Comparitive Value USA to AUS

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Thnks guys

Got my heart set on a Mach 1....although wife wants a vert. Hmm one container, two cars (add in cost of divorce).

Been looking hard at craigslist and ebay US to get an idea on what is around. 71's seem light on the ground compared to 73's (@ same production number in total).

Although I have a 408c stroker in parts to put in the car, I do want as rust free a car as possible with matching numbers (an M or Q code really) as I think the 71-73's will go up in price a fair bit in the next 10 odd years - the market cant sustain the difference in price to the 69-70 once that segment gets saturated and full priced.

There has been a lot of good tips about filling the car with parts before its shipped to save $ which is great, and the chart I got was really helpful in laying out all of the extra costs.

I fully expect that this is a $40k project when its finished, it comes down to how much I want to put out up front vs in build. I have the $ to spend so that its about the car.

I was in the same situation! I preferred a Mach 1 and my wife a convertible!

I found a 1973 Q-code convertible in my own country instead of importing and decided to buy it instead of a Mach 1. It is a solid car but it needs a lot of work to look perfect. My plan is to restore it completely. I am buying lots of new parts at the moment (I try to benefit from some good discounts some of the web shops in the US offer occasionally. I bought a lot of parts in one go, with 30% discount recently. At least you can cover the shipping and import tax with it ).

My estimate for my car to have it restored is around 40-45k .

I think you are realistic with your expectations.

It would be nice if these cars go up in value in the future,but at the moment it looks like everybody still wants a 1965-1966 model. The 71-73 model is much rarer. From 1965/70 I think around 244000 convertibles were build. from the 71/73 only around 24000 convertibles so investment wise it could be interesting.

 
Thnks guys

Got my heart set on a Mach 1....although wife wants a vert. Hmm one container, two cars (add in cost of divorce).

Been looking hard at craigslist and ebay US to get an idea on what is around. 71's seem light on the ground compared to 73's (@ same production number in total).

Although I have a 408c stroker in parts to put in the car, I do want as rust free a car as possible with matching numbers (an M or Q code really) as I think the 71-73's will go up in price a fair bit in the next 10 odd years - the market cant sustain the difference in price to the 69-70 once that segment gets saturated and full priced.

There has been a lot of good tips about filling the car with parts before its shipped to save $ which is great, and the chart I got was really helpful in laying out all of the extra costs.

I fully expect that this is a $40k project when its finished, it comes down to how much I want to put out up front vs in build. I have the $ to spend so that its about the car.

I was in the same situation! I preferred a Mach 1 and my wife a convertible!

I found a 1973 Q-code convertible in my own country instead of importing and decided to buy it instead of a Mach 1. It is a solid car but it needs a lot of work to look perfect. My plan is to restore it completely. I am buying lots of new parts at the moment (I try to benefit from some good discounts some of the web shops in the US offer occasionally. I bought a lot of parts in one go, with 30% discount recently. At least you can cover the shipping and import tax with it ).

My estimate for my car to have it restored is around 40-45k .

I think you are realistic with your expectations.

It would be nice if these cars go up in value in the future,but at the moment it looks like everybody still wants a 1965-1966 model. The 71-73 model is much rarer. From 1965/70 I think around 244000 convertibles were build. from the 71/73 only around 24000 convertibles so investment wise it could be interesting.


$40-45K, I wish...

 
I was talking about euro's/ US dollars....Which is almost the same unfortunately for me.... Hopefully not more ! How much do you reckon your car will be Pastel Blue?

 
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I was talking about euro's/ US dollars....Which is almost the same unfortunately for me.... Hopefully not more ! How much do you reckon your car will be Pastel Blue?
No negative intended, I knew what you were referring too. The Cdn. $$ is worth about 70 cents on the US dollar currently, so that adds huge to my costs. I won't tell what the car will cost in the end, but I will state that I spent more then that just on the body and paint... cheers

 
I was talking about euro's/ US dollars....Which is almost the same unfortunately for me.... Hopefully not more ! How much do you reckon your car will be Pastel Blue?
No negative intended, I knew what you were referring too. The Cdn. $$ is worth about 70 cents on the US dollar currently, so that adds huge to my costs. I won't tell what the car will cost in the end, but I will state that I spent more then that just on the body and paint... cheers
I didn't see it as negative.... I am just very curious in other people's experiences in restoring cars and how much things actually cost. Hopefully I didn't budget my restoration too low....

 
$40k for me in the USA is a good estimate without paint and doing your own bodywork, assuming you start with a pretty good base. That is including the initial purchase.

I think you have to make your own estimate and then add 50% in money and at least double the time.....

1971 M-code Mach 1

 
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The best advice I can give on buying parts on for our cars is to do your homework and shop around because I've bought heaps of stuff cheaper than those when they have their 30% off sales. Also look into shipping options there's some awesome deals out there if you're willing to look, trust me wished I'd looked into it earlier as I'd have saved thousands on shipping over the years. Oh well live and learn I suppose.

 
This one looks fairly decently priced (at $22,000 Australian dollars), assuming it doesn't have any rust issues...

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/mortdale/cars-vans-utes/1972-ford-mustang-mach-1-coupe-fastback-351-v8-cleveland/1131936697?utm_source=criteo&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=LF-cars

$_20.JPG


 
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Hi Graig,

Welcome from Brisbane, Australia.

First, my apologies for not posting my welcome earlier. I must have overlooked your intro post and totally missed it. Sorry there.

In any event, i am selling on my '73 Mach 1 right now, and it may just be your dream car you are chasing.;)

I will PM you to let you know what's happening.

Cheers,

Greg.:)

 
Hi again

Are these pretty typical prices for driver quality cars in the US? I know nothing about Craigslist but imagine Buyer Beware is the major caveat and you need a local agent and good inspection to avoid rip offs?

http://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/5905535030.html

http://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/5921945078.html
That 2nd one (41K 'cream puff' barn find) certainly has a lot of rust in a couple pics which probably means the underside is more bad news....Big Buyer Beware!

 
Hi again

Are these pretty typical prices for driver quality cars in the US? I know nothing about Craigslist but imagine Buyer Beware is the major caveat and you need a local agent and good inspection to avoid rip offs?

http://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/5905535030.html

http://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/5921945078.html

I would only ever buy a car sight unseen personally if I had lots of hi res pics, was from a dealer I knew, was a car I knew really well or some combination of those. I have walked away from a few cars that I had inspected professionally that also didn't meet the above. I have also seen my share of crapboxes that looked great in iPhone pics:)

Caveat Emptor

Greg

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 
Craig,

My '72 Mach is available, we need the space as my Dad is going to give us another Model A. I live a short distance to the port in Long Beach. I've never exported a car before so I have no clue what it takes. Maybe Greg (gpierce) knows someone in San Diego who could inspect it as an impartial third party--if I remember correctly Greg used to live in San Diego. I am an hour north of San Diego. If you want to know more about the car just PM me.

 
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Craig,

My '72 Mach is available, we need the space as my Dad is going to give us another Model A. I live a short distance to the port in Long Beach. I've never exported a car before so I have no clue what it takes. Maybe Greg (gpierce) knows someone in San Diego who could inspect it as an impartial third party--if I remember correctly Greg used to live in San Diego. I am an hour north of San Diego. If you want to know more about the car just PM me.
Thanks Dave

At the moment I am trying to get a feel for the market. My preference is a 71 M or Q code then followed by the 72. Yours looks like a great solid car to start with but I am still early in my decisions about holding off and seeing if the car I want can be found in Aus or whether I need to go to the USA. There is a good chance i will be in the US this year sometime for a holiday.

At the moment I am trying to not get impatient but wait until I find the car I want.

PS the M code 71 motor was the same used in our Falcon GT whilst the Boss 351 was prettyt much our Falcon GTHO motor.

 
One thing to consider is loading the car with 'parts' that are silly expensive in Aus. find out what people need/want and use it to offset some cost.

I'd target the southwest for the least amount of rust. The further east/north you go, you get more rust or repairs for the same money. Solid, original and tired is better than repaired, 'upgraded' and 'restored', to me.

 
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