Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. We haven't seen an Alameda Mustang since this '67.
That was eight months ago, and I can think of at least a half-dozen unphotographed 1960s Mustangs around town, so let's take a look at this lil' red devil with the super-rare horseshoe bumper guards.
This is our third Alameda 1966 Mustang, after this beat-to-hell one and this pretty nice example.. At this point, Alameda has provided at least one example of each first-generation Mustang, with the exception of the '64-1/2 and 1970-72 models. I'll keep my eyes open for those, so we can complete the set.
In 1966, the base Mustang coupe cost $2,416; add a 289-cube V8 and you'd spend an extra $105 (for the 225-horse version) or $433 (for the 271-horse version). If you wanted the 390 from the factory, tough luck- that wasn't an option until '67. The base price on the '66 Ford Falcon coupe- under the skin, essentially the same car as the Mustang- was just $2,060, with the same 289 engine options available. Then consider this: for $2,183, 1966 car buyers could have picked up a Chevy II coupe with a 275-horsepower 327 (and anyone who knows how much the 350-horse L79 327 option cost, please let us know). Clearly, the Mustang's styling made it a huge cash machine for Ford, though this was the last year for zero serious competition from The General.