The Ford Mustang was practically collectable the moment it rolled off the showroom floor, and the continuing popularity of these cars proves that there’s nothing quite like an early pony car. There are plenty of Mustangs that are bejeweled high-end collector pieces, but there are just as many that remain affordable V8-powered fun, which was the entire point. This handsome little 1966 Mustang coupe proves that you don’t need a huge bank account and a pedigree to get a cool Mustang, with this one offering plenty of upgrades to make it worth your while, including a strong-running 351 cubic inch V8 and a manual gearbox.

The Mustang coupes have always been the affordable alternative, but they don’t have to stay in the background. This bright blue coupe wears a recent paint job that’s fairly close to Silver Blue, which was on the original color chart. The profile is familiar enough to be recognized from a mile away, and aside from the hood scoop, it’s pretty much the same car we’ve been admiring for the past 50 years. That recent paint job shines up beautifully and someone spent some extra time to give it a professional cut and buff, because there’s almost no orange peel to be found. You don’t find that very often in cars at this price. You already know this isn’t a perfect car, but it sure looks good at a glance. You could tweak the fit of the trunk lid and a few other little items to really take it up a notch, but the basics are all quite good. You also get bright chrome, traditional Mustang emblems in all the right places, and cool ‘351’ badges on the front fenders, perhaps a bit of a warning to the unwary when they roll up next to this heavy-hitting coupe.

The black standard interior is very much the way Ford made it back in 1966. The low-back buckets are comfortable, the carpets look fairly recent, and the no-frills attitude that made the Mustang a slam-dunk for Ford is on display here. There’s been a considerable investment in new rubber and weather seals, so the car is solid and quiet inside, and we’re guessing that there’s more under the carpets and in the doors, because this coupe is more solid-feeling than many we’ve driven. The gauges are standard Mustang fare, joined by a white-faced oil pressure gauge on the steering column to monitor the most vital of all functions. A digital AM/FM stereo radio slots neatly into the center of the dash, obviously built just for this application, and powers a pair of big 6x9 speakers on the rear package shelf. A center console is a nice addition to the coupe and it hosts a 3-speed manual shifter that slots neatly through the gears. The trunk is neatly finished with a reproduction mat and a full-sized spare, and you’ll note there are valves for the rear air shocks, so the ride height can be fine-tuned.

Thanks to the wonders of Ford’s Windsor family of V8 engines, the 351 cubic inch V8 slots neatly into the early Mustang’s engine bay. The taller deck height that adds the cubes makes it a little tight around the shock towers, but if you’re not an expert, you might miss the fact that this one is considerably more robust than the original C-code 289. The most obvious change is the HEI ignition system and its big distributor cap with built-in coil, but beyond that, it looks like thousands of other Mustangs running around today. There’s an Edelbrock 4-barrel carburetor topped by a chrome air cleaner that matches the valve covers, and the block has been dressed in proper Ford Blue paint. An export brace reinforces the front end and makes a difference you can really feel, and there’s a big radiator up front to keep the warmed-over small block comfortable. It’s been properly tuned, as well, because it starts almost instantly with no special techniques needed, and settles into an even idle very quickly. Out on the road, the extra displacement is quickly felt in the form of endless reserves of torque, making the lightweight coupe feel very quick as you run through the gears. Long-tube headers bolster that torque curve and while we weren’t fans of the side exhaust initially, we sure can’t argue with how awesome this car sounds hammering down the road. This is not a meek and mild Mustang coupe!

With all that torque on tap, the three-speed manual transmission is plenty adequate and it shifts quite nicely. Clutch action is smooth and progressive, and it’s almost impossible to stall this car, no matter how clumsy you are with your left foot. It’s manual steering and manual brakes, but even those have modest efforts and don’t seem to handicap this car’s usability one bit. The floors have some patches and fresh panels in place, which is probably inevitable in any vintage Mustang, and most of the undercarriage has been covered in tough POR-15 paint for long-term protection. Out back there’s an 8-inch rear end hanging on original leaf springs assisted by those air shocks I mentioned earlier, and we believe there are 3.00 gears inside, making this an easy highway cruiser. Those aluminum Centerline wheels have an old school race look that works well on the coupe, and they’re wrapped in staggered 195/70/14 front and 235/60/14 Hoosier radials.

This cool Mustang coupe gets the basics right, and that’s why you want an early Mustang. It’s fast, agile, reliable, and even comfortable, all wrapped in that classic bodywork. We’re not suggesting this is a show car, but if you want one that’s got a lot of upgrades and all the hard work already done, you’ll be able to have a lot of fun with this coupe. Call today!