Vehicle Description
This 1968 Ford Mustang 428 Cobra Jet Lightweight is listed in the
428 Cobra Jet Registry and was also featured in Hemmings in 2018.
According to the previous owner, Gene Turnage, he raced the car at
Music City Speedway in C-Stock for about a decade. Around 1978 the
Mustang was built into a Super Stock car for Jeff Velde. The
restoration was completed by Randy Delisio of Lyons, NY. The engine
was treated to the works by Cobra Automotive in Wallingford, CT.
This is one in 50 special-production Ford Mustang Cobra Jets
produced in 1968 to qualify for the NHRA Stock Racing classes and
20 were lightweight cars, as indicated by the DSO 844661, which
meant no sound-deadener and no seam sealer was used to save on
weight. This car is one of those 20 and was delivered new to Russ
David Ford in Covina, CA. They were scheduled for assembly at the
Dearborn, MI, assembly plant on December 30, 1967. The VINs were
serialized consecutively, starting with 8F02R135007 and ending with
8F02R135056. All were painted Wimbledon White and equipped with a
black vinyl interior, heavy-duty 4-speed manual transmission,
manual drum brakes and a 3.89:1 rear-axle ratio (even though the
door tags indicated a 3.25:1). The cars were eventually distributed
for sale to a small number of dealers in the U.S. and Canada.
Several made their way into the hands of race teams, and two -
numbers 135050 and 135054 - were part of the contingent of six cars
that introduced the 428 Cobra Jet to the world at the 1968 NHRA
Winternationals. This Mustang was a Hemmings Muscle Car of the Year
finalist in 2013.
