A 1968 Mustang convertible that hasn’t seen daylight in 38 years is now fighting to get back on the road. As a project, it needs a full restoration, but before anything, it must convince a really brave soul that saving a rust bucket is worth the time.
The pony spent nearly 40 decades inside, but based on its shape, the storage conditions haven’t necessarily been the best. By the looks of it, the Mustang has been sleeping in a place with high humidity, as the rust clearly enjoyed the decades in storage.
The metal is nearly entirely wrecked, and the interior photos speak for themselves. While eBay seller jpinker1 claims the vehicle comes “with typical Mustang rust,” I beg to differ. The rust has expanded beyond the floors and the trunk pans and created holes in other key places, including in the engine bay.
Fixing all the rust will take time and money, but fortunately, finding the necessary panels shouldn’t be too difficult, given the web is full of Mustang parts anyway. The owner says the car also comes with two trunk pans, new floors, and front aprons, so the restoration process has already been jumpstarted at some level.
Despite its horrible condition, this Mustang is mostly complete, as the seller says that most exterior and interior parts are currently on or in the car. This is good news, as most of the work will probably be focused on fixing the rusty metal.
Unfortunately, the engine under the hood doesn’t produce any good news either. While no specifics have been offered, I can’t tell if it’s starting, the Mustang comes with a 200 (3.3-liter) six-cylinder unit. As a T-code Mustang, this convertible rolled off the assembly lines with the base unit inside.
The six-cylinder engine, also available on the 1967 Mustang, dropped from 120 to 115 horsepower for this model year. It was Ford’s laziest engine in 1968, and in many ways, it was aimed at people who wanted the Mustang magic without keeping an eye on fuel consumption.
The rusty condition and the uncertain shape of the engine leave the door open for a restomod. If you already own another engine (man, a 428 Cobra Jet would fit a 1968 Mustang like a glove!), upgrading this convertible would certainly be the right way to go, especially because it requires so much metalwork.
Despite its rough shape, the pony doesn’t come with a low price tag. Not at all, actually. The owner hopes to get close to $4,000 for their 1968 Mustang, but at the same time, they also enabled the Make Offer button, just in case. The vehicle is currently parked in Parkersburg, West Virginia, until someone decides to give it another chance.