Thanks for all the wise advice! Tim- where do you look for these? I'm interested in the lead if it's still around.
Knowing that these are rusters- that would be the main thing that scared me. I guess this would be worth a pre-buy inspection, but again, I'm just looking for a daily/weekender that's not a nightmare- I'm not at all interested in the show circuit- just something that's not embarrassing.
In reply to Teh E36 M3:Hey it's a ride you like! Maybe a little more money than I would expect. But then I'm not current on pricing either.
If you're just going to cruise around a little when the sun is out, your cell phone is charged, and you have AAA, why not? And just for cruising purposes, that old 6 is probably all you need for power anyway.
SVreX wrote: Lot of buzz kill in this thread. If you can have fun, what difference does it make what people think, or if it is investment quality? For $9K, it's a decent deal. It is not a candidate for a restoration, but I think you knew that. I have an early '60's car with much worse problems. Still puts a big smile on my face and on everyone around, and I wouldn't sell it for twice that price. If it is speaking to you, and you understand what you are getting into, have a blast. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
Because it's a unibody Ford, which have a way of rusting from the inside out. It may be fine, but odds are it's not. There is also a big difference in value between the 6 and V-8 cars.
SVreX wrote: Lot of buzz kill in this thread. If you can have fun, what difference does it make what people think, or if it is investment quality? For $9K, it's a decent deal. It is not a candidate for a restoration, but I think you knew that. I have an early '60's car with much worse problems. Still puts a big smile on my face and on everyone around, and I wouldn't sell it for twice that price. If it is speaking to you, and you understand what you are getting into, have a blast. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
This isn't buzz kill, it's "be careful not to drop nine grand on a car that might break in half the next time it hits a big bump". There's some big red flags on that car that aren't being explained by the seller.
The primer on the inner rear wheel wells makes me think they've had some work done.
After going through the pics 4 or 5 times, yeah $9k is too high, just too many paint, interior and body issues. If it were, say, $5k you could buy it, drive it and later get at least most of your money back. As it stands, no.
Of course, buying a collector car is not always a rational business decision. BTDT. 
I learned to drive on a '63 Falcon wagon that was my Dad's. Same 170 Special inline 6, same three-on-the-tree. Yeah, it's a dog. Dad bought the car new in '63 and got rid of it in the early 70's, and it was getting pretty rusty. But hey, that was only.. er.. forty years ago
That said, I like the 'vert. Very cool, and it could make a very satisfactory driver even with the 170. I can forgive the ratty seat upholstery and door panels, but do make sure the structure is sound
In response to my rust/paint questions:
~~~~~~~~~ Dealer Sez:
The paint is low end driver quality with some cracks, minor scratches, orange peel, etc. here and there. I'm not sure when the car was last painted.
The floor pans, frame rails, etc. are in good condition overall with the exception of the very back area of both rear floor pans where someone has haphazardly cover what I assume were some small rust holes with some sealer.
Unfortunately the car is not here at the moment for me to take pictures of because we have sent it out to have a new seat cover put on the front seat.
50% of the buy it now price would be my absolute top dollar. Appears to be a classic case of a polished turd.
Yeah.....I wouldn't buy that without putting some eyes on it and some water through the cowl vent. It may be perfectly fine car but I'd still like to see it and judge it for myself before I shell out 9K.
I had a friend who purchased a mid 60s Ford, I want to say a Galaxie but I don't recall for sure. Similar circumstances. Looked nice, had a six in it, driver's quality. Even had it checked out by a professional classic car appraiser and got the thumbs up. Paid $9K exactly like this one. Drove it for a bit and decided he wanted to drop a big block in it. Found a motor, had it rebuilt........dumped a lot of money into up graded internals. Found a mechanic to do the job, had everything sent to the shop. Gets a call from the mechanic that there's a problem and to come on down to the shop. Turns out the front frame is so bad you can literally put a screw driver through it. Somebody at some point had sprayed it with under coating to conceal it. My friend missed it. The appraiser missed it. Mechanic says if he would have installed the big motor with the extra weight well............one big bump and it would have likely cracked in two. I think the cost of the a new front end was $5K but again I don't recall exactly. Anyway, my friend ended up selling the car for $5K to someone who was willing to do the work (we hope anyway!). The motor still sits in his garage on an engine stand. So yes buyer beware.
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