All that glitters is not gold. There is no free lunch. More than meets the eye. Pick your cliche, and it may apply here. The only one that may not apply is to never look a gift horse in the mouth, because in this case, I probably should have looked more closely.
I’ve been putting off writing about this car for the Car of a Lifetime (COAL) series because it corresponds to some significant unpleasantness in my life, and at the same time, it may generate criticism, but what can I say; it’s real, it happened, and so here it is!
1968 Porsche 911T Targa in the movie The Big Chill
I was never a Mustang guy; always loved them but I didn’t lust after them like many did. I also was never really into convertibles as much as other folks. Again, I thought they were cool, but I tended towards fixed roof vehicles among my favorites. The one “convertible” I most lusted after growing up was a 911 Targa, just like the one in The Big Chill. I vowed to my roommate in boarding school at the time, that someday I would have a Porsche!
Fast forward nearly twenty years, and my roommate from boarding school had started his own successful investment bank and had already had his Porsche, a 1999 911 Cabriolet. He was living in Los Angeles with his wife and two young sons, and I was living in Potomac, MD, with my wife and three kids. He called me up one day and said, you know, we should buy a classic car together. I said really, how would that work? He said we’ll buy it together and one of us can drive it for a while and then we’ll switch. Well it didn’t quite work out that way, but I’m ahead of myself.
The First Television Commercial for Mucinex
You see my buddy had raised multiple rounds of capital for Adams Respiratory Therapeutics, the makers of Mucinex, and when they subsequently went public, the 1% of the company he owned was suddenly worth $10 million. He was feeling generous and I was the recipient.
I said, ok great, LA is the place to buy a classic car, I’ll fly out there and we’ll pick one out and then you can have it first. He said, let’s start in DC. I said, ok we’ll buy it here and then we’ll plan a road trip to get it out there. He said ok but no rush. So we started looking. We narrowed down to restored muscle cars as our category as they had not yet been completely played out and he and I both grew up on imports and were excited to try out something different.
1968 AMC AMX, the Ultimate Contrary-Mobile
Well, I picked out a 1968 AMC AMX with a 390 and a 4-speed stick at the local classic car dealer (they will remain nameless to protect the guilty) because it was perfect for what I like, even though it was a bit too restored for my taste. It looked like the Mad Max mobile, and it was anything but average.
But my buddy said, what about the Mustang Convertible at the same dealer? The Mustang was nearly twice as expensive, but he liked it, and he was paying the bills, so I went for a test drive.
It was really quite a nice car to drive. It was a 1966 Mustang GT Convertible 289 4-barrel with a 4-speed transmission on the floor. It had 83,000 miles and was restored. It was nicely powered, everything seemed to work, the top went up and down, the original radio was in position with a CD player in the glove compartment, and it even came with records and a certificate of authenticity.
A deal was struck, and my friend wired the money to the dealer. I paid the taxes and fees. I went down and picked up the car, and took it across the street to fill it with gas, and I couldn’t get it started. I called the dealer but they were unhelpful, and so I got a jump at the gas station and headed home.
AAA, Can You Help Me with My Brand New Classic Car?
Well the next morning, the Mustang wouldn’t start again. It occurred to me suddenly that I had never started the car successfully on my own; it was always running for me when I got to the dealer! I got the car towed back to the dealer and they diagnosed the problem, a bad distributor. I said no problem, just fix it, figuring they would feel bad for delivering a non-working vehicle. They said that price was “as is”! We had an argument but eventually I agreed to pay for discounted work. I can’t remember how much they charged but it felt like a rip off.
AAA, Can You Help Me AGAIN with my Brand New Classic Car?
So I drove home and parked the Mustang, and the next morning went to drive it, and again it wouldn’t start! This time I got the car towed to the Exxon station. The dealer had replaced the bad distributor with another bad distributor, or never even done the work at all. It was a quick fix and the car was fine from then on!
Like a cross between cliche-mobiles, and cooler than both combined
I loved driving the car whenever I could! To me it drove like a cross between a 911 and a Mercedes 560sl, and it was cooler than both combined. I loved working the gears to get the most out of the 225 horsepower V8, and while its steering was a touch vague at speed, it was manual steering, and the GT included fast ratio steering, so it went where it was pointed.
There were a few nagging annoyances, like a shimmy if you didn’t thread the clutch just right. (It was diagnosed as a flywheel issue, but as not worth fixing.) Also, the back seat seat belts didn’t work, so I couldn’t comfortably drive the kids around in the back seat. Finally, the combination of lap seat belts and a non-collapsible steering column terrified me in the case of an accident.
My friend came out to visit a few times, and we had some fun driving around, and while he was visiting the second time, he said hey, let’s trade that car on a different one, we’ve had our fun with it. He said this time let’s get a car your wife would enjoy to drive as well.
So I listed the mustang on eBay, and sold it to a guy who flew in from Kansas for the car. He agreed on $28,000 to get me to stop the bidding on eBay, but when he inspected the car, he said this is a clone. A good one, but a clone. I was in no position to disprove him and we agreed on a reduced number of $27,000.
We plowed the money back into a 2003 Porsche 911 Cabriolet and I made up the difference between the $27,000 and the $30,500 for the Porsche, plus the taxes, tags, etc. My wife loved the car, but within three months, we were separated, and eventually divorced. My friend decided he’d rather remain friends with my wife than me, and by the time I dumped the Porsche, I’d lost thousands of dollars and a friend of 21 years.
Wow, that last paragraph was a kick in the guts.
1k discount coz its a clone? You must be a great salesman Matt, although the Marti report should have sorted that.
I too lusted after William Hurt’s beater P. And Paul Newman’s in Harper.
Count me in as another fan of the Big Chill Porsche!
You know there are bad people out there in the car business… people who are just plainly crooks.
This time last year I contracted to buy a low mileage virtually new condition ex JDP 2003 AMG Kompressor 5.4 …a total beast in dark metallic green that had spent most of it’s life in an air-conditioned showroom ..modified to yet more power (550hp) by a Swiss chip tuning company ‘Sportec’ who had re-programmed the car and physically raised the boost and improved engine cooling with a number of mechanical changes.
Due to this I wanted mechanical warrantee cover. Here in NZ this can be purchased for the right amount of money provided proof is furnished of a full major servicing of the vehicle by an authorised dealer. This includes the replacement of all fluids used in the vehicle, including the coolant and brake and transmission and differential fluids ..a service costing in the order of $2,200 for the V8 AMG. It takes just over 9 litres of specialised engine oil alone.
This was done. A cheque for 36 months’ warrantee was handed over to the dealer who undertook to apply, obtain, and ensure the paperwork was duly passed on to me for this mechanical peace of mind cover.
Time passed.
After some months it became apparent there was no cover forthcoming.
Going back to see Chris Broadhurst it became apparent he had simply pocketed the funds into his company account and done no more.
Repeated requests (followed by demands) to have the money returned have yielded no results beyond empty promises.
He has simply stolen seventeen hundred dollars . .
That’s very unfortunate, and right at that price point where you’d if you pursued legal remediation you’d probably spend more on lawyer fees than the $1700 you’re trying to recoup. Really sucks how many people out there will take others’ hard-earned money with no remorse.
Sorry to read the double whammy of your experience; loss of both love and money is never pleasurable. My takeaway is that dabbling with these machines is truly a pastime for those of substantial means and for those not so blessed, is limited to living vicariously through experience of others. Years ago, I came close to acquiring a ’66 GT Coupe as a daily driver but just couldn’t tolerate how poorly that car handled.
Those guys shouldn’t remain “nameless” if they are still in business. They’re A #1 Certifiable Assholes.
+1
I not only would have published their name here, I would have broadcasted it out every chance I had.
Wow, what a story. The last paragraph feel is like part of a movie (Big Chill reference). I’m just hoping this “friend” didn’t cause your divorce., and used the car as an excuse to get to see her. That would be an even bigger punch to the gut.
Anyway, this story is why I have never shot too high for my classics. Always a sedan (lower cost) and something easy to fiddle with, like the 71 Mercury Monterey pictured below. But, this really sounded like a cool deal. Again, I’m sorry for how things ended, and, I’m hoping all is working out for you.
Your friend sounds like an a$$hole.
I’ve never been a fan of the ‘Stang – especially the first version. Not because it isn’t a good car, which it is, but mainly the fans of the car – they act like fangurls from “Twilight” or “The Hunger Games” with their obsession over this car. Never have I seen a bunch of straight white guys act like their teen daughters over a car.
What an absolutely seductive little car. I was six years old when this Mustang was new, and it’s exactly the way a six-year-old Mike would have equipped a new Mustang. “I want the convertible, and the four-speed and the biggest motor, and I want those cool wheels. Yeah, a GT. Make it a GT.” Rather like the early Hot Wheels that came out a couple of years later. When grown-up realities interfere with boyhood dreams, it can be pretty nasty. Thanks for telling your story.
When your Mustang was new, I was still about 1 and 1/2 years from getting my license….and the Camaro was about 6 months from the showrooms. My Mom’s sister FINALLY talked her husband into letting her trade her ratty old Ford station wagon for a new Mustang. My cousin must have had some input into the purchase as my aunt got a 66 Mustang that was as close to a GT as you could get, and which I often think was better than a GT. Aunt T’s Mustang was a dark green coupe with a black vinyl roof and interior, redline tires with wire wheel covers, and of course a V8. These are nice cars, one reason why 25 years ago I bought my own V8 coupe (double black, with a bench front seat), and which I subsequently sold less than a year later for what I paid for it with minimal investment. Nice cars, but no Porsche, definitely not a 911.
Reading this write-up, I am surprised by the disreputable dealer….and your protection of them, your seeming naivete about your purchase (especially considering the amount of money involved), the buyer who got a “discount” of only $1,000 for a POSSIBLE “clone” (congratulations on that), and the “friend”….who maybe wasn’t.
A clone?. Best to look at the VIN in Mustang bibles or the web before you sell so you can tell chancers were to go!…
I am lucky enough to be of the age when used Mustangs were everywhere, and it was still possible to find decent ones here or there that did not cost an arm and a leg.
You have confirmed me in my fear of buying an early Mustang convertible today. They became worth so much money that every Mustang ragtop was hauled out of every junkyard in every condition and “restored”, a term that has wildly different meanings to different people. Today, I would not trust my own judgment when looking at one, because I would have no idea what it is or was.
Fortunately, my tastes are more plebian. Things that are not worth mega dollar resto treatments are a lot easier to examine for authenticity.
And sorry to hear about all of the other things that got wound up in your story with these two cars.
“…..a lot easier to examine for authenticity”.
Actually, with all the books available, not to mention online resources, checking the authenticity of a Mustang SHOULD be fairly easy. It becomes difficult when someone produces a “clone” and subsequently goes to extraordinary lengths to pass the clone off as genuine. In the case of a Mustang, producing a cloned GT is fairly easy. That’s (probably) why the buyer settled on such a reasonable “discount” as $1000 off asking price.
BTW, I meant to include in my original post here that I REALLY HATE those commercials for that product that your “friend” was a part of.
Well, I didn’t see that coming. I hate it when manual transmission cars have clutch chatter. One of the things I like about a decent automatics, I have had my share of chattering clutches.
Nice car. Sounds like the Mustang dealer and your so called friend were both members of the same (Richard Cranium) family. Thanks for telling the story.
Ouch ;
Sorry it all worked out that way .
Clutch judder is always a simple if occasionally laborious fix .
I’ve never owned a Mustang but I remember when they came out in ’64 , at the time I wasn’t impressed as I already knew and disliked Falcons and Comets (same cars under the skin) .
But many decades of working on and driving them made me realize that early Mustangs are pretty good for such cheap cars ~ I like the notch back Coupes best of all .
Fun to drive , easy on gas and your wallet , dead easy to fix anything on them .
I too am more of a closed car kinda guy ~ every few years I get seduced by some old Drop Top and after the first season I never drop the top again and usually wind up selling at a dead loss after fixing everything on it .
-Nate
A lot of general train-wreckiness in this read.
The dealer was extremely lucky you didn’t sue them for misrepresentation. In fact you would have done future classic car buyers a favor if you had, people like that are a blight upon the hobby.
There’s something about that broken distributor that may have something to do with the car being a clone. A factory 289 High-Performance engine (which is what a ’66 GT with dual, trumpet exhausts should have) would come with a dual-point distributor. I don’t think those are exactly easy to find, certainly more difficult than a run-of-the-mill small-block Ford single-point distributor. OTOH, it doesn’t look like it has the proper ‘High Performance’ 289 fender emblems, either.
But, yeah, the whole story is disheartening. The shady collector car dealer, the wealthy LA ‘friend’ who doesn’t really sound like much of a friend at all, etc.
The GT package did not include the K-code hi-po 271hp 289. That was optional. There were quite a few GTs back in the day, but not very many sported the hi-po 289 badge.
Yeah it was not a K-code hi-po. It was the 4 valve (the middle engine of the 289s).
I think you mean “4 barrel”, not ” 4 valve”. 4 valve cylinder heads were still some decades off, for the most part. The base 289 had a two barrel carb; the optional 225 hp version got a four barrel carb, but was otherwise mostly the same.
The K-Code had a 4 barrel carb too, but it had a special cam, mechanical lifters, better intake and larger carb, along with that dual-point distributor.
Yes it was indeed the 4 barrel, but if I’m not mistaken the air filter cover was marked 4V because Ford’s official name for the 4 barrel was “4 valve”. I’ll see if I can find any support for my recollection.
The the air cleaner lids used to say 2V or 4V after the displacement but that’s short for 4 Venturi, not 4 Valve
Well, the thing that threw me off was the dual exhaust trumpets. I thought only 289 Hi-Po engines got those. I know for a fact that in 1967, a 289-4v Mustang only had a single exhaust. If you saw one with dual exhausts, it was either a 289 Hi-Po or a 390.
1967 is not 1966. The 1965-1966 GT package included those flared chromed exhaust tips, regardless of engine.
Anyway, the ’67 GT special exhaust had quad outlets.
There is almost no classic car seller that can be trusted. Either they get cars on consignment so they can easily say this is what I was told. Other cars they get by lowballing some older unknowledgeable owner and then flipping the car for a minimum double to triple the price.
As an example there is a place near Fairfield where the cars are on consignment. From 25 feet they look great but to a trained eye most are all grade 3 cars being sold at grade one prices. Then we have a place in Florida who operates the second way and has a well known and well deserved reputation in Florida despite their glowing eBay feedback.
Back in the summer my wife and I decided that we wanted another convertible; now that we are both retired there is no issue with having one as a daily driver and being forced to drive it in the snow. We looked at a couple of first generation Mustangs (along with some other “collectibles”) and decided against purchasing one. One seller had a fully restored ’66 Mustang, with the 200 CID six and automatic, that was likely in better shape than when it was new. We drove it a couple of times and, in the end, couldn’t pull the trigger. We decided that if we were going to spend that kind of money we should just buy some sort of late model used car and be done with it. We ended up with a 2014 Mustang convertible; not as sexy perhaps as one from the first generation, but a car you can actually drive and not have to worry about it expiring from old age.
I hear you joe. I’ve had a variety of classic cars, Porsches (911 and 924), Rovers (2000TC and P6B), Series IIA Land Rover and a Range Rover (1976). All had their charms – and their shortcomings of various kinds. I’ve now got a 2007 Honda Civic Type R (fn2). It’s just as much fun to drive as the older cars and a heck of a lot easier to live with.
First gen Mustangs are not really bad cars. They are pretty simple and parts are everywhere and affordable. Since they are popular they are fairly easy to resell. Early GTs were an option package in 1965 that could be added to any 4V equipped V8 car. In 1967 this option was extended to 2V V8s also. The special grill and exhausts were available for many years from the dealer and were popular upgrades. Many owners added these and the mechanical upgrades over the years. Sometimes these items had been installed by the dealers prior to the original sale of the car. The Marti report could be used to validate the documentation of an original car. Later specials such as the Mach One had specific VIN identifiers. Since there was a choice of motor and equipment available, small/large block V8s, four speed or manual transmissions there can be quite a difference in individual cars. The Boss series cars had very specific mechanical equipment and these carry specific VIN identifiers. You had better do your homework and demand a Marti report for proper documentation. The difference between the value of an original car and a clone can be quite substantial. All this is way above my pay grade and interest. If you want a classic Mustang you can afford, there are tons of the “hardtop” models available in every condition and configuration. Prices on these are still very reasonable.
I would consider the first and second gen Mustangs as being very reliable. With either the base 200 cid or 289 cid engine and C4 auto there isn’t much to go wrong. Switch the points over to Pertronix and you are good to go. You will need front discs, which weren’t common, on them if using as a daily driver. I should know since I have had a 1968 Mustang since 1984. However, being in the Bay Area has pretty much limited my driving in the car. Far too much traffic almost 20 hours a day plus tons of inattentive drivers followed by drivers who dart in and out which can be deadly for a 68 car. Few people darted in and out, stopping on a dime, back in 1968. Now I have to pick my times carefully.
Until the last bit, great story as always Matt. I too am a Mustang guy, but personally like the ’69-70 convertibles better. If I had $40k to blow on a Mustang, I’d saddle up (haha) and get a ’16. The new model is pretty incredible.
I also would love to have a 911 Cabriolet someday, but with a kid heading off to college in a couple of years I don’t that happening anytime soon.
In high school the envy of all was the guy with a brand new, white Mustang. I got ponycar fever, too. But for me, after one ponycar (a 1967 Camaro) I decided that my Plymouth Valiant Signet was the better car. Nobody could think of it as cool or trendy but it was more comfortable, quieter, rode better, handled better, and was cheaper to buy. I even much liked the formal look of the 1967-1970 four-door sedan…perhaps a prelude to the Brougham era trickling down to the compacts.
I do wonder to this day whether my feelings would be different had the Camaro been another, competing ponycar. The Mustang, by all conventional performance standards, seemed a better car than the 67 Camaro from what I experienced in later years, and the Plymouth Barracuda with its Valiant bones and heart definitely was better. I don’t know about the Javelin, and the Firebird and Cougar probably would have mirrored their corporate siblings.
For all that, I never again had ponycar fever.
My wife, in her high school days way before I knew her, had a 1967 Mustang coupe, a base model with a Six and automatic. When her sister grew up, it was “loaned” to her. The sister and her husband have it still but a rebuild into a clone would be difficult as well as unethical; and sadly, in the manner of all Pennsylvania cars, it has rust holes in it. I could consider a restoration to original, base-model Six, perhaps. But I’d probably rather restore a four-door Valiant Signet.
Sounds like a great old Mustang, and I’m of the opinion that the only downside of it being a “clone” is to collectors who care about that sort of thing. It’s still a V8 ’66 ragtop! But sorry to hear that it was tied up with such unpleasantness in your life. I’m sure that will always color the memories you have of the car, and make it something to be forgotten and moved on from rather than fondly remembered.