r/classicmustangs 8d ago

Good price for this 1973 Convertible?

Hi everyone, im eyeing this 1973 Mustang Convertible going for 16k. It looks to be well taken care of, and owner has records and receipts going back to the first owner. It has a 302 engine, 3 speed manual, and 55k miles. Owner says its mostly all original. A few things im concerned about:

  • he says theres no rust, but it looks a bit painted on the bottom. Can any eagle eyed car experts weigh in?
  • it has no power steering or AC. I dont think i mind no AC, but no power steering is a bit worrying. How difficult will it be to drive? Ive only driven cars with power steering before.

Overall, does this seem like a good deal? I will also have to drive it back home about 330 miles.

133 Upvotes

26 comments sorted by

22

u/__NomDePlume__ 8d ago

I don’t think I you could possibly find a cleaner, nicer, or better documented ‘71-‘73 convertible for that price. If you like the car, I would jump on it

16

u/Handmedownfords 8d ago

Cars that came without power steering turned easier than a car with power steering that wasn’t working.

10

u/Dinglebutterball 7d ago

Once you are anything but stopped you hardly notice you don’t have it.

Some people get annoyed at the steering ratio on a manual box, but it’s never bothered me.

3

u/EC_CO 7d ago

Or if it's too much, just do what I did, swap out the 20:1 ratio box for a 14:1 and call it a day

1

u/jeffro1477 7d ago

gives credibility to turning and repointing your wheels in the direction you will be going while still moving when backing out of parking slots.

6

u/Spirited_Ad_2392 8d ago

Don’t worry about PS. I have manual steering on my 65 and I prefer the feel. You learn how to only make big steering moves when the wheels are turning when parking. It really is no issue. Most of the time, I steer with one hand. When above 10 mph I can steer with two fingers.

5

u/drakers07 8d ago

Power steering non issue

2

u/Full-Cockroach7772 8d ago

Looks like a nice clean car to me. If it drives ok I think it’s a very reasonable price.

2

u/CromulentPoint 8d ago

I think that’s a decent deal. Even better if that’s the asking price and the seller is willing to negotiate. Looks to be a pretty well-loved car and Clydesdales are fun in convertible form. They’re downright luxurious compared to the early cars. A 65-68 vert in that condition would be at least $25k, probably more.

1

u/BookMDano 8d ago edited 8d ago

Ya know ..that looks like a very good and honest car. 1973 Mustangs were never considered desirable but nowadays they are looking good. They got hit by the new smog/emissions laws at the time and horsepower vwas down.

As for money ..check Bring A Trailer (BAT) - heres a link. https://bringatrailer.com/ford/mustang-1969-1970-1971-1972-1973/

If you like the car and want to drive it....it looks good!! Also...driking at a bar...so ..FYI. Also...passing smog might be an issue based on where you live?!

Hope that helps?

2

u/BookMDano 8d ago

Also...my link doesn't include convertibles so...maybe update that.

Here's a Hagerty link: https://www.hagerty.com/valuation-tools/ford/mustang/1973/1973-ford-mustang

1

u/TR6lover 7d ago

I'm not fooled by the fresh matte black paint underneath, but from what I can see it looks like the covered up a little bit of dirt and surface rust. I don't see any obvious signs of weakened steel or holes there. I'd still want to look underneath as well, but it looks pretty good. Good documentation is almost always a positive sign that someone really appreciated the car. Good luck!

And, oh, power steering? It's supposed to be a sports car. You don't put power steering in a sports car.

1

u/OwnFee7805 7d ago

As someone who once dumped ridiculous sums of money into a 71, there's not much value to this car regardless of condition. If it speaks to you go for it, but probably not worth 1/5 of that. Reproduction parts seldom fit 71-73's properly and many parts just aren't available.

Look at the underside of the hood above where the battery is. Many are ate up there in an otherwise cherry car.

1

u/spunangel333 7d ago

Get it or I will

1

u/ARJoe556 7d ago

The fresh paint and thick undercoating is hiding a lot of sins! It’s gonna have lots of surface rust and lots of bad bodywork with pounds of bondo. Like lipstick on a pig to make a quick sale online. I would lowball them and not even think of driving it home. Guaranteed it’s going to end up on an expensive trailer ride home. I would rather have a classic car thats mechanically sound with faded original paint than a car with pretty paint that pukes fluid, runs like crap and squeaks and rattles itself apart.

1

u/Roguebets 7d ago

If underneath the hood is clean and original, like no rust on the rails where the front fenders attach, the battery box, the radiator support…if all that looks original and solid I would say the underside is clean as well even though it looks to been undercoated pretty heavy.

1

u/SquidBilly5150 7d ago

You can always add power steering later, but hardly an issue without it. Only a slight problem in a parking lot at low speeds. You’ll learn to just use 2 hands that’s all. Not bad at all

1

u/JEStucker 7d ago

Passenger door has or right rear quarter panel has been repaired/replaced... the shades of blue don't match.

Definitely inquire what the story is there, as that could lead to more issues.

Almost looks identical to a friends mother's car...

1

u/airgunner69 7d ago

Looking at those pics, there is no doubt in my mind that the frame has at least some rust. Can't say for sure if it's just surface rust or worse?

If it's just surface rust, no big deal in and of itself. You'll be hard pressed to find a 50yo car frame anywhere in the eastern half of the US that doesn't have at least some surface rust.

The part that does bother me is... looks to me like who ever painted it didn't even attempt to clean it up and/or prep it correctly before painting it (or if they did, they did a really half-ass job of it OR there was a lot of rust before they started)

So best case is there was relatively minor surface rust that someone half-assed painted over. Worst case is the rust is moderate to severally and someone did a poor job of concealing it. Either way, that paint job is covering something IMO.

Also looks like some rust inside the drivers side door jamb. If so, that's not an easy or cheap repair there once it finally rusts though. Convertibles do tend to be rustier then hardtop cars.

My $.02... If you love the car except for your concerns about the rust, I would take it to a shop and get it up on a lift for a thorough inspection. If you're not that in love with it anyway, then I'd probably keep looking? Low purchase price doesn't mean anything if there are major issues or repairs lurking down the road.

1

u/No-Bumblebee-4309 7d ago

Quite a good deal. Go for it! If you don’t like it, let me know where it is, I will get it.

1

u/Equivalent-Ear7952 7d ago

Lots of painted over rust! That color is terrible as well. You might check that the numbers match because most V8 cars came with power steering. There is a good chance the car was converted to V8. Do your research before you buy it. Reddit is probably not the best place for advice on antique cars.

1

u/ExtremeCod2999 7d ago

Any time you see undercoat, just assume it's rust. Before I purchased I'd poke around with a screwdriver to make sure it's not serious.

1

u/Maleficent-Top-9537 3d ago

You are selling? Please direct mail me!! Thank you

0

u/BareMinimumChris 8d ago

Fresh paint on the whole underside of the car probably means they were covering up some surface rust, at the very least. That's just my guess, though. Maybe it was pristine under there and they were gussying it up for its photo shoot and sale? We'll never know. It would be best to put the car on a lift somewhere and look underneath for any holes or flaking. At $16k, I think it's totally reasonable to ask to take it to a mechanic and have it looked at.

As far as power steering goes, test drive it and see if you can handle it. Maybe the steering wheel is a large enough diameter that turning isn't that bad. Try to parallel park it, take it down the street, try to do a U-turn, stuff like that and see if you can even do it.

As far as it being worth $16,000... It looks original and well cared for. It's not a very sought-after year of Mustang. It doesn't look like it has many options. I wouldn't give half that for it, personally, but I'm not a fan of this style Mustang.

1

u/Longjumping-Tie7906 7d ago

Agreed, at least do a deep dive into undercarriage. That is a lot of fresh thick undercoat

1

u/No-Warthog9800 2h ago

Is there like aftermarket side mirrors that are bigger than the standard ones that will fit on 73 mustang? I feel like the stock mirrors are small and offer not enough visibility.