Apparently after it was sold at auction, the new owner sold or is selling it again. They did some extensive research and paraphrased the Marti report on my car…
“Up for Auction is an EXTREMELY RARE 1968.5 R-Code Ram Air 428 Cobra Jet, 4spd, 4:30 Traction Lok, Factory Staggered Shock drag
car.
According to Cougar experts and the Kevin Marti book â€oeCougar by the Numbersâ€, this is one of only 64 R-Code 428 Cobra Jet
Ram Air 4spd Cougars made in 1968. This specific car also has the super high 4:30 rear axle ratio 9†that was later called the
â€oeDrag Pack†option in 1969. Eleven are known to still exist and this is the only 4:30 rear axle car known. These 64 4spd cars were
the ONLY 1968 Cougars produced with the factory staggered shock conversion similar to what was done with Boss 429 Mustangs. The
conversion required an entirely different trunk floor and spare tire location. This is also a disc brake delete car as all 428CJ cars came
standard with heavy duty suspension and disc brakes and this may be the only one built in this configuration. Drum brakes were
considered lighter and create less drag for racing.
Because these cars are so rare, there has only been ONE of the 64 1968 R-Code 4spd cars produced that has publicly sold within the last
2/3
three years at the Owlshead Auction in 2015. This was a dark green â€oesurvivor†GTE with original paint and interior, both showing
patina and wear and two body shop repairs. A buyer paid $228,000 for the car. Noted Cougar experts have stated that this car now being
sold on ebay in this listing could be a $200,000 plus car if restored properly and is one of the â€oeHoly grail†of collectible Cougars and
Ford Muscle Cars.
The history of this car is as follows:
Bought new from Spitzer Motors in Elyria Ohio on 6-10-68. (See Marti-Report) The Spitzers are a drag racing family and still make
dragsters today. This car was raced from the time it was new, but that racing history is unknown. There is a chance this car may be the
Nemesis drag car out of Canada, but that has not been confirmed and is a long shot. The Nemesis drag car was painted black. This car
was painted black over its original red paint and this is evident and visable under the current paint. This car was then sold to Danny
Stanley from Kentucky and at the time he bought it, the car was black with ET mag wheels. One of the vintage photos shows the black
Nemesis drag car with ET mags on the front and steel wheels on the rear. Danny Stanley raced this car for years as a black car and then
sold it to a couple that painted it silver with black accents. The car was then sold to a man in Fenton Michigan who owned it from 1983-
1984 when it was then sold to a Cougar Club member named Debra Sudlow. From 1984 through 1988 Ms. Sudlow restored this Cougar
back to factory condition and it was shown at the 1988 Cougar Nationals. (two photos on this listing show this exact car at the 1988
Cougar Nationals). Sometime between 1992 through 1999 the car was sold to the 6th owner who lived in South Carolina and he installed
the wing and front spoiler and made some racing modifications. In 2000 the car was sold to a man named Sherwood Strong that brought it
back to Sarasota Florida. He rebuilt the engine, put the Weld Dragstar wheels with racing slicks, MSD, Traction Bars and an aluminum
radiator and cooling fans. He drove it a few times and it â€oescared the crap out of him†so he parked it next to his house for years.
That is where most of the current damage occurred. The car was rescued by the current owner in September of 2018. The car has 46k
original miles and the title confirms the mileage as original.
Copies of the Marti-Report as well as the â€oepersonalized†Marti Report are posted in the listing photographs. I have decoded the car
and found the following
The 428CJ engine that is in the car is date coded 9B6 (2-6-1969) so it is an early 1969 Cobra Jet engine and not original to this car.
Heads are dated 9B4 so the engine appears to have all come from the same vehicle and the engine is NOT assembled from parts. The
original February 1969 intake and a factory service correct Cobra Jet Holley are with the car and an aftermarket intake and carb are on the
car. The engine has an 8 quart racing oil pan but the original oil pan and widage tray are with the car. The engine also has original Cobra
Jet aluminum valve covers, but the original Chrome stamped steel valve covers are also with the car. The engine was supposedly rebuilt
less than 500 miles ago, it does turn but there has been no attempt to start it. It did look brand new under the valve covers when checking
the date codes.
Trans is a Rug AZ from a 1970 Boss 429 or 1970 428CJ and also not original to the car. It has a Hurst shifter installed now, but an original
shifter handle is with the car. Rear Axle is the correct 9†with the tapered ends, 31 spline and a correct â€oeN†rear chunk with a
correct traction lok of unknown gear ratio.
Although this is not the original engine or transmission, a complete 1969 Cobra Jet engine has a value of between $6,000 and $8,000.
The Rug AZ Toploader also has a value of around $2,000. Trading these towards a date coded 1968 428CJ will not be difficult.
The original door tag, buck tag and dash VIN tag are still mounted on the car with the factory fasteners and look to have never been
disturbed. The factory VIN stamp is still in place on the driver’s side apron with the engine Stamp blank which is correct for this car.
The passenger fender has not been removed to see if there are other VIN stamps present. All VIN numbers match each other and the free
and clear Florida title.
The car has extensive rust on the roof under the vinyl top and will need a full roof replacement. Front frame rails look very nice as do the
braced wrap around shock towers. There is the typical rust spots where the upper aprons overlap in front of and behind the shock towers.
Aprons otherwise look very nice. The hood is rusted but the original and VERY rare hand laid fiberglass correct R-Code 1968.5 scoop is
still present. I have been offered $2,000 for this part alone as these were a 1968 Cougar R code only item.
Car will need full floors and both torque boxes. Rear toque boxes will not need replacing. The rear trunk area is very solid all around the
staggered shock panels and they will need no rust repair or attention. There is rust through above the driver’s side rear spring
shackle. Dash hats have not been inspected but I would assume they leak as well. Quarter panels and wheelhouses also seem
surprisingly solid but the quarters are rusted badly at the top under the vinyl top. The decklid and hood are not repairable but easy to
replace. Doors have the typical rust spot at the front lower corner. Fenders are solid and straight. Grille, bumpers and lower valances are
good. Grille is very nice. There is a complete and solid 1968 Cougar parts car that has been disassembled available near me for $1,500.
It is missing the original radiator, shroud, distributor, air cleaner, fan and exhaust manifolds. Car also comes with three original Styled Steel
Wheels and an original shifter.
Over 75 photographs of the car can be seen at the link below.
http://s21.photobucket.com/user/TenHemi/library/1968%20Cougar%20R-Code?sort=3&page=1
Car is being sold with a starting bid of $1,000 and an absolute NO RESERVE. Inspections are welcome. If there is something specific you
would like a photo of just send an email asking. I will answer all questions and will be glad to talk to serious buyers by phone. Ihave a free
and clear Florida title for the car. I can store the car indoors for about a month for no charge while shipping is arranged as long as the car
is paid in full within the 7 days required.”
They did a great job in getting the details about the car, although I couldn’t get the photo link to work. The deck lid that I had did not have any dealer nameplate on it. As said earlier, when I found the car it had a 302 and a c4 auto in it. When I looked closer, I found the clutch pedal still in it, under the carpet, and it was at that point that I started researching the car and because of its rarity decided that the best course of action was to get it as close to original as I could. It was silver with black paint, and mag wheels at that point. It had extra leaf springs for a “jacked up” look. I spent years assembling the parts. The Ram air unit, the correct Holley carb, the closest engine and trans I could find (early 1969), going to junk yards to see if I could find anything better than it had, having friends research NOS part via Ford Dealerships (pre-internet) and traveling to the dealerships as well. I did much of the assembly, but farmed out an engine rebuild (Rat Tech, Flint) and paint, vinyl roof). Heavy mechanics were done by Eddie Coleman of Coleman and Sons Garage in Holly, MI. Dealership searches were mostly done by Jerry Schollenberger. I got a three-cored radiator because it ran hot, but Eddie fixed that by replacing the 30 over cam with a stock cam. I guy from the Performance Ford Club in Detroit did the pin striping. The engine and I think the trans came from someone who raced Fords, I remember he had a big block in a Pinto! In looking at the “current” description, I had to chuckle over some of the “surprisingly good” condition stuff… I replaced the valence panels with NOS ones, got repo rear quarters for it, replaced the hood with one, had it in the back of my Subaru brat bring it back in a snow storm. Jerry was driving and we crashed the Subie (not too bad) and I worried about the hood in back… Sad that probably all of the trim I assembled is trash, including a pricey truck lock…rocker panel moldings… rechromed bumpers… sigh Yeah, I am not sure I wanted to see the current condition, but it is like watching a bus wreck. I just hope someone can fix it up. It was my life away from work for those years. I sent an email to the seller I found recently with the hopes that they would pass my contact information along to the next owner and hopefully get some happier news.
