Bringing back the Mustang GT

Isaksen’s persistence and fact finding had discovered far more than he expected. As if the hardtop didn’t already have enough going for it as a rare GT R-code 428 Cobra Jet muscle car with a four-speed, Isaksen had also uncovered an intriguing back story to the car. As such, the rough Mustang doubly deserved the restoration that Isaksen had already begun undertaking. One of his first steps was to employ the services of Jim Cowles from Shelby Parts and Restoration, who agreed to collect the necessary parts to build a date-code-correct 428-cid V-8 Cobra Jet replacement engine.
Like the outside, the trunk of the Mustang GT coupe has been authentically restored with its jack in the proper place.

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In 2016, some 27 years after acquiring the Mustang, Isaksen gave Cowles the green light to start a complete restoration to return the rest of the car to its factory-built condition, as delivered to Ford Engineering in 1968 as a test vehicle. For body and paint, the hardtop was sent to Troy Kuyoth Body and Custom in Strafford, Wis., where it was completely disassembled and mounted on a rotisserie for sheet metal work and paint application. Later, in the fall of 2020, with the reassembly well underway at Shelby Parts and Restoration, Isaksen got a call from Jim Cowles.
“Jim wanted me to know that he had been diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor,” Isaksen said, “As a result, he had sent my car and several others to Troy Kuyoth for completion. Jim passed away on January 4, 2021.”
Kuyoth completed the restoration last May. Because the brass tag was missing when Henry purchased the car, an accurate replacement was recreated and obtained from Mustang expert Ed Meyer. Kuyoth delivered the GT hardtop to Isaksen on June 11.
“That was the first time I ever sat in the car,” Isaksen said.
After 33 years of research, documentation, fact finding and many years of looking at the rusty and weathered Mustang GT hardtop in his garage, Isaksen can finally enjoy the results of his dedicated investigation and relentless determination to add an intriguing backstory to a rare and interesting Mustang muscle car.
A reproduction of the original brass tag indicating the Mustang was initially a Ford Motor Co. test vehicle was mounted on the Mustang’s radiator support.

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A familial fondness

Isaksen and his wife, Jean, have two sons, Jeff, and Marc. When the boys turned 16, they were allowed $5,000 for a car. At least one of their sons was inspired by the 1969 Mustang GT coupe to own a Mustang of his own.
“In 1986, Jeff asked for a new Chevy Cavalier,” Isaksen said. “In 1988, Marc requested a 1969 Mustang Mach 1. We finally located one in Kansas City.
“Ultimately, Marc spent a lot of time and money on the Mustang, but eventually ended up selling it to a local mechanic, who finished it and resold it,” Isaksen said.
Although his Mach 1 is gone, Marc still shares a passion for Mustangs with his father. He helped his father prepare the car for its photo shoot, and during the process, the two shared stories about the journey the family had been on with the ’69 Mustang GT hardtop from the time it was discovered and purchased and the decades it took to see it returned to its factory form.