69 Coupe purchase - need advice please

[Fordfan]

Have opportunity to purchase the following & need your help determining fair price???

- 69 Coupe Grande, V8
- NON-numbers matching
- Manual Drum Brakes all around
- Manual Steering
- Body is solid, redone some years ago.
- Interior is good, needs dash pad/cover, bumpers good, overall chrome trim could be better. 14" steel wheels.

Looks like a solid driver to me. what's a fair price range? Dont want to insult the seller but feel it could be priced a bit too high?:confused:

Any input/advise is greatly appreciated. Thanks all!

[rangerdoc]

You said non-numbers matching, but I've never heard of a grande with manual brakes and steering, though I'm certainly no expert. Does it have a vinyl roof? Does it have the deluxe interior?

You need to do a good inspection for rust under the car and frame, bottom of the doors and around the wheels. The "solid" body could be hiding a bunch of stuff.

Some pictures would help determine a value but I'd offer no more than $1,500...maybe.

[Fordfan]

Thanks for your reply!!!

Understandably pics speak a thousand words, but unfortunately I did not snap pics of the guy's cars. He claims to have spent thousands on local body shop redo and claims to have receipts (did ask to see them yet). so for the sake of this thread lets just assume the body is solid. The paint job shines and looks fine to me (in other words I would not paint it if I buy it).
I looked at the bottom of the inside/outside doors, rocker panels, trunk, all looked great to me. ear end, gas tank, leafs all repainted some time ago.

Yes, vinyl roof with "grande" badge, but could have had that added.

Not sure what the deluxe interior is, but I sat in it and could describe it? small floor console w/ 2 gauges at the front (look aftermarket). the passenger side has clock in the dash. both driver & pass dashboard have the wood style. Door panels were solid color (no wood style). wood 3-spoke steering wheel (could be aftermarket no idea).

I popped the hood.... no A/C, no PB, no PS. its a driver as is and doesn't seem to need anything to drive it now as is. Its a complete running car as is. a real driver.

oh and its not a shinny new crate motor. its a late 70s windsor (4barrel) with early 70s head (he says, I dont have codes but would check). its little dirty but fired up and idled fine.

He prob spent too much on the body work and trying to get all he can and I can understand that, or maybe he thinks its just worth more than it is. could have started as a roller for all I know and he's trying to flip for profit. I just dont want to over pay and there are no other examples that I can find to get an idea of a fair price.

[rangerdoc]

Sounds like a genuine grande with the roof and interior you described, so that is nice. I like those cars. But I could swear they all came with ps, pb and a/c...since they were "luxury" mustangs. Maybe someone else will chime in to correct me. I'd suggest running the VIN and door tag numbers through a decoder to determine the original options and that will answer the remaining questions. I think it should have an FMX transmission as well.

He'll never get his money back for the paint and body. Assuming the paint and body were not recent Macco specials and assuming there is no rust under the paint I'd feel comfortable at about 5k, considering the engine doesn't match...that really matters if you ever decide to sell it down the road. That price is even a bit high if it is missing any of the original options.

Ultimately, its worth what you feel like paying :)

[Fordfan]

appreciate your help. Yeah the guy says it started as a 302/ 3 spd car. now has 351w / 4 spd. seller says body redone by a local auto body shop (not a maco) and he has receipts.

I like that its a non-numbers matching, nothing special coupe = expensive driver for well under 9k. :001_smile:

what I dont like is it has no PB and no PS. from what I see on mustangsunlimited.com, to put PS and PB kits in it will cost approx $2,200. if the car already had that in it, it would be an easier buy for me. :sad:

sounds like its not worth $9k:thumbdown:

[Powershift]

My first Mustang was a '69 coupe, with a vinyl roof, and it was not a Grande. It had a 302, 2 barrel, C4, 4 wheel manual brakes, as well as A/C and P/S. So, with a car this old it's entirely possible someone could have added some Mach 1 interior bits, and even the GRANDE logo on the vinyl top. Sounds like the 2 gauges in the front of the console aren't original, so anything is possible as far as what could have been done to it over it's 40+ year life.

Any way to decode the data plate to determine if it's a Grande, or just a "regular" coupe? I would think even a basic Marti report ($15) might provide that info, if it's not on the data plate.

[Vegassman]

Good timing...I just bought a 69 Grande 302 with a good body, bad paint, needs some interior help. No PS, no AC (but has hookups), and no PB (4 drums). The vinyl top has been removed. Was listed at $6k but i got it for $5k.

Just a reference.

[rangerdoc]

Most definitely not a $9k car. If the body work is perfect and you're positive it has no rust under the paint then I'd still be around $5k.

I guess vegas answered the question about the brakes. You could do the borgeson p/s addition. I'm doing that and mine came with p/s, so just consider it cost of a future mod. The brakes will cost you more, unfortunately.

Its really a toss up. If you are willing to spend 9k on a car, then I think you should hold out for one that has the options you want. There are plenty around that pop up. In my opinion, the most expense is in the body and paint, so having a car with that done would save you money in the long run. It may be hard to find a car with good paint/body AND have the decent mechanicals you are looking for. That's what would make the car you are looking at tempting to buy and you can do what you want with the rest. Just make sure there is no rust under that vinyl roof!

[66stang]

I paid 6k for my coupe it was a 351eng 4 speed drum brakes and little to no rust eng and trans not in the car had put that all in and the interior was real bad

[mwye0627]

Grande's definitely came with NO power steering and NO power brakes.
My first car was a 69 Grande' that I bought in April of '73.
It had a 351w-2v and an FMX trans with a 9" rear with 3.00:1 Gear.
I am currently looking to buy a 69 coupe project car.
One I'm looking at needs door skins, quarters, outer wheel houses, torque boxes and floorboards. The interior needs all new upholstery and dash pad. It's an original 302 - C4 car but it's missing the engine and trans. However, everything else is there. All good glass and trim. What do you think this one would be worth?

Thanks,
Mike

[Max Power]

Sounds like a genuine grande with the roof and interior you described, so that is nice. I like those cars. But I could swear they all came with ps, pb and a/c...since they were "luxury" mustangs. Maybe someone else will chime in to correct me. I'd suggest running the VIN and door tag numbers through a decoder to determine the original options and that will answer the remaining questions. I think it should have an FMX transmission as well.

He'll never get his money back for the paint and body. Assuming the paint and body were not recent Macco specials and assuming there is no rust under the paint I'd feel comfortable at about 5k, considering the engine doesn't match...that really matters if you ever decide to sell it down the road. That price is even a bit high if it is missing any of the original options.

Ultimately, its worth what you feel like paying :)

Grandes were a trim package, and while I believe the deluxe interior was part of it, drivetrain options were not. You could get a 6 cylinder Grande if you wanted.

My 70 351C powered Grande has drum brakes and no AC.

I think most Grandes were dealer orders, so you see less variance from the script, if you will, but you could get a manual trans 6 cylinder one all the way up to a loaded 428CJ one.

[rangerdoc]

Yeah, that's why I was hoping someone would chime in to correct me...I hope the op understood my statement. The funny thing is in all the car shows I've been too I've never seen a non p/s, p/b, auto grande.