Average Joe Restoration

Consignment # 39-1083
VIN:   67410F2A02943

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In 1964, the Ford Motor Corporation fired the first shot in the Pony Car Wars, introducing an adaptation of their popular compact Falcon that would change the American car market and even stood as a symbol of a revolutionary decade: the Mustang. Itself a compact sporty car offered at an attractive price and aimed at youthful starting car buyers, the Mustang immediately made a big impression and it sold very well; the original Mustang still holds the record for first-year new-model sales of an astounding 680,989 units between April 1964 and August 1965, when it was replaced by the 1966 model.

From early days, Ford's division chief Lee Iacocca still felt that the Mustang's image needed a boost, so he contacted former racecar driver and nascent sports car manufacturer Carroll Shelby, famous for the iconic Ford powered AC Shelby Cobra and also involved in Ford's GT40 racing car project. Shelby was asked to modify the Mustang in a way so it could win the Sports Car Club of America's national B-Production Championship Series. And so, early in 1965, a new competition breed of Mustangs came into life; finished at the Shelby-American shop in Los Angeles and topped off with Shelby badges and trademarks like the Cobra's own logo and named the Shelby GT 350, the designation that would go on all small-block Shelby Mustangs until 1970.

A change was in the works for both Shelby and the Ford Mustang during 1966. With lessons learned from Shelby transforming his GT-350s from docile pony cars to thundering thoroughbreds ill-suited to everyday driving, Ford realized they were missing out on an audience they shared with the Cobra's creator, who were demanding more civility, and the original pony car was undergoing a revamp that finally gave it room for big-block power. With the introduction of the 1967 models, regular Mustangs could get a 320-bhp 390-cid four-barrel V-8. Shelby, naturally, went further. His GT 350 retained its 289-cid V-8 with its 306-bhp rating. And a new model, the 1967 Shelby GT 500, got a reworked 428-cid "Police Interceptor." This 428, in all its forms, was otherwise reserved for bigger Fords where it made 345hp. Shelby then took this as his starting point, added the cast-aluminum medium-rise intake manifold from Ford's 427, twin 600-cfm Holley four-barrel carburetors, and other tweaks for a conservative rating of 355 bhp. For even more get-up-and-go, a handful of 1967 Shelby GT 500s were equipped with Ford's near race-ready 427ci V-8 during manufacture or through dealer service departments.

A very good older restoration in Dark Metallic Blue with a correct black vinyl interior, this 1967 Shelby GT 500 is typical of the first year's wildly successful car. Fitted with dual 4-barrel carburetion, Ford automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, 10-spoke Shelby alloy wheels, the original AM/FM radio, a wood rim steering wheel, shoulder harnesses and a folding rear seat. Under the hood, the 428 Cobra Jet V-8 engine sports 'Cobra LeMans' cast-aluminum valve covers and a well-preserved detailing of the restored engine bay. Its Ford chassis number has been verified by the 1967 Shelby registrar at the Shelby American Automobile Club; the car further conveys with a set of copies of the original build documentation from Ford and Shelby as well. For the ultimate driving experience in a Shelby Mustang, a well-sorted GT 500 is hard to beat, especially one with the level of care in preservation and attention to careful documentation exhibited here.