Good morning! It’s Friday, when we do something out of the ordinary around here, and I just felt like this week’s choices didn’t lend themselves to a four-way shootout. So we’ll stick with the same-price theme, and just up the ante a little bit.
Yesterday I gave you two bad choices, and I had no idea which way you were going to go. As it turns out, most of you agreed with my thinking that the Pontiac has more potential, and represents a better value anyway because it runs and drives. I’m definitely in favor of the V8 swap ideas, but don’t forget to change that rear axle ratio, too; I’m sure it has at best a 2.73 gear set. A 700R4 overdrive transmission and some lower gears would make it a lot more pleasant.
I have nothing but respect for the Yugo, but I feel like you could probably find one that hasn’t been mothballed since before The Matrix had a sequel for a similar price. And I fear that if I ever got a Yugo, I’d always be disappointed that I didn’t hold out for a real Fiat 128, like I actually want.
Now then: It seems to me that the internet has been great for classic cars if you sell them, but maybe not so much if you’re hunting for bargains. You’re not likely to score that local treasure for a song when someone from a thousand miles away can find the same listing and outbid you. And since auction prices are generally public knowledge, asking prices for ordinary sales have gone up, too. It seems to me that neither of these cars would have cost this much a few years ago, but here we are. Which one is worth it these days? Let’s find out.
1965 Ford Mustang – $15,000
Engine/drivetrain: 200 cubic inch overhead valve inline 6, three-speed manual, RWD
Location: San Leandro, CA
Odometer reading: 26,000 miles (probably 126,000)
Operational status: Runs and drives great
If you say the words “classic car” to a non-car person in America, chances are they’re going to picture either a ’57 Chevy, or a ’65 Mustang. You can find ten of these in just about any car show in the country. So what could possibly make it special enough to care about? Easy: Someone loves it. That’s all it takes. The seller bought this car from their uncle, did a shit-ton of work on it, and have been enjoying it. There are millions of others like it, as the saying goes, but this one is theirs, and it could be yours.
It’s nothing special under the hood either, just an inline six and a three-speed manual. But it has a long list of new parts listed in the ad, and it runs like a top. The aluminum radiator is a nice touch, and the chrome dress-up kit is not something you see too often on a six-cylinder. It’s got all new fluids, new tires, a new battery, and lots more.
The interior is in nice shape as well, though the seller reports that the stock gauges don’t work except for the speedometer. They’ve added aftermarket gauges to cover oil pressure, coolant temperature, and fuel level – everything you need. The passenger’s seat upholstery also has a tear in it, but it’s not like Mustang restoration parts are hard to come by, if you wanted to fix it.
Also – and this is the big deal – it has been stripped to bare metal and repainted. No rust here. I have no idea if this is an original ’65 Mustang color, but I like it. It’s subtle. And, crucially, not “resale red.” The seller replaced all the weatherstripping after the repaint, too, so no worries about rain leaks.
1984 Toyota 4×4 Pickup – $15,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.4-liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, part-time 4WD
Location: Rohnert Park, CA
Odometer reading: 378,000 miles (!)
Operational status: Runs and drives great
If a classic Mustang doesn’t do it for you, how about an indestructible Toyota truck? If neither Jeremy Clarkson nor Marty McFly could kill one, there isn’t much chance of anyone else doing it. This one has lived a good long life, covering almost 400,000 miles in its forty years.
It’s not what you’d call stock anymore; it has at least a few inches of lift to clear 33-inch tires, a locking rear diff, and short off-road gearing. A tube bumper equipped with a winch show that someone meant business with this truck. It’s powered by a 22R four-cylinder and a five-speed stick, both rebuilt 20 years ago. It runs and drives great, according to the seller, and used to be a daily driver not long ago.
We don’t get any interior photos except this shot of the dash, showing the impressive number on the odometer. I presume the rest of the interior is in poor shape. It looks like some interior restoration parts are available, if you were so inclined.
The outside isn’t great either; it’s got dents, rust, and a Krylon and Rhino-Liner paint job. I imagine it was originally blue, but not this shade of blue. It’s a good-looking truck, but I’m not sure I’d call it “clean,” condition-wise.
Fifteen thousand dollars sounds like a lot for an old car, but based on these, it doesn’t seem to buy you much these days. One thing I can say for both of them is that they’ve clearly both been well-loved and well taken care of. One is clean and fresh, while the other still wears its battle scars. So what’ll it be – the shiny Mustang, or the beat-up truck?
(Image credits: sellers)
Toyota. I would rather get a Camaro of that age instead of a Mustang, although both are equally good.
The only issue with the Toyota is rust….that can kill it, and has claimed the lives of MANY of these trucks…
The Mustang is not particularly interesting to me,but the Toyota is definitely not in as good of a shape as the owner claims and is not worth it at that price.
I would take the Mustang for its originality at least.
Mustang. Early run with the Falcon speedometer, straight six, and three speed? I would be proud of that set up. Find a nice county road and ease it up to sixty. Enjoy life.
I know all about the Toyota Tax, but $15k for a truck that has as many issues as this one is still high. Sure, they’re indestructible, but so are their contemporary competitors from Nissan, Mitsubishi and Mazda. Yet the prices on those are not as inflated. I recently acquired a Ram 50 4×4 (aka Mitsubishi Mighty Max) in much better shape and with half the mileage for about a third of that price.
An Izuzu faster or an S10 should be able to take just as much abuse as this Toyota pickup can, but the Toyota pickup is better value of money (when in good condition of course)…
Although the first generation Mustang I would really want is the fastback, this one appeals to my contrarian side. It’s sort of a middle finger to the worshippers at the Mustang temple and to the never-enough-power dudes. The notch back and I6 make it a simple transportation tool. Yeah, a gussied up Falcon, and one of those would serve the same purpose, but they’re harder to find because not many people were holding onto them back in the day.
I chose the truck since I love those old Yotas and the Mustangs are overrated. Even though it’s a Fix Or Repair Daily/Found On Road Dead, the only Fords I like are the classics and even then I’d rather have Mopar/Chevy. At least the engine was rebuilt on the truck way back when…it’s still overpriced though
Well I hate lifted trucks… so this was easy… Mustang all the way.
This one is about which expensive toy you want. The Toyota is grossly overpriced and has been hacked together a bit, but it’ll probably sell for the asking price (ALL the old Toyota trucks are grossly overpriced). The Mustang is less valuable to collectors because of the I-6, but it is in very good condition and ought to be fun.
The right answer here is the Mustang, but I voted Toyota because it’d be fun offroad and I don’t have an off roader.
I’m not a “Mustang guy,” but that car looks like some weekend fun. I’d take it over the truck even if the truck came with $15,000 in unmarked bills in the bed.
That Toyota has been butchered up and used up yet the seller thinks he knows what he’s got. No way buddy, I don’t even think it’s been well maintained over the last 5-6 years, just look at those front tires, they’ve been out of the market over the last 10 YEARS. Tires speak a lot to me, I just can’t get past by it…
Yes it’s a Toyota but it had a drivetrain rebuild 20 years ago and that’s nothing to presume about; it might be ready for another one. No one should be entitled to ask 5 figures without presenting good pictures, specially on the interior
So I’ll default with the Mustang, puny I-6 notwithstanding…
I was thinking the exact same thing. He couldn’t even be bothered to dust the dashboard before taking the pic; can’t imagine what that means for the rest of the maintenance this truck gets.
The 22RE was BETTER than the V6 at the time…very fuel efficient I presume on a stock truck?
Back in 84 there was only the carbureted 22R. Yes both that and later the Fuel Injected variant were much more dependable than the 3VZ-E V6 engine, although they were not without faults; timing guides were its Achilles heel, but if caught in time and replaced by an upgraded metal part they could last forever.
The 4×4 trucks were not fuel efficient, regardless of the engine due to aerodinamics and short gearing. The fuel efficient ones were the 2WD trucks which could get about 25 MPG combined.
25 MPG is pretty good…and the RWD models should have been good value for money, like most Toyotas of the time. That now only rests with the RWD Hilux today…
I think they’re both overpriced, but definitely the Mustang. If the truck was in good shape and stock or at least $10k cheaper, the truck, but it’s decidedly none of those. The Mustang being a base model does make it kind of interesting as they’re nowhere near as common even if they are probably more representative of what most of them were sold as. And the color is nice.
The mustang.
It seems pretty honest and the most expensive part of a classic car build is the body work, which seems like it is OK on that front already.
Also I would be curious if a 300 Straight six would fit and a Holley Sniper FI kit on that.