1966 Ford Mustang Coupe - Springtime Yellow

This is the story of my wife's 66 Mustang.

In March of 1985, I saw a little Mustang on the lot of a car dealer friend of mine. It wasn't anything fancy - just a plain old 66 Mustang with a 6 cylinder, no power, no air, and faded gold paint. But I bought it for my wife, and she has always loved it.

Other than a poor paint job, it was in pretty good shape and ran well. But sometime in the early 90's, the headliner started sagging (like all of them do). So, I took it to the best auto upholsterer in town, Bill Barrett. To properly re-do the suspended headliner in these cars, you must pull the windshield and back glass completely out.

While Bill had the windshield and back glass out, I took it to RT Blackburn who ran a 1 man body shop and told him: 'Please get rid of this awful faded gold paint job and put it back to the original color', which is Springtime Yellow. Almost $2,000 later (which was a lot for a paint job back then), the old paint was gone, and it looked like new.

Then back to the upholsterer, who finished re-doing the headliner. I forget how much that was, but seems it was around $800.

Now she had a Mustang she could be proud of!! And she enjoyed driving it around town - in the winter. But not so much in the summer since it did not have air conditioning - in the summers it would sit in the garage.

Then about 25 years ago we moved to the country, and she rarely drove it because the road was just too rough for it. So, it sat in the barn and eventually would not start. And there it sat for 18 years!

This spring I decided it was time to get it out and either drive it or sell it. So, my mechanic came for it one day, and we pulled it out and loaded it on his trailer. $1500 and a month later I got it back - running!

Here is a list of the things he did to get it back in running condition:

· New tires

· New gas tank, fuel lines, fuel pump, & filter

· Overhauled the carburetor

· New oil & filter

· New points, condenser, wires, and cap

· New carpet (the old carpet was faded and looked bad)

It is in what I would call 'good running condition' - starts easy, shifts, & stops - no inappropriate noises. We did not try to fix every little thing - for example, replace wiper blades, fix the heater, fix the horn, replace the radio, etc. I am leaving those things for the next owner to play with.

After getting it back from the mechanic, I spent several evenings polishing and cleaning on it. After 18 years in the barn, it was coated with dust. And we had built and painted a farm gate in the barn and got overspray on the Mustang - but with a lot of sweat and elbow grease it all came off! The car cleaned up very nicely - in fact, better than I expected. The paint is still in very good condition, with some 'freckling' & a few nicks here and there. The chrome looks good, with some obvious aging. And the interior looks good, considering I believe it is the original and is over 50 years old!

After I cleaned it all up, I loaded it on a trailer and took it to town to the car wash and cleaned the engine compartment and sprayed the wire wheels (I was not going to try to do them by hand).

Then my wife took it for about a 5-mile drive for old times' sake (I have pictures and videos).

Now it is up for sale. Here are my comments on the various aspects that a buyer will want to know. If there is something you want to know that I have not commented on, just send me an email.

MECHANICAL:

Engine - starts easily and runs smoothly - does not overheat even if idling for a long time.

Transmission - shifts smoothly just as it should.

Muffler - quiet, seems to still be ok.

Brakes - stops fine - no noise - mechanic replaced cylinders in the front - back seemed ok

BODY:

Very good condition considering is over 50 years old.

Paint is in very good condition, with some pimples showing up here and there. Of course, there are a few nicks and scratches here and there (remember, this car was driven regularly before it sat in the barn for 18 years).

No significant rust except for one spot in the trunk where the spare tire sits that is rusted all the way through - there is a picture showing this. Wheel wells only have surface rust and are in good shape.

In the rain channels above the doors there is some cracking and surface rust and behind each of the rear windows there are stress cracks - see pictures.

INTERIOR:

Good considering is over 50 years old.

Carpet - new - replaced due to serious fading.

Dash - new dash cover - no radio.

Seats - believed to be original - each front seat has a significant separation at the top on the outboard side - see pictures - driver seat has some seams that are starting to separate. Back seats are in good condition.

Headliner - excellent! Headliner was professionally replaced about 25 years ago, and the car has been inside virtually the entire time since then - so the headliner is still in excellent condition!

Floor panels - mechanic replaced the carpet and took some pictures of the floor panels - good shape with some previous work evident that was done before I purchased the car in 1985. (see pictures)

Wheel covers - these are believed to be original Ford wire wheel covers and are very rare - and they are also very expensive, if you can even find them. Aftermarket knockoffs run about $400. They are in very good condition (not perfect, but very good). Way back in the 90's I riveted a wire strap to each one and hooked them under a lug nut so nobody could steal them - at least not easily.

Windows - I had an auto customizing shop for many years, and I had my window tinter tint the windows - the tint is still in good shape and helps keep the hot Texas sun out of the car when driving.

PICTURES AND VIDEO:

I have a lot more pictures and several videos available that I could not post - just email me and I will provide whatever you want.

CONCLUSION:

Overall this is a solid 66 Mustang with a few minor things that you would expect from a car that is over 50 years old. It would be a good 'parade' car right now. To drive it legally on the road, you will need to complete the mechanical aspects, such as wiper blades, emergency brake, and horn. After that, it should pass an inspection in most states.

Or if someone wants a solid car as a basis for installing a 289, then this would work for that also.

Again, the car is solid with no major flaws - just the things you expect from an old car.

QUESTIONS:

If you have any questions, just contact me - I will answer any reasonable question honestly and will provide as much information as I have - I want whoever buys it to be happy with their purchase!