Need Advice on a 1970 Mustang I'm considering

Hi,

I'm looking for collective wisdom from the CCF forum. There is a 1970 Mustang for sale near me. It has the Holman Moody 302. The boat is in very nice condition., with original trailer. Original owner, never in salt water, and always stored under cover. In fact, it lived on the trailer unless it was being used - didn't sit in the water. The owner is a very meticulous guy, very mechanically savvy, and is a vintage car restorer and racer. He asking $9000 for the boat. I'm wondering if that's a good price for this boat.

Pictures below.

Thanks,

Val


IMG]uploads/14293/IMG_0418.JPG[/IMG]

There is a Mustang by me for sale Just like this one original owner babied its whole life. I have said to the owner when your ready to sell call me first, well its now for sale and the asking price is $9000 also.
When they put such a big price tag on them they really don't want to sell way to high

Thanks for the responses.

Gary, The intended use is for pulling skiers, tubes, etc. It would be an a protected lake with flat water, < 1 ft waves max, so nothing rough. Yes, they are small, but I have a boathouse that was built in the late 60s, and is very narrow. Most modern boats won't fit in it.

doc, might be the same boat you reference?

TR, good eye. It was last in the water in '06, and the fuel gauge and mirror are added (both are CC parts, though). I'm in the Farmington Valley.

Val

There is a nice looking 74 Mustang listed in the for sale section. Asking $4,000. It is in Indiana.

Your right Art,high end stuff but thay also still have intake manifolds and valve covers,I bought these covers a couple of years ago. Reid has had them do engine work too.

actually, Tim, didn't you say you were looking to move the inca gold? I know its your slowest boat, you should probably just bail on that...if Val doesn't want it cause its baby puke colored I'll give you $200 for it

13 minutes, good reaction time Mars...that may have been made up while I was sitting at the bar drinking margaritas, but that $200 offer still stands, you should consider that generous, tnat boat doesn't even have a tower

Are you sure that's a '70? Looks like a '67-69.

Many here have opinions on the value of these old boats, and $9,000 is a lot of money. It is almost as much as the sales tax on a new Super Air Nautique G25 here in illinois.
Super clean old Mustangs don't come up often, especially with H/M engines, but there are a few out there, usually not for sale though.
The only value any of these old boats have is what it's worth to you.
I will have spent much more than that on my 70 H/M Mustang when it's done, and many here think that is foolish. They may be right, but that's the cost of making my dream come true.
If that boat is your dream and you just have to have it be sure to have it checked out by a Mustang expert before you buy it even if it costs you a few coins.
If your dream isn't a 70 H/M Mustang and any super noce original inboard about that size will do, keep looking. Very nice boats come up here from time to time.
I enjoyed the photos.

Wow! Lots of great advice and insight. I feel like I've stumbled into a very knowledgable and friendly club.

To answer some questions:

Don't know about the stringers situation. Given the storage history, I would expect a problem, but I would certainly sound the stringers and test the engine bed bolts at a minimum (I am still learning about CCs, but have a fair amount of knowledge about boatbuilding.

Available beam in my boathouse is about 6' 8". The boat currently in there is 6'4", and it has only a bit of room. However, the boathouse also has some structural issues that I need to fix, and there is a potential to widen it. That opens up more options on boats. See below.

A 1970 Mustang is not my dream, though I love vintage boats. I was going there because of available boathouse width. Truthfully, it's a bit small, and has the potential for problems that simply come with a 40 year old boat. I'm not looking for more project boats (got a few already).

If I widen the boathouse, I still have a limit on length. Looking at the potential CC models, the nautique 176 caught my eye. It's bigger, has composite stringers, and has more interior volume. Never been in one, but have read good things. Any thoughts on that model - or should I start a new thread?

JonB - glad you liked the photos.

Oh, and IAught, the tubing is just for the little kids.

Thanks

ArtCozier wrote: Uhhhh ...... I don't think composite stringers came about during the 176 era. Art

I'm assuming he's talking about the 176 from the mid-late 90s and not the 17'6"/17'9" 2nd gen (1970-1981) ski nautique. The former obviously has composite stringers.

With a 6'8" width limit, I'd be concentrating on the 2nd gen ski nautiques if you're looking for a functional ski boat. They are significantly larger and more functional as ski machines than the 16' mustang. 2-wide observer seat, platforms, and more interior space make a big difference.

Where abouts do you ski? I grew up in Burlington and work in the area as well.

Still can't see how you know about the gas gauge Tim,am I missing a pic? I bet with 9 k budget you could get a real nice 70 to 80's boat

Yes, I was talking about the circa 1996 version of the Nautique 176. Any thoughts on these boat, or suggestions of CCs that are less than 18 feet?

TR - I live in Simsbury, but the boat would be used at a cottage way up north, so I'm shipping locally, but not skiing locally.