1973 Ford Mustang for sale $22,900

This car came to us looking sparkling in its white livery, which is indeed the carandrsquo;s original color and mostly original paint. The doors were repainted a few years ago to excise 40 yearsandrsquo; worth of parking lot dings, but the match is exact and if I hadnandrsquo;t told you about it, you wouldnandrsquo;t even notice. It was a little bland, however, so we added the black stripes, borrowing from the 1973 Mach 1 and the hood stripes used on the 1972 Sprint, and the look is awesome. As a car thatandrsquo;s never been hit, wrecked, or fully disassembled, all the body panels line up just the way they did when it was new, with doors that close with a surprisingly reassuring solidity and a hood that never fights you. The paint shines up beautifully and all the chrome remains in excellent condition, making this a car with no needs that can be enjoyed immediately.

The interior isnandrsquo;t white, itandrsquo;s parchment, so donandrsquo;t be fooled into thinking itandrsquo;s discolored. Those are original seat covers that remain in excellent condition with no splits or tears, the door panels arenandrsquo;t cracked or delaminating, and the back seat looks and feels completely unused. The carpets were replaced a few years ago, but the dash pad and center console are original and do not show any UV damage or cracking. The steering wheel is the original woodgrained rim blow unit and yeas, the rim blow feature does indeed work correctly. The gauges cover only the basics, but they all work, including the warning lights, and show bright markings behind clear lenses. The original AM radio is in the dash and is ripe for an upgradeandmdash;whatandrsquo;s a Mustang if you canandrsquo;t take your music with you? Youandrsquo;ll also note thereandrsquo;s factory A/C, which isnandrsquo;t currently operational but could probably be made to work without a major investment. Overhead thereandrsquo;s a white power convertible top that was installed several years ago, and it folds easily with the touch of a switch, where itandrsquo;s hidden by a matching parchment boot. The trunk is also correctly outfitted with what we believe to be the original mat, and there are no nasty surprises waiting underneathandmdash;the floors and inner quarters are very clean and wear their original spatter paint.

This is the carandrsquo;s original, numbers-matching H-code 351 Cleveland V8, which was the top-of-the-line engine in 1973. Originally equipped with a 2-barrel carburetor (4-barrels were gone in 1973), itandrsquo;s been upgraded to an Edelbrock 4-barrel with a matching aluminum intake manifold. Thereandrsquo;s also a modern electronic ignition system with an aluminum distributor up front. It starts easily, hot or cold, and never seems cranky, which is pretty impressive. The 4-barrel makes the most of the Clevelandandrsquo;s deep-breathing intake ports, adding more performance than youandrsquo;d expect from such a modest modificationandmdash;this car feels downright fast! Itandrsquo;s also quite content to trundle around town, sit in traffic, or eat up miles of highway, making this a Mustang thatandrsquo;s ideal for the person who likes to drive.

The Cleveland is backed by a robust C6 3-speed automatic transmission and 3.00 gears out back, so itandrsquo;s a nice highway cruiser and that tall gearing allows the big torque to move the car with smoothness thatandrsquo;s unexpected. As a mostly original car, the undercarriage isnandrsquo;tandrsquo; detailed for show, but the floors are incredibly clean, with two replacement pans in the usual locations in the rear seat foot wells, and the work was very professionally done. Youandrsquo;ll find that the rockers are solid, the torque boxes are like new, and everything fits together the way it