Let’s assume for a moment you are a fan of the largest Mustangs Ford ever built, the 1971-1973 versions. Today, if you’re in North Carolina like I am, you have a plethora of choices with three finds available right now. We’ll begin with this 1972 Mach 1 located in Raleigh, North Carolina and advertised here on Craigslist for $4,700.

The seller tells us this is a pretty solid car, although it needs some metal work, doesn’t run, and the hood is “gone,” although I’m not sure if that means it’s too rusty to save or it’s disappeared since these pictures. There do seem to be good bones here if you are interested in a restoration, and the car is relatively complete, although the price is higher than I would expect for this large ponycar, especially with the amount of work necessary.

But what if you want something a little more exotic and don’t mind a challenge? Ford followed up the successful Boss 302 program in 1971 with a Boss 351 in the now larger platform. Only 1806 of these rare cars were produced, with only just over 500 accounted for now. Thanks to Ricky M for calling our attention to this one, offered here on eBay at no reserve and located in Wilmington, North Carolina.

In storage for 26 years, the seller doesn’t know if this car has the original engine and transmission, and admits it’s rusty (Wilmington is at the North Carolina coast, so I suspect salt was involved). At no reserve, though, and a price currently below the ’72 Mach I above, I’d have to be looking at this one as well. I think it’s interesting that both cars are riding on similar, if not identical, period aftermarket chrome wheels. It got me wondering if these cars had a particularly ugly standard wheel? As it turns out, both cars could have been outfitted with anything from dog dish hubcaps to “Magnum” style wheels, which brings us to our third North Carolina option today!

As was discussed in the recent Opel GT post, sometimes it makes more sense to have someone else do the work for you. This 1972 Mach I appears to be in great shape and even sports those Magnum wheels! It’s available in Wake Forest, North Carolina here on Craigslist for $14,500.

While the photography in this third ad leaves something to be desired, it’s obvious this car is in much better shape than the other two. Originally sporting a three speed manual transmission, an automatic C6 has been fitted now. Said to be restored and with only 74k original miles, this may be the most economical way to get a good one of these big cars in the long run. Certainly the ability to enjoy driving the car right away counts for something, but some of us enjoy working on them as much or more than driving them. I think in my younger days I would have pursued the Boss 351, but now I’d give serious consideration to figuring out a way to get the already completed car. Are any of these three ponycars the right one for you?