Mach 1 project...value?

[jimcuch]

Personally, my love is the 73 Mach 1 in my garage, but im trying to get an idea on value of a 1969 Mach in order to help a friend sell her mother's car. (A gift bought off the show room floor after graduating college in 69'.)
Its in rough shape sitting under a tarp for 35 yrs, but it still a 1 owner original car. Car hasn't been modified at all. Still original AM radio in the dash. Its an M code. 86k original miles. Car is all there. Back window broken, rust on quarter panels, but rockers, rails, etc are solid.

Thoughts?

 

[Bill73Ragtop]

$3K to $4K depending on state of the floorpan & structural members. If serious rot on the underside - drop off another $1K

 

[Hemikiller]

$3K to $4K depending on state of the floorpan & structural members. If serious rot on the underside - drop off another $1K

Twenty five years ago - sure. Not in 2022.

That car as it sits would fetch $15k or better in a heartbeat. It appears to be solid in the engine compartment, so that bodes well. I do see some rot on the door and quarter. You have a great color combination with the Acapulco Blue & White interior. Originality is a huge bonus, as it's extremely rare, and make life so much easier when restoring.

IMO, to get the maximum return for your friend, I would suggest a couple things. Get new or used tires put on it, literally anything that holds air is fine. Get it running. Replace the driver's mirror. Vacuum and clean the interior. With a couple hours work and a few dollars in parts, you'll add $5k to the value overnight. If you go through the brakes and make it a runner/driver - that's the ticket.

 

[jimcuch]

Thank you so much. That's what i was hoping to hear. How many 1 owner 69 mach 1 mustangs are still out there? Cant be many. That has to account for something. And she LOVED this car as anyone can tell talking w her. Just life got messy and she wasnt able to garage it.

My plan was actually to get her running this wk end and put on some tires. So maybe you'll see it for sale somewhere soon.

Appreciate the feedback.

 

[detritusmaximus]

Buy it, store it double your money in 3 years.

 

[jimcuch]

Great advice! Maybe ill do just that. My 73' could use a garage-mate.

 

[c9zx]

+1 on what Hemi said. Chuck

 

[detritusmaximus]

If it was me, buy it and do all the stuff Hemi said. Clean it up real good and replace anything broken including that front bumper. Leave the hood alone. Make it a reliable comfortable runner/driver.
Enjoy the heck out of a patina-ed 69 Mach 1 that you don't have to worry about.
There are already too many restored cars that never leave the garage.

 

[giantpune]

Yep. As it sits, as dirty and mildewy as the inside is, my first assumption is that the floor pars are rotted out and it will need a bunch of sheet metal work. Best thing you can do is clean it up really well. Fix the small things that make it look like its been sitting up on blocks at the trailer park. When the first impression is good, it makes buyers assume the rest of the car is in good shape, too.

Now, if I get under the car or in the trunk and all the panels are rusted out, then it is what it is. That's gonna knock the dollar value down.
Its hard to say exactly what shape its in from the pictures. the driver's door is rotted all the way through. The rear quarter is rotted all the way through. Looks like damage to the front bumper, hood, and the driver's fender. The interior picture doesn't show much. Its hard to say how much of the interior is salvagable vs how much will have to be replaced.

 

[71ProjectJunk]

I agree with Hemikiller, easy 15K, but if it is cleaned tires put on it and it is running, who knows what it could bring. I would clean it, get it running if possible and put it on eBay and see what happens, it may just surprise you. That is a fairly rare car in a very desirable color combo with what looks like a lot of options.

 

[Blayne9067]

Great advice! Maybe ill do just that. My 73' could use a garage-mate.

I like Hemikillers advise, plus getting your friends Mom a good price for her car won’t hurt your luck down the road.

 

[jimcuch]

Thank you all for the input.

I really like the idea of just leaving the patina and making it road worthy. However, there is a fine line is seeing patina as beauty or as junk. This one, in the current stage, would lean away from beauty im afraid for most. Need to further assess.

 

[Hemikiller]

You'd be amazed what a little elbow grease will do for a car.

 

[giantpune]

Any word on why it was parked and left in the first place? That usually implies something was wrong with it back then.

 

[jimcuch]

She got married and they had a big family. (Couldnt fit all the kids in the car so they bought a bigger vehicle.) Since it was her first car, she was attached and decided not to trade it in at the time.

 

[Airich91]

Personally, my love is the 73 Mach 1 in my garage, but im trying to get an idea on value of a 1969 Mach in order to help a friend sell her mother's car. (A gift bought off the show room floor after graduating college in 69'.)
Its in rough shape sitting under a tarp for 35 yrs, but it still a 1 owner original car. Car hasn't been modified at all. Still original AM radio in the dash. Its an M code. 86k original miles. Car is all there. Back window broken, rust on quarter panels, but rockers, rails, etc are solid.

Thoughts?

It's photos like that, that make a grown man cry!

 

[detritusmaximus]

It's photos like that, that make a grown man cry!

And a 20 year old salivate!....at least it would have 20-40 years ago! It would have been cheap enough for a kid to buy and nickel and dime him to death...and he'd love every minute of it.

 

[RIBS]

Yeah that’s not a car you give away, I agree easily 15k plus in this market, probably more…get a Marti report to confirm its pedigree, gather the original documents, include all that in sale ad, clean it up, try an auction starting at $15k or more and see where it goes….there’s hundreds if not thousands of buyers for that car waiting….

 

[Roland]

You have to START with a good car to end up with a good car.
seems to have a lot of rust in rear, see side panels, and also seems to have a flaten out roof, not really a good car, at least in my opinion