918-Original Mile Barn Find 1969 Cobra 428 Lays Dormant

Growing up in a small town in Texas meant everyone knew each other. We also knew what other people had in their garages, oddly enough. This may seem like a bit of overstepping boundaries to most, but catching a glimpse of a certain car in a garage stuck in our brains. I remember my father telling me about the elderly lady who lived down the street, owning three low-mileage vehicles, including a 1957 Chevrolet.

The story was almost folklore to me, as I had never seen the ’57, let alone the other two in my entire life. However, after her passing and the random chance of seeing the estate sale happening, it was revealed that her collection contained a 1957 Chevrolet, 1981 Trans Am, and a classic C10 — all in pristine condition with extremely low miles. This is something I love about vehicles: some rare cars or low-mileage examples could be hiding beneath our noses. For Lon Seigworth, his find was even more wild and much closer to home with my passion for the Blue Oval.

Tucked Away Cobra

Eight years ago, Seigworth gained access to photograph a car that had been tucked away for the past thirty years. In fact, the last time the car had seen daylight was in 1992 when it was used at a wedding reception. While “barn find” has become common lingo in the automotive community, this one is the perfect example, with an 8-foot metal lathe blocking the car from leaving its abode without heavy equipment to pull it out.

The car is an ultra-low mileage 1969 Cobra 428. The four-speed hot rod was driven on the street while its 30-day paper tag was in place. Once the paper plate expired, the remaining miles were found a quarter-mile at a time and between pit rows. Three years down the road, the second owner took hold of the vehicle and raced it. Since then, there has been little information about what led to the car being parked in its current location.