NEW PRICE! 47,840 original miles.
Single-family ownership since 1974. 351C with 4-barrel carburetor.
Beautiful mostly original paint, original interior, factory A/C.
Great V8 Mustang convertible for the money!
This car came to us looking sparkling in its white livery, which is
indeed the car’s original color and mostly original paint. The
doors were repainted a few years ago to excise 40 years’ worth of
parking lot dings, but the match is exact and if I hadn’t told you
about it, you wouldn’t even notice. It was a little bland, however,
so we added the black stripes, borrowing from the 1973 Mach 1 and
the hood stripes used on the 1972 Sprint, and the look is awesome.
As a car that’s never been hit, wrecked, or fully disassembled, all
the body panels line up just the way they did when it was new, with
doors that close with a surprisingly reassuring solidity and a hood
that never fights you. The paint shines up beautifully and all the
chrome remains in excellent condition, making this a car with no
needs that can be enjoyed immediately.
The interior isn’t white, it’s parchment, so don’t be fooled into
thinking it’s discolored. Those are original seat covers that
remain in excellent condition with no splits or tears, the door
panels aren’t cracked or delaminating, and the back seat looks and
feels completely unused. The carpets were replaced a few years ago,
but the dash pad and center console are original and do not show
any UV damage or cracking. The steering wheel is the original
woodgrained “rim blow” unit and yeas, the rim blow feature does
indeed work correctly. The gauges cover only the basics, but they
all work, including the warning lights, and show bright markings
behind clear lenses. The original AM radio is in the dash and is
ripe for an upgrade—what’s a Mustang if you can’t take your music
with you? You’ll also note there’s factory A/C, which isn’t
currently operational but could probably be made to work without a
major investment. Overhead there’s a white power convertible top
that was installed several years ago, and it folds easily with the
touch of a switch, where it’s hidden by a matching parchment boot.
The trunk is also correctly outfitted with what we believe to be
the original mat, and there are no nasty surprises waiting
underneath—the floors and inner quarters are very clean and wear
their original spatter paint.
This is the car’s original, numbers-matching H-code 351 “Cleveland”
V8, which was the top-of-the-line engine in 1973. Originally
equipped with a 2-barrel carburetor (4-barrels were gone in 1973),
it’s been upgraded to an Edelbrock 4-barrel with a matching
aluminum intake manifold. There’s also a modern electronic ignition
system with an aluminum distributor up front. It starts easily, hot
or cold, and never seems cranky, which is pretty impressive. The
4-barrel makes the most of the Cleveland’s deep-breathing intake
ports, adding more performance than you’d expect from such a modest
modification—this car feels downright fast! It’s also quite content
to trundle around town, sit in traffic, or eat up miles of highway,
making this a Mustang that’s ideal for the person who likes to
drive.
The Cleveland is backed by a robust C6 3-speed automatic
transmission and 3.00 gears out back, so it’s a nice highway
cruiser and that tall gearing allows the big torque to move the car
with smoothness that’s unexpected. As a mostly original car, the
undercarriage isn’t’ detailed for show, but the floors are
incredibly clean, with two replacement pans in the usual locations
in the rear seat foot wells, and the work was very professionally
done. You’ll find that the rockers are solid, the torque boxes are
like new, and everything fits together the way it should. There’s a
single exhaust system, as original, and it’s got a nice V8 grumble
and I think the logical next step would be the installation of a
righteously rumbling dual exhaust setup, which will also unleash a
bit more horsepower. There are recent shocks at all four corners,
new parts on the front end like fresh lower control arms, and
plenty of evidence that this car has led a good life. Magnum 500
wheels are exactly the right choice, and they carry 215/70/14
white-letter radials with plenty of life left in them.
This is a heck of a lot of car for the money. It drives
beautifully, with a tight feeling that you only get from
low-mileage original cars. The V8 is bulletproof and offers a nice
compromise between performance and convenience, and you can’t argue
with the look, because this car has a ton of eyeball appeal. One of
the nicer Mustangs we’ve featured, the fact that it’s so affordable
is only icing on the cake. Call now!
For more details and photos, please visit www.HarwoodMotors.com
