DEARBORN, Mich. - This is the story of an amazing two-decade evolution and journey of a weathered, worn-out “chicken coop find” that was then transformed into one of the best and most accurately restored, world-class thoroughbred Mustang GT R-code convertibles on the planet.

The car-collecting community has coined the phrase “barn find” when referring to vehicles found in old buildings where they were stowed away for years and, in many cases, even decades. The fascination with these barn finds has taken them to the top of the spectrum within the collector-car industry, and barn finds are arguably the hottest thing going within the collector-car hobby right now. Despite the phrase, a barn find need not be found in an actual barn. In many cases, barn finds are found in garages, old buildings or other types of structures. Such is the case with this particular 1969 Mustang GT convertible with a 428 Cobra Jet and a four-speed manual.

On December 18, 1997, this GT drop-top was rescued from a chicken coop in Santa Rosa, California, where it had been stowed away for nearly five years. Steve Skinner found out about the ’69 GT convertible from his brother, Mike Skinner, who’d seen it in the classifieds section of a magazine. Mike had first dibs on the car, then backed out and handed it off to his brother, and Steve jumped on the opportunity to purchase it.

Steve and seller Al Weis reached an agreement on the purchase price, and the GT R-Code convertible was loaded onto an open trailer and transported to Skinner’s home in Montana. The car was purchased prior to the “Marti Report Era,” but Skinner knew it was rare and he’d always wanted a big-block convertible Mustang GT. While researching the history of the car, he learned it had been purchased from a Ford dealership in Eden, North Carolina, and then traveled west where it had resided for nearly a decade near San Francisco.

After purchasing the car, Skinner transported it to his Montana shop where it was carefully dissected to evaluate its overall condition. He decided to give the ’69 Mustang GT convertible a complete rotisserie restoration. He’d restored several Mustangs in the past, and intended to add this restoration to his resume. He wasted little time and started into the full restoration process soon after acquiring it. But it didn’t take long for Steve to realize the most difficult challenge in this Mustang project was going to be locating the desired NOS or OEM parts.

Over a 15-year period, Skinner had amassed a parts inventory large enough to fill the basement of his house. He’d acquire one part, then locate another of better quality and before long, his parts inventory turned his basement into a small warehouse for the ’69 Mustang GT convertible.

As the actual restoration project started to take form, Skinner started realizing just how difficult the restoration of this rare Mustang was going to be. The internet and social media hadn’t really taken form as a tool for automobile restoration projects of this magnitude. Internet parts hunting was still in its infancy and acquiring parts and information related to restoring a rare Mustang of this caliber turned into a bigger and bigger issue as time went on.

It was a decade or so later when Skinner eventually obtained a Marti Report and realized just how rare his ’69 Mustang GT convertible really was. It turns out that Ford Motor Company equipped fewer than 50 of them with the four-speed R-Code 428-cid engine option.

Over his two decades of parts purchases Skinner had collected some very nice, hard-to-find NOS and OEM parts for the restoration project, but most were consumed for this car, and he was able to eventually narrow down the parts list required for the completion of the restoration to a very short list.

For the powertrain, Skinner turned to a longtime friend, Buzz Rose, to rebuild the proper date-code-correct 428-cid Cobra Jet engine. Buzz went through the engine from top to bottom and performed his wizardry to make it a top-shelf, factory-correct specimen. In Skinner’s words, “Buzz Rose sleeps, eats and breathes Fords; he was the right and only person to build my engine for the Mustang. It was Buzz Rose and his knowledge and expertise who influenced me to purchase the car in the first place and take on the restoration project. Without him, I never would have gotten myself into it and taken on such a huge project.”

By the time 2014 rolled around and Skinner was still dealing with trying to locate ultra-rare, hard-to-find parts, he realized it was time to hand the GT Mustang convertible off to someone who had the resources and contacts to see the restoration through to completion as a factory-correct thoroughbred pony car.

“Once you start on a restoration project of this caliber, you can’t turn back,” Skinner said. “I didn’t want to stop the project, or just hand it off to a new owner to finish it off the right way. The right person to purchase the car and continue the restoration project was Tony King.”

Skinner knew it was the right move. “He’s respected within the muscle car and Mustang community for his collection of rare automobiles.” He said. “His expert contacts and abundant resources within the Mustang world is a primary reason I decided to make the ’69 Mustang GT Convertible available for purchase to Tony King.”

The two men had talked about the car and its restoration three years earlier when finding parts became such an obstacle. Once Skinner offered the car for sale, King called in Mustang expert Jason Billups to perform a total inspection of the uncompleted ’69 GT convertible. Upon Billups’ recommendation, King made the purchase.

Two weeks later, it was transported to Billups Classic Cars in Colcord, Oklahoma, so that the restoration could be turned over to owner Jason Billups who would perform a full factory-correct rotisserie restoration. Billups and his world-class team at Billups Classic Cars have a reputation for performing award-winning, historically correct, world-class Mustangs.

Once the ’69 Mustang GT convertible entered the shop, it was secured onto a rotisserie. Since Skinner had already started the restoration, there was no disassembly work to be done. Skinner had already started the body work, too, and according to Billups, “Skinner had done a really good job on it. He’d obviously knew what he was doing and must have spent countless hours of metal work and block sanding. We don’t get many Mustangs in the shop with previous owner body work looking as good as this one.”

Billups turned the completion of the body work of the ’69 Mustang GT convertible over to his brother, Scott Billups, and he spent many hours working each and every one of the body panels to perfection. Once the work was to Billups’ standards, painter Donald “Skeeter” White applied numerous coats of Candy Apple Red single-stage RM urethane paint. The suspension, mechanical and final assembly work was done by Casey Kelly and Billups himself.

Billups Classic Cars had the Mustang GT in its shop for less than two years from start to finish. At times, it took back seat to work on a black 1969 Shelby GT500 prototype convertible that was also owned by King. Usually, the two rare Mustangs were worked on simultaneously, but the ’69 Shelby sometimes received preferential treatment since it was scheduled to be unveiled at the 2016 Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals (MCACN).

According to the new owner, and based on documentation he’s acquired, this ’69 Mustang is one of the last GTs to be produced for this generation. With more than one assembly plant building them simultaneously in 1969, it’s difficult to say definitively that this is, indeed, the last one built. All records indicate it’s one of the last ones in the Ford Motor Co. build schedule to be produced and shipped to the dealer. This rare ’69 Mustang GT R-Code convertible also has a short list of options. They include:

• Black Manual Top W/Plastic Backlite
• GT Equipment Group
• Traction-Lok Differential
• Electric Clock
• F70X14 Wide Oval Belted White Sidewall Tires
• Console
• AM Radio

It appears this car was ordered with the intent of keeping it simple.

King laid eyes on his restored Cobra Jet Mustang GT for the first time during our formal photo-shoot. He’d traveled to Colcord from his residence in Butte, Montana, where we asked him what he thought of the finished product.

“Wow -- what a rare car!” he said. “I’m totally blown away and impressed by the overall look and stance of this little Mustang GT convertible. I think Ford Motor Company should have made more of them.”

After the photo shoot, we later followed up with King to see if he remained impressed with his Mustang GT.

“I recently took the Mustang to a major car show in Montana and it won Best of Show out of 500 entries,” he said. “Without Jason Billups and his team of craftsmen, I can’t image this ’69 Mustang GT convertible turning out any better. Once again, they’ve exceeded my expectations and hit it out of the park.”

Skinner saw the Mustang GT convertible at the same car show and he admitted that seeing it fully and impeccably restored was an emotional experience. He said that the mere sight of the car sent his blood pumping and heart racing with excitement. It also made him realize that selling it to King, who had Billups and his experts finish it off, was the right thing to do. He said that if he had one dream, it would be to get closure for his unfinished business with this Mustang by driving it just once. I’m pleased to say after talking with King, Skinner’s dream to one day drive this beauty will be granted soon – and that would be a moment worth witnessing

FORD PEFORMANCE PHOTOS / COURTESY FREEZE FRAME IMAGE