Does this car have 89K or 189K miles ?

[GERMYS_72]

I just bought a 1972 Mach1 in good condition. The engine bay is almost completely unmodified in 53 years. The dash board, radio, and AC control look mint.

The steering wheel and dash pad are sun damaged pretty bad. The brake pedal rubber is gone. The parking brake pedal and accelerator pedal look very good. The car was parked and the owner had left a blanket on the trunk, so the trunk lid and gas tank were rusted and removed before I bought the car.

Let me know how I can confirm the odometer is correct (89K), and hasn't rolled.

Here are some pics

 

[Sheriff41]

Really hard to say, but does it really matter? Looks like it has potential but will need a fair amount of work regardless of actual miles. Congrats on your find!

 

[GERMYS_72]

Really hard to say, but does it really matter? Looks like it has potential but will need a fair amount of work regardless of actual miles. Congrats on your find!

Thanks. Agree it doesn't matter, other than knowing it had <100k original miles

 

[detritusmaximus]

My guess is 189k. The reason I say that is the paint wear patterns seem to indicate a wind blasting pattern that wears away old oxidized paint as air passes over/around/the the car. Especially out in the dry west with more sandy grit.
But I could be totally wrong. My Safari van paint is worn like that.
Having said that, I wouldn't expect the original motor to have lasted that long with a rebuild/overhaul. Look for signs of that. If none and it's original to the car, then probably 89k.
It's all a guess, really.