The Million Dollar Prototype / Pre-poduction Mustang yields a Million $ Today

[SmokinStang]

Posted Dec_2009:

One of the only known Mustang prototypes in existence belongs to Bruce Beeghly, of Poland. The pre-production Mustang he bought for $40,000 is worth about $1 million today.


It was January 1964 when engineers with the Ford Motor Company gathered in Allen Park, Mich., to build a new kind of car.

They tinkered, trying different things, doing all the work by hand. If something didn't work, they tried something else. Ultimately, they built about 180 prototypes before what would become known as the Mustang was mass produced.

But once production began, and the Mustang was introduced that April, it became Ford's most successful launch since the Model A.

The sleek, ultra-modern sports car fascinated the American consumer, and Ford couldn't build them fast enough. Dealers were craving Mustangs, which is why one day it was decided to sell the prototypes.

They were sent to dealers around the world.

No one could have imagined at the time how valuable one of those 180 cars would become.

Three years ago, Bruce Beeghly, former owner of Altronics Inc. in Girard and after whose family YSU's Beeghly Center was named, bought one of the Mustang prototypes. An Atlanta auto dealer had held onto the car since 1964 and wanted to sell.

Beeghly, a car collector with a stable of Corvettes, paid $40,000 for the Mustang.

"I knew it was a pre-production Mustang when I bought it," said Beeghly. "It had a VIN (vehicle identification) number of 140, so I figured there were 139 before it."

Enter Nate Miller.

A story this past summer in The Vindicator told of how Miller and his company, Buckeye Automative Restoration in Berlin Center, had restored his mother's vintage Mustang. After reading the story, Beeghly contacted Miller.

"That night he came over and looked at it," said Beeghly of Miller. "All I wanted was to get it painted and have it look nice."

"We knew it was something special," said Nate Miller, about the first time he laid his motor head eyes on Beeghly's Mustang.

As Miller refurbished the car, he researched its history. As the pre-production Mustangs were being built, they were not assigned VIN numbers, presumably because they were never intended to be sold. Not until the decision was made to circulate the prototypes were the cars assigned numbers.

"But here's the thing," said Miller. "Those numbers don't mean anything. They were arbitrarily assigned."

Meaning the pre-production Mustang assigned serial No. 1, which today sits in the Henry Ford Museum, may have been the twentieth or fiftieth prototype produced.

"Serial No. 4 is in New Castle, Pa.," explained Miller. "It has production car features on it; 140 does not. (Beegly's car) has really, really prototype stuff."

Like the tracks for the corner windows. In Beeghly's Mustang, the tracks are curved.

"Mustang No. 1 has one corner window track that's straight and one that's curved," Miller said. "The one that's in New Castle has two straight tracks. Straight tracks are production tracks."

The tracks on Beeghly's car were hand made.

Nate Miller photographed Beeghly's Mustang taking 10,000 pictures. He compared it with other known pre-production Mustangs. Several months ago, Jim Smart, editor of Mustang Weekly, came to town to look at the car himself.

"He had his doubts," said Miller. "But after he photographed the car, and we presented him everything, he said, without a doubt, it's the earliest one he's ever seen."

So Bruce Beeghly's Mustang, once thought to be the 140th made, is now, according to Nate Miller, "The earliest known Mustang in the world at this time."

What's it worth?

"In my opinion," said Miller, "It's probably worth a million."

This past summer, Beeghly's Mustang -- or what Nate Miller refers to as "140" -- was entered in the prestigious Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance and Motoring Festival, where it won first place in the "Pony Class."

Next summer, it's hoped the car will be invited to compete in the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the world's most prestigious car show.

"I think we'll get in," said Beeghly about the Pebble Beach show. "I would be more surprised if we didn't get accepted."

There have also been discussions about putting the vintage Mustang in a museum. There are a couple in Michigan where it'd fit right in.

For now though, Bruce Beeghly is just happy to sit back and admire his investment. His original $40,000 is now worth a million.

To see another picture of the Mustang after it won the blue ribbon on the Pony Class at the prestigious Hilton Head Island Concours d'Elegance and Motoring Festival, click here.

Source: http://www.wytv.com/mostpopular/stor...U9uvHr44w.cspx
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Pre-productions are not just Extremely RARE, but they command top dollar!!

[MY-S281]

Very cool!!

[Jibber]

Simply awesome.

[TorchRedSVT]

good story