should I buy it?

royalcrown

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Feb 18, 2009
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After looking any many, many different 65-66 fastbacks I think I've settled on "the one". My main concern is whether or not I'm paying too much for it. I'm listing its specs below as well as some pictures. The pictures absolutely don't do it any justice. It was WAY nicer in person. It's definately show car quality at the moment and would be pristine with new interior.

-1966 289 C code fastback
-date code correct
-dealer states that it has a HIPO engine (it actually was much faster than a 200HP C code) but I'm waiting to hear back on whether or not it's actually a HIPO from a K Code or a rebuilt motor to "clone" a HIPO. Even if it's not a "real" HIPO, the extra estimated 70HP is something to consider in the pricing of the vehicle.
-3-speed manual
-new mexico car
-the underbody is decent. it isn't new by any means but probably what you'd expect out of a well maintained mustang.
-new emberglo orange paint with white stripes
-paint is absolutely immaculate. no swirl marks or flaws.
-panel fit / gap is nicer than a lot i've seen
-new bumpers
-redline radials
-mustang steel rims
-glass is in great condition
-engine compartment is one of the cleanest i've seen
-parchment interior looks original and is in good condition but not great.
-front disk breaks
-no power steering but for some reason you can pretty much turn with just one finger
-air conditioning
-rode VERY nice. not very bumpy and no squeaks or rattles. easily chirped the tires in 2nd gear. a lot faster than I expected a c code to go. considering i currently drive a 330HP LS1 Camaro SS, i was impressed. this brings us back to the possible HIPO engine mentioned above.

Anyway, what do you all think? The dealer originally quoted me at 25,900 and said he had some wiggle room but then raised it to 27,900 after his mechanic told him it had the HIPO engine. He still said I could have it for 25,900 since that's what he had originally told me. Sure, this could be a sales gimmick but they've even updated their website to show the raised 27,900 price.

Another thing to keep in mind - this is a dealer with over 50 top quality, grade A classics in his showroom. They've sold cars to Billy Joel and Brett Michaels from Poison. You'd think they'd definately have a reputation to upkeep and they definately have a lot of knowledge about these cars which makes me a bit more trusting and comfortable buying from them as opposed to the average joe.

I'm pretty sure I could talk him down to 25,000 since he did say he had wiggle room at 25,900.

Is it worth 25,000?
 

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It's a very nice looking car. Probably worth 25K considering how expensive paint and body work is nowadays. I don't see anything that would convince me that the engine is a real HIPO, though. Find out for sure and then use that for bargaining.
 
Certainly a nice looking car. Is it worth it? That's a good question, if it were me, I'd do a check for water leaks, both around the windows and in the cowl, and get the car on a lift and check for replaced floors and past crash damage, make a trip around the car with one of those guages that check paint thickness and the presence of filler, and if all looks good, and you have the money, go for it. One thing about buying old Mustangs, even if you over-pay by a bit, you'll still not lose money in the long run if you buy a nice solid car to begin with.
 
What to buy

Hey I can't help you on what to pay for the fastback but it sure is beautiful. I had a 67 GTA that I had to sell about 9 years ago when I had to move abroad. I thought I could get more for it since it was a GT and also more rare a GTA (authentic everything). But I priced it around and it always came up at about just a little over the price for a regular 67 w/a 289 engine, no extra value seemed attached, or so it seemed at the time. I could be wrong and I did not have much of time to research before going overseas,what do you think?

I think the 350 fast back is not the same case anyhow. It is more sought after both as a fastback and a powerful 350 than my GTA. However 25 grand seems steep to me. But a I really don't think you can go too wrong with something that nice - if you have the money!
 
ooops

Hey I saw the picture of the 350 and thought that was the 25,000 price tag, but after looking again I see I was looking in the wrong blog. The car you are looking at is also beautiful, but rare - I don't think so, at least not rare like the 350.

Offer 20,000 and see what the seller comes back with. it seems a bit high in my opinion.
 
Depends where you live as well, where I am you rarely see 65/66 fastbacks for sale and when you do they're pricey. If it's a hi-po motor it should be solid lifters so odds are you could tell by the sound unless they converted it to hydraulic. It's a nice looking car, I'm not crazy about the 3 speed part though, that should knock a few bucks off the price :nice:
 
Agree on the lifters and sound.
Personally, don't like the non matching exterior/interior paint. Looks like 4 different colors. Stripe, seats, exterior, and dash.
For that price, they could of spent a few hundred to match some of the interior. Like the door panels and kick panel. That just sticks out. I guess more like five colors.
I also think that's steep for a 3 speed
 
There are so many little things that bother me about this car. The first thing I noticed was how they painted right over the fender bolts. Wish I could see the door jambs. This makes me wonder what oither shortcust were taken when they repainted the car.

The sheen on the paint under hood, the grain on the door looks terrible, and the sheen on the interior paint.

In today's market, $25K should buy you a little more of a professional restoration, especially on a C-code 3 speed car.
 
As a HiPo owner I can tell you that real HiPo engines are a very rare find. Externally look for the unique larger HiPo exhaust manifolds. This car being a standard tans will also need the unique HiPo Z bar for the clutch - the hipo manifolds will not work withthe standard bar. The heads shoul have 19 or 21 cast into the front of the head (very visible) and after pulling a valve cover you should see screw in rocker studs, cast in pockets for the valve springs and "HP" cast into the surface of the head. Solid lifters should also be present. The harmonic balancer is noticibly wider that a standard 289 unit and there should be a 600 cfm manual choke carb. Also the distributor should be a dual point mechanical advance unit (no vac acvance cannister) and the fan should be a 4 bladed unit with riveted aluminum blades. Finally most of the HiPo'sproduced had the VIN number of the car that it came in, stamped just above the oil pan on the front side of the block on the passengeres side. There are many different parts inside the motor that cannot be seen (rods/caps/hatchet counter weight/timinig chain etc.) unless it is opened up. Complete HiPo engines in good order easily command 8k plus these days - While it is hard to see any real detail from the engine photos provided, odds are very good that this one is not a true HiPo engine.