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1968.5 Ford Mustang 428 CJ R-Code Barn Find Discovered in Georgia, It's a Rare Gem

The first-generation Ford Mustang was incredibly popular in its first years on the market, and remained a high-seller through the early 1970s. With almost three million units sold from 1964 to 1973, it's far from surprising that the first-gen pony is also a popular barn and junkyard find nowadays.
1968.5 Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet R-Code barn find 7 photos
Photo: Dennis Collins/YouTube
1968.5 Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet R-code barn find1968.5 Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet R-code barn find1968.5 Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet R-code barn find1968.5 Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet R-code barn find1968.5 Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet R-code barn find1968.5 Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet R-code barn find
Of course, scrapyards are usually populated by mundane Mustangs with not-so-special engines and specs, but some barns still hide rare examples that have developed into sought-after collectibles over the years. This 1968.5 'Stang that was recently unearthed in rural LaGrange, Georgia is one of them.

Located and brought into the light by classic car expert Dennis Collins, this Mustang is a rare R-code muscle car. And I'm not talking about the Boss 351 R-code from 1971, this one's a mid-1968 drag racer fitted with the mighty 428-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) Cobra Jet engine.

Ford built only 1,044 examples back in the day, which makes the 1968 R-Code rarer than the total 1968 Shelby production. And of course, with many of these factory-built drag cars raced and destroyed, far fewer than 1,044 are still around. And many of those that survived no longer have the original engine under the hood. Perhaps only a dozen of them are still around?

The fact that this R-code still comes with a number-matching mill is definitely a big deal, even though it hasn't been driven since 1994, so it's an authentic barn find that's been sitting for almost 30 years as of 2022.

The video below not only documents Dennis bringing the Mustang back into the light after 28 years and hauling it away for a better fate, but it also captures his effort to authenticate its original R-Code status. It also includes cutaways from his shop with the removal of the fenders for access to hidden VIN details and a lot of talk about the R-code's history and its connection to Bob Tasca.

He also explains why these R-Code cars were the original "King of the Road" Mustangs. You may know that name from the Shelby GT500, but it turns out Carroll borrowed the name from Bob, a close friend at the time.

While it has seen better days, this Mustang is still in solid condition for a car that spent almost 30 years in a barn. And it's a low-mileage classic too, with the odo showing only 15,937 miles. Needless to say, it will get a proper restoration and we might see it hit the auction block for a record figure in the future. Meanwhile, let's watch it come out of the barn after three decades in the video below.

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About the author: Ciprian Florea
Ciprian Florea profile photo

Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
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