The Shaker hood was lying flat across a few bales of hay; the scoop and a four-speed transmission were nearby. Before leaving, Isaksen asked if the car was for sale, and the owner indicated he might be interested in selling it.
“I left that day with a lot of unanswered questions, my curiosity piqued,” Isaksen recalled. “The car had intrigued me; I knew it was a rare Mustang. I returned to the barn a few days later with Jim McKuen, a knowledgeable Ford mechanic who knew a lot about these Cobra Jet Mustangs. We looked around for a while, then Jim poked me in the ribs and pointed at the four-speed transmission. Jim said, ‘That’s the right four-speed for this car.’ We stepped aside and he said, ‘If you can buy the car, do it. This is a rare Mustang and worth restoring.’”
In 1969, the Mustang’s trademark rear quarter vent went from being concave to a convex bolt-on ornament. The vent would go on hiatus starting with the next model year.
Upon hearing McKuen’s recommendation, Isaksen made the owner an offer and he accepted, but before handing over any money, Isaksen wanted to make sure everything came with the car, including the four-speed transmission. Reluctantly, the seller agreed to include it with the car. It turned out to be the first step to a decades-long journey from a rolling chassis to a concours-restored 1969 Mustang GT hardtop.

Documenting a Ford test car

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.
This 428 Cobra Jet engine is equipped with Ram Air, and is good for 335 bhp at 5,200 rpm and 440 lb.-ft. of torque at 3,400 rpm.

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