California Special, 1968 Ford Mustang, Original, Beautifully Restored

Description for Ford Mustang 1968

This is an Outstanding Restored Original California Special. The car was previously owned by a NASA Engineer who bought it original in 1968 where he grew up in California. I bought from him 7 years ago and am the second owner. Purchased for $14500.00 and it was 'rough' not running and had significant wear on just about everything. I had a Rotisserie Restorationdone at a Mustang/Shelby Specialty garage which costs a little over $70000.00. Therefor I have a little more than $84000.00 invested. There is less than 300 miles on restored engine.

The California Special was only made in 1968 1/2 and was a blend of Shelby and Mustang and was a 'test' on the public to consider what body style would follow the 1968 Shelby GT that was so popular. There were only a few more than 4000 GTCS made and fewer 'High Country Specials" making this arguably the rarest of all Mustangs. NOTE: Only One (1) original California Special has ever crossed the auction stage in all the years Mecom Auctions have been in existence.

THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO OWN A MATCHING PAIR OF 1968 ORIGINAL CALIFORNIA SPECIALS. SEE ITEM 221779328759 also posted this date. Yes they are the rarest of all Mustangs and the Value will only increase over time. Good Luck!

FACTS AND FEATURES regarding Original GT/CS or High Country Specials

Following is a list of the features found on the California Specials and '68 High Country Specials. With the exception of the items in this list the GT/CS and HCS used the same parts as standard '68 Mustangs. They could be ordered with any engine transmission color or option as long as the body style was a coupe. No convertible or fastback "Specials" were produced in 1968.

1968 CALIFORNIA SPECIAL & 1968 HIGH COUNTRY SPECIAL

Fiberglass trunk lid and quarter extensions

• 1965 Thunderbird tail lights
• Pop-off gas cap
• Fiberglass side scoops
• Chrome quarter panel script (GT/CS only)
• Unique body striping
• Blacked out front grille
• Fog lights (Marchal or Lucas) Mine are Original Lucas!
• Quarter turn hood locks
• Only coupes used. No convertibles or fastbacks
• Any regular Mustang engine option or color available
• Built only at San Jose plant
• 4118 GT/CS cars produced (confirmed by Paul Newitt through Kevin Marti using Ford records. Previously estimated at 4025)
• 251 '68 HCS cars produced (confirmed by Bob Teets through Kevin Marti using Ford records. Previous promo literature states 250)
• An option to have a Paxton Supercharger was available in 1968 for only Shelbys and California Specials. This car is equipped with a Paxton Supercharger.

Perhaps the most striking element of the GT/CS and HCS the thing that makes even the most casual Mustang enthusiast say "what kind of Mustang is that?" is the unique tail section. Comprised of a fiberglass trunk lid and quarter panel extensions with integral spoiler horizontal 1965 Thunderbird tail lights and a special pop-off gas cap many loyal Mustang lovers mistake it for a Shelby from the rear. (or worse yet accuse the innocent owner of trying to create a fake Shelby!) The mistake is understandable as many of the parts are shared with the 67-68 Shelbys. The fiberglass trunk lid and quarter panel extensions are the same as 68 Shelby convertibles. Their production was contracted out by Ford to A.O. Smith Ionia Michigan as were all the fiberglass components on the GT/CS and HCS. The rear face of the trunk lid features horizontal stripes and a chrome "Mustang" script fastened to the upper right corner. This is the same script emblem used on all 1968 Mustang front fenders. The stripes continue from the upper edge of the integral spoiler by turning downward on to the rear quarter panel extensions.

The tail lights too are shared with 68 Shelbys (67 Shelbys used Cougar tail lights) although they first appeared on 65 Thunderbirds. In order to fit these tail lights in the solid concave rear panel on 68 Mustangs Ford had to cut four additional holes in the sheet metal. A fiberglass cover panel was then placed over the rear so the new tail lights could be mounted. These lights required a special wiring harness which plugs into the stock Mustang pig tail leading to the trunk. The fiberglass rear panel is the same as the 68 Shelbys however the wiring harness is completely unique to the GT/CS and HCS. This is one of the key areas to check when verifying a potential GT/CS or HCS. It is a common misconception that the GT/CS and HCS cars used sequential rear turn signals. Sequential signals were a unique and popular feature on 65-71 Thunderbirds and 67-73 Cougars where the 3 separate bulbs behind each tail light lens would light up in sequence from the middle out. This gave the impression of the lights "pointing" the way the car was going to turn. Although this feature did make it into 68 Shelbys it was never an option for the GT/CS or HCS. As a side note it is my understanding that the rear fiberglass panel was always painted the body color. However I have seen several photos of GT/CS or HCS's where this panel has been painted argent or silver which was typical of Shelbys of that era.

The GT/CS and HCS came with only one gas cap***. It is a pop off design similar to the Mustang GT or Shelby caps but without the GT or Cobra emblem. Instead a running horse inset in a rectanglular "corral" resides in the center. This same cap was used on the Sprint package and was also available as a dealer option.

***A handfull of GT/CS cars appear to have been originally sold with the GT pop-off gas cap even though this is not consistent with Ford literature. Even GT/CS cars that were also GT's were supposed to have the GT/CS cap in place of the GT cap.

The blacked-out front grille on the GT/CS and HCS was not simply a stock 68 grille with the chrome horse and corral emblems removed. The GT/CS and HCS grille used the same rectangular grille pattern but did not have the filled-in mounting areas for the stock Mustang grille emblems. The GT/CS and HCS grille gives a more clean uncluttered appearance without any ornamentation or emblems of any kind.

These grilles are no longer available through Ford or any aftermarket supplier. While not appropriate for a show car a stock 1967 Mustang grille is the closest alternative.

In lieu of the stock grille emblems factory fog lights either Marchal or Lucas were installed. In the first few months of production Ford used a light made by Marchal. This was a rectangular clear lensed fog light with a raised “star” in the center of the glass and an “eyebrow” at the top. The Marchal lights were mounted with an angled bracket that attached to the grille and was hidden behind the lamp. This gave the appearance of the fog lamp floating in the blacked out grille.

At some point in early GT/CS production it was determined that the Marchal lights were illegal for highway use in California. This led Ford to change to the Lucas fog lights which were used in the remainder of the GT/CS cars as well as all 68 HCS’s. Ford also issued a factory recall replacing some of the Marchal lights on cars that had already been sold. Because of this the Marchal lights are very rare today and hard to find parts for. The Lucas fog lights were also a rectangular design but without the “star” or “eyebrow” molded into the lens. Rather than mounting to the grille they sat atop tubular stands which were bolted to the wide grille trim. These stands or posts were painted the same Dark Gray Metallic (PPG Ditzler 32930) color as the trim to help them disappear and again give that floating appearance to the lights.

The GT/CS and HCS also featured a hood with integral turn signals (practically a standard option on all 68 Mustangs by this point anyway) and factory installed chrome hood locks. These locks were in addition to the standard center mounted hood safety latch. They were a quarter turn design and mounted through factory cut holes in the hood. When the hood was closed a turn of the locks secured them to special latches bolted to the radiator support.

One part completely unique to the GT/CS and HCS are the fiberglass side scoops. Although very similar in design to the 67-68 Shelbys the GT/CS and HCS scoops are not functional. To give the look of a real scoop Ford placed a perforated metal screen at the scoop's "inlet."

While the scoop itself is identical on both the GT/CS and HCS the decal on it is one of only two cosmetic differences between the two. (The other is the "California Special" fender script. See text below for more on this.) The GT/CS has the letters "GT/CS" stenciled out of the wide center stripe letting the cars paint color show through. The HCS on the other hand has a shield shaped decal which is applied over the triple body stripes on the scoops. It features a running horse in front of a silhouetted mountain background. Below the horse are the words "High Country Special '68" The decals were side specific requireing one for the drivers side and one for the passengers. These decals were originally made by a Denver company Decals Inc and applied at the dealership. Due to various reasons it appears that not all cars had this decal applied before leaving the sales lot resulting in a few "naked" HCS's. The decals are currently being reproduced by the original supplier and can be obtained by contacting Bob Teets who also runs the 66-68 HCS registry.

Note: Due to dealer application of HCS decals some scoop stripes were poorly aligned. This is just one of the many decisions to be made when restoring one of these cars. Should factory imperfections be reproduced or should the car be restored to "better than new" condition?

The other cosmetic difference between the GT/CS and HCS is the chrome "California Special" script which for obvious reasons was not used on the HCS. This script is fastened to the rear quarter panels above the reflectors and is made up of two separate pieces one for each word. The script used a cursive font similar in style and size to the "Mustang" script found on the front fenders of all 1968 Mustangs. The usual front fender "horse and bars" emblem was deleted on GT/CS and HCS cars. See further text about this under "Pop-off gas cap."

One of the most noticeable features of the GT/CS and HCS is the unique GT body striping. The triple stripe (one wide center stripe flanked by two narrow ones) begins at the front edge of the front fender and extends to the rear of the side scoop. Striping was available in four different colors depending on the body color of the car; black white red or blue.

You may go to the California Special Web Site for more information at: http://www.californiaspecial.com/

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