ALMOST a New Member - HELP

Well, howdy everybody from central GEORGIA! I'm an old Mustang fanatic but have always been into 65-65 Mustangs. I now have run across a 1970 Mach I that appears to be in VERY GOOD original condition. Have not been able to get in the car yet as the owner is "locked up" at the moment and his brother hasn't been able to find the keys!! Anyway - looking for help in approximating a "real" value for this car. The only numbers I've been able to get off it so far are the dash plate numbers - 0F05M107813 which, I believe, tell me it is in fact a Mach I. It does appear to have the original 351 Cleveland 4bl in it which I'm told was rebuilt recently and has about 300 miles on it since rebuild. It looks to have been put back properly and correct to original. The paint, again, looks to be original and I believe it can be wet sanded and polished out. The body is excellent and everything is there. The car has automatic, power steering, factory a/c, clock and power disc brakes and shaker hood. I don't know the mileage on the odometer as I've not been able to get in it and the owners' brother doesn't know. Long story short, I believe I can buy it for $10,000-$12,000 and feel that may be a REAL DEAL. Any opinions from you members will be greatly appreciated. Hopefully, I'll be able to get this car early next week - if the fella's LAWYER doesn't get it first! Thanks for any help you take the time to offer. I'm trying to attach of couple photos, but as I"m new on here, I may not be able to.
Phil Johnston https://servimg.com/view/11242868/1
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booger:

I have a 1970 Mach 1 Mustang 351 Cleveland 4v. My car is fully restored to showroom fresh. I had it appraised yesterday for insurance purposes, and while I don’t have the official results yet, the appraiser lead me to believe that it will come in between $50-$55k. My car does not have the AC or a shaker hood--both are nice options.

I have a friend that just purchased a fully restored Mach 1 for $40k in California.

I have a friend that has a very original Mach 1 for sale for $25k in California.

Last night I was at a car show and saw a very very rough primer 1969 coupe for sale for $6k.

Based upon my limited knowledge a “VERY GOOD original condition” for $10-12k would be a great purchase. I don’t know if there is a significant variance in price from Georgia to California, but I don’t know where I could find a similar car for that price in California.

If you don’t mind some advice, I would recommend that you decide what you plan to do with this Mach 1 before you purchase it. If you want a fun car to drive, have heads turn, and have plenty of horsepower under the hood then “a VERY GOOD original condition” is great. However, if your plans are to create a concours correct show car, starting with “a VERY GOOD original condition” may not be that beneficial since “very good” is not “excellent” so you end up replacing most of the same parts just the same as if the car was rough to begin with.

I would strongly recommend that you check out the floor pans for rust before you purchase. The integrity of the uni-body car is affected if the floor pans are rusted-out. New floor pans can be welded in, but this is expensive.

As to the VIN “0F05M107813” you are correct that it is a 351 Cleveland 4v. The first “0” stands for 1970. The “F” stands for the plant the car was built in—the car in question was built in Dearborn, Michigan. The “05” is the Mach 1 model number. The “M” is the code for 351 Cleveland 4v. The “107813” is the consecutive unit number as it was being assembled. When you get the keys to get into the car, on the drivers door should be a tag that contains additional information such as the original color, the color of the trim, the differential etc.

I hope that some of my information may be helpful.

Jim

PS--I don't want to be giving you legal advise but I am an attorney in California and I know that I would never purchase a client's car because of a very obvious conflict of interest. You might remind the fella's attorney that with the money you pay for the car he can get his attorney's fees paid and not have a conflict of interest. Good luck!

Thanks a lot Jim. Although I wouldn't be planning a concours restoration, you make a very good point about possibly starting with a "lesser" car in doing so . I am mostly interested in having a good looking driver but do want it correct. I've restored 4 66's and 1 65 and am quite familiar with the floor pans and cowl leak situations. I'm pretty much "over" the restoration thing now. Just want to enjoy them - not just look at them BUT - at same time, want to be sure I can get my money out of whatever I buy. Very easy to overdo it with some Mustangs as they are so plentiful.
Hope I didn't offend you with my comment about attorneys, but I'm sure you know there are "some" out there with very little ethics - especially in these small towns where I now live.
Thanks again for your input and advice. I believe I'm going to move forward if I can buy this car for $10-$12,000. Think I can put another $5,000 or so in it and still be fairly safe.

Wow!!! I sure recognized that red Georgia clay from middle Georgia (LOL). Judging by the photos, if you can get it at that price I’d say it would be a steal. Even $15K wouldn’t be a bad deal. There again, judging by the photos alone, if the interior is decent and with a good clean and detailing, it’s probably worth $20K plus even as a driver.

My ’70 Mach was a good solid #3 car that I enjoy driving when I got it. I’ve replaced a lot of little things like chrome trim and rubber parts as well as a good inside and out cleaning/detailing. It’ll probably never be more than a #2 car because I enjoy driving it around 3 to 5 thousand miles a year but the value has increased about $10K over the last three years.

Good luck and I hope you get it.

That's what I wanted to hear Bill. Just wanted a little more "encouragement", but have pretty much decided to go ahead with it as soon as I can get the keys and drive it. If it drives out as nice as it looks - hopefully it'll be fairly tight and smooth - then it will have a new home. Pretty confident I can get it for no more than $12,000 - gonna try for a little less, but will go a little more if I really have to.
I haven't been able to get inside yet but from what I could see thru the window, the interior is very, very presentable as it is. Just don't run across one like this often I don't think. I'll be posting some pictures later after I've gotten it and gotten it cleaned up so we can see what I got.

Hi!

I have a 1970 Mach1 351-4V, the concours restoration is completed in 2000.

I drove only 500 milles since complete restoration. the actual value is 49,000$ U.S


Ray