In the world of rare and valuable Blue Oval muscle cars, the Ford R-Code holds a very special place. The “R” essentially stood for “race,” and it meant that the particular vehicle it was placed on was also packing the biggest, most powerful engine FoMoCo could muster up at the time. The Ford R-Code designation wound up gracing a few models in history, including the 1969 Ford Mustang Mach 1 Fastback and 1969 Ford Torino GT seen in this video.
The Mustang was a special order car that’s remained in East Texas its entire life, and it’s in surprisingly solid shape despite looking a little rough. It also checks out as a legit R-Code car, with heavy duty shock towers and even a factory buck tag in place, though the original 428 Cobra Jet V8 appears to be missing.
Both fenders still have their original tags as well, and the door warranty tag is intact. The Mustang also sports a rare combination of Candy Apple Red with a white interior, making it one of just 155. But with the way this particular car is equipped, it’s one of just two produced in this exact specification.
Next up is another rare Ford R-Code – a 1969 Torino GT. This particular car is special for a number of reasons, including the fact that it’s an original Raven Black car, making it one of just 40 painted that color, and just 528 ’69 Torinos came with the R-Code 428 engine. But this car also has a black knit vinyl bench seat, which makes it the only one produced with that interior feature and a Raven Black exterior.
Both of these cars are incredible finds, without a doubt, though they’re in very different condition as well. The Mustang needs a ton of work, while the Torino looks to be in pretty good shape after sitting for around 13 years or so. With any luck, both of these super rare pieces of history will be saved so they can be enjoyed by future generations, because there certainly aren’t many others around these days.
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Comments
the torino looks really really good and i am not the final authority but it appears to be the wrong side stripe, of course i am sure someone will correct me, lol
You are right! Looks like the 68 stripes.
The stripes are the same as the 68 if the car was produced in 1968. People forget that back then the “new” models for the next year debut was in September. The bench seat style is the same because I had a 1968 bench seat, 3 on the tree, 289 Grand Torino. After 2 years of street battles and speed shifting the unibody distorted to where the drivers door was a half inch off.
This has to be a 69 because Ford corrected that body rigidity issue in late 1968 for the next model year.