1966 Ford Mustang

Description

If you could have just one old car for fun, what might it be? For millions, it's probably a 1966 Mustang convertible just like this. With a bubbly V8, wonderful color combination, and that vintage Mustang charm, it is one legend that certainly lives up to the hype.

Mustangs always work best in bright, sunny colors and Springtime Yellow certainly qualifies. This car has great looking paint with excellent shine. It appears that the bodywork underneath was in great shape with crisp lines, good alignment, and doors that open and close with reassuring precision. Not trying to be something it isn't, there are no Shelby stripes or even fake GT badges, and there are more than a few enthusiasts who will argue that the 1966 updates only make the Mustang more attractive. There's the grille with running pony emblem, '289' badges on the fenders, and the three-element taillights, all of which make it perhaps the most recognizable car on the planet, and with shiny chrome bumpers it still looks great.

The black interior is the right choice with the light-colored bodywork – yellow cars with white interiors always look so plain, don't you think? Low back buckets wear correct reproduction seat covers with textured inserts, and they flank a factory center console. The carpets, dash, and door panels are equally nice and don't look like they've spent decades in the hot sun, so they have surely been replaced along the way, too. Factory instruments in the 5-gauge panel that became standard in '66 look good, and that's the original 3-spoke steering wheel, now wearing a leather wrapper to give you better grip. An AM/FM/cassette stereo head unit has been thoughtfully installed in the center of the dash, and there are new red seat belts for safety and a bit of flash. The black convertible top looks brand new and comes with a matching black boot to give this pony a very clean top-down look. Open the trunk and you'll find a reproduction mat and a full-sized spare tire, which is something of a rarity these days.

Ford wasn't doing the matching numbers thing in 1966, so we can't tell you whether this is the original 289, but it looks quite correct and has that wonderful small block Ford sound that is a big part of the Mustang's appeal. This is a real C-code 289 car, so all the hardware around it is suitably beefy for the V8's power output (unlike the converted 6-cylinder cars), and a few chrome dress-up pieces brighten up the all-black engine bay. This Mustang gets all the basics correct with V8 power and an effortless C4 3-speed automatic transmission backed by 2.80 gears out back, so cruising is low-effort. The underside is unrestored, but you can see what we mean about this car taking it easy for the past few decades, and a burbling dual exhaust system gives it just the right soundtrack to earn its Mustang credentials. Factory steel wheels with spinner hubcaps and 195/75/14 whitewalls add to the cheerful look.

This is the new baseline for V8 Mustang convertibles, and they're only going up from here. If you've been waiting to buy one, don't wait too long, because cars like this just don't last long. Call toda