I looked at another Mustang for sale.

I finally recovered from my 620 mile round trip to Lake Minnetonka, MN, where I went 2 weeks ago to look at a 67 Mustang. It was complete and had the 260 interceptor engine, but the stringers were rotten and the engine had compresses the port one 1/2 inch under the front motor mount. Priced at $4,750 it was not right for me.
Yesterday I made the 520 mile round trip to West Bend WI to look at the one listed as a 1969 H/M in Milwaukee on this site. The owner, Travis, was a very polite and patient guy to speak to. The boat is fairly nice and has a minimum of chips and scratches. First off, the Mustang is a 70, not a 69, and has a flat top doghouse. The front seats have been replaced with Overtons type folding seats, but they are installed on the original brackets. The boat has Osco manifolds in place of the H/Ms, and the trailer has had the tongue extended. The bow has about a 3" hole on top of the snout?, that has been covered with heavy vinyl tape. I believe this is where the BAC light was originally mounted. It is now right on the tip of the bow. Being that the boat is 41 years old it has a laundry list of things that I would like to do to make it pristine.
That being said, I almost came home with it. If I were to take off all of the fittings, wet same with 1500, buff, wax, and polish the fittings I think it would be a serious head turner. Some parts, like the windshield hardware, could use replating for a purest, but they are all there and would look pretty good with some elbowgrease. It is it is nice for its age. Other than the seats and manifolds it is pretty much all there. The hour meter indicated 1652, which seems low by my standards. I don't know if it works though. I was ready to buy it when I took off the flame arrestor and found it did not have J tube vents. To me that indicated that it had been replaced with anautomotive carb. I may have been mistaken. The carb is an Autolite C8AF-AE. It may have been original. Although I did not see it run since I lost interest thinking I would have to replace the carbs with a Holly marine 450 for $520 that may not be the case. I obviously didn't core sample the stringers, but I couldn't see any damage. E.ventually every boat needs to be restrung.
The bottom line is I may regret walking away from this one at the asking price of $4.500. On the way home I called on the mustard color Mustang listed in Orlando, it is sold. I may have a line on a 69 M/M Mustang that has been sitting outside with a bad cover job and a cracked block for years. When I recover from my last road trip I will try to arrange a viewing. It could be interesting if just for parts. If you're looking for a Mustang the Milwaukee boat may be worth looking at. I am a CC novice and may have overlooked its real value.

I just looked at a 73 last Tuesday. Price was right and boat is in running condition but it has a laundry list of stuff that needs to be redone. An older non boating guy had painted it up with car paint made it his get around hot rod crusin boat and had made very many non stock mods (seat / floor / engine / trailer). With that much distruction already done I might could continue the (not original theme) and not be a dissapoint to the pureist.     

I agree with Larry- theres a reason that boat hasnt sold in the past 12 months its been listed for sale. Its a $3k boat all day long (max), in my eyes.

As far as that hole in the bow goes, if its in front of the lifting ring, there should have been a chrome scoop covering it- thats a trademark of the '69-70 Stangs:



If Im not mistaken, that '70 was also missing the original pylon. Between that, the seats and manifolds, those are some pretty difficult parts to source if you wanted to bring it back to original condition. Keep looking!

I want one just like the one in the photo above. It is beautiful! I guess I should slow down, good things take time. I prefer the style of the 60s doghouse, however the flat top is very practical. My wife and I have pretty much decided that we want one that has no real issues, original gel coat, seats and all the parts intact with good stringers, either original or restrung, and, if possible, the fiberglass floor. We are not that picky about the engine, although a H/M would be nice. Maybe I should attend a reunion and look at some of the boats there. Thank you to everyone for the advice.

I spent $1000 on my mustang and it had all the original parts minus the front seats, and steering wheel. It needed a floor and stringer job but they all do at that age. If I were to spend $4,500 on an old Mustang, it would need to be pretty good shape. You'll spend at least $2,000 on stringers.

What's the trim piece in this photo between the scoop and lift ring? Is that a flag pole insert? I have a retractable radio antenna there in mine from the P.O. Wondering what to put there once I remove it.

Larry, that green boat outside of Boston is in significantly worse shape than the white one in WI. Lots of missing original parts and marginal overall condition. Its been listed for sale for 2 years at least- Ive corresponded with the seller a few times and he's not very reasonable.

Vondy, yes, that hole is for the burgee/flag pole. Youre right that the original buckets free up a ton of space- theyre very low profile. It makes moving around my Skier much easier compared to the Stangs with the original wood framed seats. Popping a few out of the mold will be a winter project for sure. I am guessing they wont be cheap to produce, though- so I dont expect to do it on a very large scale.

Cindy, is that your Mustang in the photo? Are you tired of it yet?

Like I said before, put me on the list and tell me how much.

Here you go Tim

Gary, is yours angled? I really didnt think my sister's was. Hers actually came with that tough-to-find metal staff and the original pennant/burgee.

Tom, nice looking car- but it wouldnt float so good! Something like this would look pretty cool being towed behind it though:

Yes it is angled Tim. Please post a picture of her burgee. I think since mine is angled, the burgee should be too? That dark blue must be one of the hardest colors to find,this one must be painted since the doghouse matches.

Reid's new Mustang is sharp. Told me it was his new favorite. Be kind a hard to choose a favorite out of all his boats.

Gary, thats the boat.

I believe your bow light is correct- you have the same as Rodney's olive oil (above), right? Reid's "Royal Flush" seems to be a mix between '68 and '69, as it has the older wood framed seats and bow light, but the newer dash and scoop on the nose.

have absolutely no affiliation / nor have i seen either boat, but i just completed a search and purchase of a 1986 and remember seeing these. noticed you're in illinios, these are in norther indiana . . . just passing them along

http://fortwayne.craigslist.org/boa/2505707819.html

http://fortwayne.craigslist.org/boa/2492735222.html

http://fortwayne.craigslist.org/boa/2434034747.html

good luck

rich