mongooz
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The 1969 Mustang GT coupe as found in 1989. It didn’t look like much, but the VIN indicated it was an original R-code car, making it worth restoration.
From a distance, Isaksen looked at the weathered, white rolling body shell and immediately knew that it wasn’t a ’68 Shelby. Instead, it was a rusty, disassembled 1969 Mustang GT hardtop coupe missing the engine and rear end. Even though it wasn’t what he was looking for, Isaksen looked at the car’s VIN and something caught his eye. The VIN contained an “R,” indicating this coupe left the factory as a Ram Air 428 Cobra Jet car. He asked the owner what had happened to the engine and rear end. His response was, “I bought it like it is, pretty much a rolling chassis, and my plan was to put a 390 engine into it and make it a daily driver.”
After getting the Mustang home, Isaksen knew that he’d made the discovery and purchase of a lifetime. Once he started researching the car and breaking down its VIN, the rarity of the ’69 Mustang GT hardtop started to become much clearer. According to the 428 Cobra Jet Registry, for the 1969 model year, Ford produced a mere 86 GT hardtop coupes with the R-code 428 CJ and four-speed transmission. He also learned the district sales office (DSO) code of “89” in the car’s VIN represented “Transportation Services,” indicating that the car was ordered for Ford use, perhaps for testing or as part of an in-house fleet.
read more: https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/car-of-the-week-1968-mustang-gt-r-code
