The floor pans are great, with the only real issue being the passenger side quarter panel which needs replacement. More updates and images to come as the project unfolds! Stay tuned.