Fancy yourself a fighter pilot but can't be bothered with things like modern aeronautics? Then what you need is something vintage, like a World War II-era P-51 Mustang. Fortunately, the most common version of the front-line fighter is up for auction in Torrance, CA.

Running as part of an estate sale on June 2 through June 4, this P-51D Mustang was one of about 8,100 built, rolling out of the factory in 1944. It's not clear if it saw any action in the closing days of the second world war, although as the serial number is provided, we imagine it wouldn't be tough to figure out where it was stationed.

It does appear to be a bit rough around the edges, and the Wikipedia entry for surviving P-51s (not necessarily a reliable source, of course) lists it as "under restoration or in storage." Still, even though the P-51D is the most common Mustang variant, this is a rare enough aircraft that it should only appreciate in value as the years go on, provided its new owner is willing to put the money into it.

Head over to EstateSales.net for the full gallery of images, but before you do that, check out the video above for a closer look.

This post is appearing on Autoblog Military, Autoblog's sub-site dedicated to the vehicles, aircraft and ships of the world's armed forces.