[Riviera Tony]

Hello, I have found and bought my 1967 Convertible in France. I live on the south coast but found the car in Paris. I pulled the vehicle out of the same house address as the original registration from 1967, meaning it has been in the same garage for 47 years with only one owner. I have the original bill of sale from a dealer in Paris and can document everything. The car was exported new to France and the speedometer is in kilometers as is the odometer, which by the way has only 44,000 km. (27,350 miles). She is Wimbledon white and completely original with the 289 A code, 4 barrel rated at 225 hp with the 4 speed on the floor. There is no rust on the car, anywhere! I've had to change the solenoid, harmonic balancer, fuel pump, plugs and wires and fuel sensor. I've installed three point seat belts in the front and rear and electronic ignition. I've rebuilt the carburetor, had the alternator rebuilt, painted the engine bay and she has new Ford blue on the motor and air breather. She looks fantastic with only one small (2 inch) ding on the back left fender just above the tire. Center console, clock and the luxury black interior, with no tears or rips, is inside and again, no rust on any of the top hinges.
I feel very lucky to have found this car. I think all of the available valuation methods do not pertain. Is it a "barn find"?
Does anyone have any idea of what this car is worth?
I've uploaded a couple of photos if anyone is interested.
Thanking all in advance,
Tony

 

[Driveway]

My chart is a few years old now, but it lists your car at about $16,200. Now this is just a base number. I would call your car a rare find because it is in such good shape. A barn find is usually in pretty sad shape, but may be a rare or special car.

 

[Veronica]

Hello. That looks like a very nice car. Since you are asking about the value, that would seem to indicate that you are thinking about selling it. If that is indeed what you are thinking about doing, I can't help but think that you will have a very difficult time convincing a prospective buyer that this car has not been restored. Being an export car obviously should help the value, but, if you are trying to sell the car in France, I don't know how much of an impact that would have, and, what a car might bring here wouldn't really have a lot to do with what a car might bring over there. Gas is pretty expensive there, and parts might be a little hard to find without having them shipped from here, so, again, it would be hard to say with any accuracy what that car might actually bring.

 

[Riviera Tony]

Hi Veronica, Thank you for your reply. I don't want to sell the car. As a matter of fact, I'll probably never sell it. I don't think there is another one in Europe like it and would be curious how many there are in the U.S. I'm really looking at evaluations for insurance purposes. I think it's worth more than what Driveway has posted in his reply, only because of what I was looking at when I found this one. I had short listed about 5, earlier in the year, listing 22-28k euros and they have nothing over what I have in the overall shape and mileage. As I said earlier, there is no rust on this car and I can document everything. Anyway, if you would have any other ideas I would be happy to hear from you again.
Tony

 

[Riviera Tony]

Hi Driveway, Thank you for your reply. Prices in Europe are running considerably more than they do in the US. I'm looking at evaluations for my insurance. Are there a lot of Mustangs in this kind of shape and mileage in the US?
Tony

 

[Ivy66GT]

Yes, there are. Its not at all unusual to have a completely rust-free car if it lived in the dry western states all its life. Those, like mine, have never had any metal replaced since there was no need. Many of them here still have their original paint although it could be a bit faded by now.

Also, even if you found that car in a barn, as Veronica hinted, it is not in barn-find condition. Everything I see under the hood has been re-painted and/or re-done including the exterior paint. The hoses, clamps...everything is a replacement part. You also don't get white overspray on a hood ground clip from the factory. And the cowl to underhood area was not that nicely detailed from the factory; there should be overspray everywhere. All of that I would call 'restoration' and it would erase any barn-find premium if there ever was any. To a US buyer one of the first things they would notice is the '66 hubcaps on a '67. Maybe Ford sold them that way in France but not in the US. Unless it a very rare model, barn-find Mustangs would be worth less to us since you know EVERYTHING will need re-doing in order to make it usable and there are other, cheaper options.

As far as values, it would not surprise me that French values would be higher. However, few, if any, of us would know what that value should or would be. I am more familiar with the UK where the typical rule is anything in US$ will be worth the same amount in UK£ if not more. Crossing the channel does not normally alter that by much except you must factor in the £/€ exchange rate. There is also a rarity premium for US cars anywhere else in the world just as there is for many foreign cars in the US. 30 years ago any $5k US Corvette was worth $50k in Australia just because they were so rare there. They were still only worth $5k in the US.

 

[Riviera Tony]

Hi Ivy66GT,
thanks for the information. I've had to change the solenoid, harmonic balancer, fuel pump, plugs and wires and fuel sensor. I've installed three point seat belts in the front and rear and electronic ignition. I've rebuilt the carburetor, had the alternator rebuilt, painted the engine bay and she has new Ford blue on the motor and air breather. So I understand that she is not original anymore and perhaps I've disappointed the "purists" out there but if I hadn't done all these things (except the paint and ignition) she just wasn't safe to run, without the possiblitly of breaking down at any given moment. All of the rubber was hard and or perished. Now that I'm driving it, I think all of the bushings, boots etc on the front end need changing too. The exterior paint however, I'm still trying to find out if it is original.
I look forward to any other comments or help in trying to find out more about my Pony.
Tony

 

[geicoman58]

Bonjour Tony! What a cool find in Paris. There are mustang clubs all over Europe as here, get in touch with some of them for some local help. I could see that car easily bringing 30 grand here in the usa, and even more in Europe. There are appraisers that specialize in determining the value for ins. purposes and that type of documentation can be used by you and the ins. co to set coverage rates, and settle claims if the car is stolen or wrecked. If you haven't already, don't throw away any old parts you change out. What a shame the original owner didn't take the car out more often!! Enjoy!

 

[Driveway]

One of the best places to find the original paint is under the package tray. An easier place that may still be original is inside the trunk, way up front, on the bottom side of the package tray, on surfaces that face front.

Look carefully where the front and back window trim and body meet. Is there any sign of it being taped off and paint on the trim? Any bumps in the trim where the clips are?

Like I said, my value is just a base starting point.

 

[Riviera Tony]

Hi everyone,
I've finally had a professional evaluation done to satisfy my insurance. I'm happy to say he valued the car at 40k€. I've got some more to do so I think that will increase.

 

[Veronica]

Hi again. Congratulations. Apparently, people really like Mustangs in France.

 

[Riviera Tony]

Thanks V for your reply.
I'm not sure how much they like them but more to the point is that I think/hope I have a special Pony.