1965 Purchase Help/Advice

[MKT760]

Hello everyone,

I'm considering buying a 1965 Thunderbird. According to the seller, the car isn’t running. I haven’t seen it in person yet, but I plan to check it out soon. Based on the pictures they sent, the interior appears to be in good condition. As far as the exterior it needs work but that's not the biggest issue. They’re asking $2,000 for it. Should I go for it? How much should I offer since its not running?Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

Thanks

This page contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated. As an eBay Partner, and Amazon Associate I may be compensated if you make a purchase at no cost to you.

 

[philchili]

Hook up a battery. See what works. You have lots of power windows, vents, seats, etc. Check floor boards, trunk, fenders, rockers, wheel wells for rust. If your interior is like mine was, vinyl may not be cracked but it was hard as a rock. Make sure they see you checking all of these things. Frankly, for a base coupe, anything more than free and you’re going to be upside down anyway. Only do it because you want the project. I restored a convertible and after 15 years, it’s almost worth what I have spent. Coupes are even tougher to dig out of.

 

[philchili]

To be clear, I restored a ‘65 convertible; I’ve owned it for over 30 years and my E-Code ‘57 will leave before the’65 does!

 

[Marc W]

I learned that the interior is a big deal - costly to refurbish and door panels available were plastic. So that's definitely going for this one. I just had my 66 landau engine rebuilt. It was completely dismantled before giving it to the machine shop and mechanic. I cleaned all parts (saving mechanic time) and the mechanic gave me the list of parts to buy, saving me the upcharge. With machine shop, parts, assembly and install the engine total was north of $6,500. I'm in CA, and I found a reasonable mechanic --others quoted me a couple thousand dollars more, so price could be different wherever you are.