1965 Ford Mustang Fastback 2+2 V8 Shelby GT350 Tribute No Rust Ever 289 Cobra

1965 Ford Mustang Base Fastback 2-Door

This 1965 Fastback has never had any rust (with one tiny exception due to a leaky heater core- please read the explanation below), and it has no previous rust repairs as far as I can tell. It is a desert car from New Mexico and has a New Mexico title.It has it's original doors, quarter panels, floor pans, engine aprons, frame rails, trunk drop downs, rocker panels, etc., which are all 99% rust free. This is one of the most solid Mustangs I have ever seen. It had been undercoated decades ago, and the undercoating makes it difficult to see the virgin sheet metal underneath, but it is nonetheless 99% rust free.All of the pinch welds are original, solid, and in excellent condition. Undercoating can mask panel rust, soft areas, patches, or other imperfections in some cars, but that is not the case with this car. The floor pans and front sub frame rails are extremely solid but have some minor dents, probably from improper jacking over the years- visible in the pictures. The fuel tank is dented underneath as well. There are several small screw holes in the doors where aftermarket side mirrors had been mounted. There are also 2 screw holes near the glove box in the steel dash panel where a tissue dispenser had been mounted.
The carwas originally Rangoon Red, and I believe the current color is the 1966 Sapphire blue that Ford used to paint it's larger cars, as well as a few dozen Shelby Mustangs.The paint job is not great, I would call it a driver quality paint job when it was re-sprayed years ago. Not much effort went into surface preparation or masking. The paint itself now hasscratches and chips, and the body has many minor dents and other imperfections. There is some evidence of previous dent repairs in the car, but no rust repairs. The right quarter panel had been dented in and hammered out from the inside, consequently there is a skim coat of filler on the right quarter panel- again, this was not a rust repair. The right front engine apron seems to have been damaged at one time and hammered back straight (behind the battery). The car also appears to have had the front radiator support either replaced or repaired, but the front and rear frame rails are original and pristine. Whatever happened to the car accident-wise did not affect the front or rear frame rails.
The 289 engine was rebuilt using aluminum Edelbrock Performer RPM heads, aluminum Edelbrock Performer RPM dual plane intake, Edelbrock Performer Series carburetor, long tube headers, dual exhaust with crossover, and a Mallory ignition system. The engine has a mild street cam installed and it has a nice lope at idle. It puts down good power, and I have been told that it should make about 367 hp and 340 ft lbs by the tech guys at Edelbrock but I have not done any dyno pulls and cannot verify those numbers at this time. I also cannot see the casting numbers on the engine block because the starter and headers are blocking the view, so I cannot speculate on whether it may be the original block or not.
The car has brand new, professionally installed, original GT (and Shelby) style 4 piston Kelsey-Hayes vented and slotted front disc brakes with proportioning valve and premium Porterfield R4-S pads. The rear brakes are the original drums and have been completely rebuilt.
The car has power steering, a C4 automatic transmission, B & M QuickSilver shifter, tachometer, oil pressure and coolant temperature gauges, and new 5 leaf rear springs. Wheels are staggered 15 inch American Racing aluminum wheels. Center caps are not installed but are included in the sale. Tires have decent tread but are a junk brand, and the right front wheel has a slight bend on the inner rim. The chromed Lakewood traction bars seen in some of the pics have been removed but will be included in the sale (if you really want them)!
The fiberglass hood has cracks near the hinges. The left front fender is a "Ford Tooling" replacement due to dents in the original fender, which I still have and will be included in the sale.
Known mechanical problems- radio inop, front shocks are worn, horn inop, steering wheel wood is delaminating, seam splits in passenger seat back and rear seat bottom, carpet old and worn, interior lights inop, needs a front end alignment, power steering ram leaks slightly, slight engine oil leak- likely the rear main seal, the excess play in the steering wheel is likely caused by a worn steering box. Windshield washer squirter system missing. The drivers seat frame has something broken in it that allows the seatback to flex backward improperly. The radio antennae mast is broken. Theheater core leaks and has been bypassed, and this leak seems to have caused the only rust hole I have found anywhere in the car- a pea-sized hole in the passenger footwell that I have included a photo of.
Now, with the negative points having been so painfully spelled out, everything else is pretty good. It runs great and drives fairly well despite needing front end refurbishment. The gas gauge works, the headlights and tail lights work, the turn signals work, the speedometer works, the running lights work, the high beams work, the wipers work, the car does not overheat, the glass is good, the bright trim is pretty good, the fastback rear interior panels are all there and are in good condition. This car is an original fastback, not a re-roofed coupe. The partial VIN is 5F09C6xxxxx, and the title, the original door tag, and the visible stamped left engine apron vin as well as the hidden stamped vin under the left fender all match each other. I really hate to part with this fastback- I had searched a long, long time to find one this clean. But circumstances have changed and sadly I need to sell it.
Please ask me any questions you have before bidding. The car is for sale locally and may be removed from the auction at any time. If you have any negative feedback, or feed back less than 10, please contact me prior to bidding. If you are a scammer- forget about this car- you won't be successful. I strongly encourage inspections and can assist in loading during shipping.
I have a short video of the car being driven in a parking lot, but I could not load the video onto ebay . Please contact me and I will text or email the video to you. The door tag reads as 63A, J, 26, 12Q, 61, 6,6 and decodes as 2dr FB std bucket seats, rangoon red, black vinyl w/ black trim, 12-Mar-65, dallas, 2.80:1, C4 automatic
Good luck!