There’s a Beautiful ’66 Ford Mustang Under All This Dust

BOLD RIDE

Copyright © 2016 Bold Ride LLC.

 

Posted by Zach Doell 

 

                               

                                     

Some automobiles look good with a little bit of dirt on them—namely rat rods, lifted trucks, and rally cars. But even pony cars can look delightful under a coating of the silty stuff, and that’s exactly how this aged ’66 Ford Mustang presents. 

 

According to its owner, it has been cooped up in a garage for the past 14 years, waiting on an engine rebuild that would never come. Now it’s up for sale on eBay, with its 200ci straight-six in non-running state, and it begs the question—what would you do?

Would you restore it, or would you give this Mustang the V8 it never had? For Mustang fans, that answer might take some serious soul searching.

1966 arrived as the Mustang’s sophomore year, and like a band with a hit record… it didn’t change its game much, apart from minor mods like an updated grille, different side trim, revised side scoops, and a new instrument cluster. Beneath the hood you still found the same glorious engine options; at the low end, the 200ci six-cylinder pumping out 120 horsepower, followed by two different tunes of the 289ci V8, and culminating in the racy HiPo “K-code” V8 providing 271 ponies of twisting power. What a lusty thing that was.

 

This ’66 Ford Mustang came fitted with the six-cylinder base engine, though that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The six didn’t have near as much power as its bigger brothers, but it was light and provided nimble handling. In this instance, it swats through the gears of its Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission.

Of interesting note, and as pointed out over on Barnfinds, this ’66 would appear to be one of the rarer “bench seat” cars. In 1966, front bucket seats came standard on all Ford Mustang, however convertibles and hardtops (such as this) could be optioned up with a “full-width” front seat, which featured a wide armrest that could either be flipped down or up to create more room. Period literature claims it was only available with four different interior color schemes.

So what do you think, Internets? Go for power with the V8, or keep it accurate with the straight-six?