As you say the car belongs to a friend and you have already driven it, I would say you’re already ahead of the curve. Not many here have the luxury of doing that. I didn’t and had my Mach 1 professionally checked also in Florida and it got the all clear. Did the risky thing and bought it sight unseen but fortunately my story is a happy one as the car was good, or rather what I expected and had no nasty surprises. They trucked the car in an enclosed trailer from Orlando to the port of Savannah, South Carolina and the car was put in a 40ft container with only one other car and was shipped through the Panama Canal and did the SE Asian hop to Australia. Wasn’t cheap but I paid for peace of mind and the exchange rates were better. Agree with Big Al, $4k sounds conservative in today’s money.
For a ‘71 convertible, it sounds about right for a car that needs attention, sound ‘verts of this vintage cost more and show cars are around US$30K if not more. I’m abit concerned about the rust on the dogleg and floor. That’s what you can see and what’s the underside like, what sort of interior work does it need, are the drivetrain, suspension, brakes, electricals sound ? Typical questions for a 40 year old car. Thanks for the pic, and apologies for saying so, but about the only things Mach 1 on it are the stripes and the rear wing. Personally, I think it’s not Mach 1 enough just going by one photo as it has a standard grille, non-polyurethane bumper, no NASA scoops, standard interior, no front spoiler and lacks afew more bits and bobs. The eBay car I attached has most the full blown Mach 1 trim so my preference would be to go for that look but we’re getting subjective and may be heading into a different price bracket from what you want to spend.
I think your ’71 is priced for some additional work to be done to it, increase shipping by about 2 to 3 grand and allow for the higher price of exchange rates differences, then bank on a minimum cost of $20K Australian. Good luck with it and hope it all works out.
