Steve Keusch tried using a common tactic to purchase this '67 Mustang convertible. Every year for the past five years, Steve approached the owner about buying the car, figuring that once he got serious about selling, the price would go down. That plan backfired. "Every time I talked to the owner, the price went up," Steve says. "So I figured I'd better buy it this time around."
Obviously, the previous owner knew what he had. You won't find many low-mileage '67 Mustangs these days, and with under 50,000 miles showing on the '67's odometer, it was definitely a rare find. To top it off, the car was basically untouched, rust-free, with 80 percent original paint, and mostly factory-original, with the exception of maintenance items like tires and underhood hoses and clamps.
We knew the car was something special when originality-freak and well-known concours judge Ed Meyer pulled us away from the Indiana SAAC Shelby Spring Fling welcoming bash to show us the car in the parking lot. Later, nearing midnight, Ed was still hovering over the white convertible, using a flashlight to point out original items like the rubber hood bumpers and the optional trunk-mounted courtesy light.
The Wimbledon White convertible is clean but obviously not concours, as you can see from the rusty brackets and faded blue engine paint under the hood. But that's what makes this car so interesting to Ed and others who appreciate originality. Nearly everything is factory original, including the paint runs on the shock towers and wrinkled metal tag on the A/C compressor.
A report from Marti Autoworks' Ford production database also confirms that Steve's '67 was originally well-equipped, leaving the factory with the 289 four-barrel engine and C4 automatic. Options include air conditioning, tilt-away steering wheel, power brakes and steering, console, electric clock, Courtesy Light Group, and something you don't see very often these days, an original '67 AM/FM radio. Steve demonstrated the push-buttons that pull out and flip over to switch from AM to FM pre-sets. At some point, the car also received Styled Steel wheels and an accessory luggage rack on the trunk lid.
Once Steve finally got his hands on the low-mileage '67, the paint and body shop owner from Jasper, Indiana, enlisted the aid of his son, Kail, to "clean it up and do some odds and ends to make it presentable."
And presentable it is. With only 49,668 miles showing on the odometer at the time of our photo shoot, the 39-year-old convertible is a virtual time machine to around 1971, when it would have been a four-year-old car with minor wear. It's enough to make a concours judge drool.