The proportions are a mile off, and the windshield shape is another giveaway that it’s not born from Ford. Still, it’s not that terrible. Photo from Autotrader.
June 25, 2023
I had a friend with a black one. Tan leather guts, manual transmission, a roll bar, and a roots supercharger on it. That was a cool car. It was like a go-kart made for the street. It was kind of small and uncomfortable, but for a short person, it was perfect. The roll bar didn’t make it any worse to ride in, and it didn’t hinder rear seat access as there isn’t a rear seat.
The older, red or white ones are the most popular, and also the most bland to me. Throw a supercharger and a third pedal at it, however, and any of them can be cool. There was an internet-famous one that had a lift and big mud tires, and it seemed to handle it well. Are they that tough? Anything can be tough with big tires; it just might break frequently.
Why am I talking about a Miata when there’s a picture of a cockeyed Mustang at the top? The Miata content is what makes it cockeyed. I never knew how many kit cars were based on the Mazda Miata until I went down this rabbit hole, but there are quite a number of them. Not as many as the VW floor pan kits, but still, the Miata is no slouch when it comes to tossing the body and keeping the go-kart zoomie parts underneath.
This Mustang kit car, made by a company called M1stang, sold originally for thirteen grand US funds. That sounds like a lot, but you’re basically getting an entire steel 1965 Mustang body. You save the undercarriage of the Miata, the windshield and frame, and I assume the firewall and top.
Most of them that I’ve seen look goofy, but the ill-proportioned body isn’t nearly as distracting as the fact that ninety-nine percent of them have the wrong wheels on them. Sure, they spent thirteen grand on the body, and there was nothing wrong with the wheels that they had, but the Miata wheels throw the whole illusion in the garbage, exactly where the Miata wheels should go when doing a conversion like this. If the right wheels aren’t in the budget, remember, Visa and Mastercard have lots of money, and they only want a little of it back every month.
How much fun would this car be to drive? With a five-speed and a supercharger, I’d be hard-pressed to believe that any legit 1965 Mustang with any amount of aftermarket equipment could come close to being this much fun. I don’t think the conversion is out there anymore, but there are quite a few of these cars that pop up for sale now and then. Would I be in the market for one? Absolutely not. I’m not much of a Mustang guy, and if I’m buying a converted Miata, I’m holding out for the goofy little Dodge Viper conversion.
