For Sale Red S-Code 4-speed in Arizona

[Mosesatm]

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1968-ford-mustang-gta-3/

 

[DeadStang]

This one is very interesting.

 

[stangfan]

Nice car. Too bad about those hood locks though.

 

[Mosesatm]

The reverse lockout is great!

 

[prototypefan]

When this car showed up for sale I was delighted......what a great car I thought. S code, 4spd, A/C, dry Arizona car that wasn't in the registry. How much better could it get I thought.

Sadly I've got into a debate with the seller of this car on Bring a Trailer.

I really, really wanted this car. I LOVE survivor cars and wanted to complete a vision of a having red, white and blue. This car would complete a trifecta for me along with an Acapulco blue 4 Spd S code and a Wimbledon white GT/CS.

Reading through the options the car came with I noticed it had the $13.90 accent stripe. This was an additional option that put a fine stripe down the tops of the fenders, doors and quarter panels. It's a little odd along with the GT/CS stripes and was rarely ordered.

I contacted the owner and asked if the car had ever had these stripes and he said he could find no evidence of them ever being there. I asked if he was certain that the car was original paint and was assured it was. The photos showed typical rust on the lower portion of the passenger fender. I asked if there was any more rust on the car as was also assured the fender was the only spot. That prompted an inspection of the car.

The inspection revealed:
the typical shock tower/engine bay apron overlap corrosion with prior repair and repainted aprons, the distinct spot welds are gone, the repairs are swollen in areas once again
battery tray corrosion that you could look through the apron and see the asphalt
an air cleaner that was repainted and was starting to flake off again
areas of the car that during a buffing of the paint has gone through on the edges to the primer
overspray on the windshield moldings, door jamb u rubbers, door tag , rear license plate rubbers, engine bay rubbers, fender edges into the engine bay, quarter panel edges into the door jamb, etc
raw fibreglass mat from a prior repair under the trunk lid
fish eyes in the paint
coveralls were no longer needed to get underneath the car at this point and sadly walked away

The car is claimed to not have run since 1992/93. I can only imagine that the work that was done to the car was done prior to those years. Time has a way of adding patina to things and making them appear much more original than they are.

It also reminded me that pictures can be very misleading. There is nothing like a personal inspection.

When I looked at the BAT listing again the owner chimed in and discussed how multiple people came to look at the car and how they inspected it with flashlights, etc and how incredible the car was for being original paint and no rust issues at 52 yrs old.

ARRRRRRRGH

It's a great car and much more solid than most.....but it is not original paint. I brought this to the owner/sellers attention. He has decided to die on the hill and rely on the information of the original owner that it's untouched other than a minor bump in the 70's....that it never had the accent stripe and posted a period picture (with more modern tires) that showed the car never had the accent stripe.

My point of posting is to provide an opinion of the car and hopefully prevent someone that thinks they are buying a rust free, original paint Arizona car from being disappointed.

 

[Mosesatm]

That car, and owner, gave me a bad feeling from the start. There are definitely some good points to it but it also has the potential to be a major money pit.
Did the seller ever say whether the engine is seized? There must be a reason why he hasn’t tried to start the car.

Arlie
(Bjabby)

 

[prototypefan]

That car, and owner, gave me a bad feeling from the start. There are definitely some good points to it but it also has the potential to be a major money pit.
Did the seller ever say whether the engine is seized? There must be a reason why he hasn’t tried to start the car.

Arlie
(Bjabby)

On paper and in person it's a great car.....it's just not what it's being sold as and the seller refuses to accept what seems obvious to me.
Overspray on all the areas that have it on a car that came with the accent stripe which is now gone and corrosion in the engine bay aprons and battery tray does not describe a car that is original paint and rust free other than the lower portion of the passenger fender.

All the seller would say is that it was reportedly parked in 92/93 and hasn't run since.

The smog tubes were cut and bent over to seal them as was a typical solution. I have no idea why the car doesn't run but somehow after owning it for almost 3 yrs and not fixing it I smell a cashectomy waiting to happen.

The reverse lockout requires some thick gloves to operate by the way, bits are missing.

All the best, Fred

 

[Ruppstang]

Reading through the options the car came with I noticed it had the $13.90 accent stripe. This was an additional option that put a fine stripe down the tops of the fenders, doors and quarter panels. It's a little odd along with the GT/CS stripes and was rarely ordered.

The red HCS I sold last June has the white paint stripe option. I put it back on when I restored it.

 

[DeadStang]

I was also very interested in the car, but the overspray on the door data tag told me it had more paint work than he let on. And the frame rail picture in question may or may not show a problem -- it could go either way as I've seen both surface scale AND perforating rust that looks exactly the same as that photo. But when he didn't seem to be interested in putting a floor jack under the car and showing very simple pictures of the floorpans and torque boxes, I moved on. Cool car -- hope someone brings it back.

 

[robert campbell]

Fred got to see it in person. I totally respect his findings. Sounds like a lot of work. The accent stripe even though indicated on the Marti may or may not have been applied at the factory. Stuff happens. The real interesting stuff is the paint. Witness lines are gone on the scoops. It definitely appears to have had a repaint. Now in my case that is not a deal breaker and to me does not affect the value of the car. The mechanical unknowns are a huge problem. A car you cannot at least drive is a HUGE unknown. And boy would I want to inspect the underside! That is where the real bucks can be sucked out of your wallet.

All said in my mind this Mustang would cross the block at a max of $60k with a quality restoration. For a buyer who can do most of the work by themselves, including Sheetmetal repair it could be an investment if they always wanted one and plan to keep it.

But keep in mind as time marches on that bottom may start to fall out of the muscle cars. Kinda like the little T-Birds from 55 to 57. So if you are just holding on to a car for it to appreciate, it may backfire.

If you are going to go underwater in a car it might as well be a rare one. I just did a customer car that was a 68 Mustang coupe with the 200 and a 3 speed manual. Pretty much the bottom of Mustang value. The owner is underwater but does not mind. I told the owner up front that his would happen.

Sometimes it is not all about the money. The asking price on this car is too high for sure. But someone with deep pockets and little knowledge will more that likely snap it up. I try to help people value their Mustangs for sale. I am always low and tell them "who am I to tell you not ask way more".

Drive them enjoy them and forget about the money somewhat. Of course that comes from a guy that pretty much does all his own work.

Rob