Dusty & Rusty – 1968 Ford Mustang J Code

If you caught the earlier post about today being the anniversary of the release of Bullitt, then you’ll have extra appreciation for this 1968 Ford Mustang fastback that could be the base of your Bullitt tribute car. Midway through 1968 Ford replaced the 289 with a 302, which resulted in the J code in the VIN, a one year listing. The only real difference in the motor was the intake and heads, which were the same ones used on the ’66 289, but with updated castings. So while the J code may be rare, it’s hardly more than a 289 in an ironed shirt. That’s essentially the long winded way of saying, YOU WANT $20,000 FOR THIS?

This is a serious case of “I know what I have!” While the seller seems to accurately claim this is a factory black on black GT with a tach and four speed, it seems they forgot to check the value of their ride. Despite its J-code rarity, you can still buy 1968 fastbacks for $30,000 – $40,000 in great shape. Hagerty even puts a concours value of only $55,000 on these. This car, if you can still call it that, will need every single nut and bolt (what’s left of them) touched. Not to mention the mounds of parts that will need to be sourced and purchased new. You can easily expect to spend the asking price and much more to get the car on the road, if you’re doing everything on your own. The seller blatantly claims they’re trying to sell the VIN, but no way no how are those digits worth the asking price given the condition of the metal they’re attached to.

Don’t bite the BULLITT on this one. See what I did there? Nearly 315,000 Mustangs were built in 1968, with roughly 40,000 of them being fastbacks. All the hype around codes these days gets me thinking, are you cheating? Up, down, up, down, left, right, up!