The American Ferrari: In the late 1960s, what did Henry Ford II do after destroying ?overhead cam? exotic Ferrari using an old, big American pushrod V8?   He approved building limited production Shelby GT 500 Mustangs to show off the power, durability and flexibility of the entire FE engine family?a proven engine technology that powered everything from station wagons to World Class, Ferrari-eating race cars.  What a great story which explains why Shelby GT 500s proudly state ?Cobra Lemans? on the valve covers.   Granted, it was the 7 liter, side oiler FE technology that beat Enzo, but in that same family of engines was a reasonably priced jewel: a very powerful ?cop-motor? called the 428 Police Interceptor.  At the time, the 428 PI was the best affordable FE for the street and was only provided to the police for ?hot pursuits? and large sedans.   Well, somehow legendary, get-er-done Carroll Shelby worked his snake charm?again?and had Ford install the Ford 428 police motor in his Shelby Mustangs.   Soon after, the 428 Cobra Jet would be offered using the same basic platform of the 1966-1970 428 PI engine: reinforced 428 block, C6 crank, C6 rods, C6 fuel pump, C6 390 GT cam, C7 intake etc.

Today, I am offering for sale a small part of that great American racing history:  An authentic 1968 GT 500 Cobra Shelby Mustang with 428 FE Police Interceptor, heavy duty C6 transmission and legendary 31-spline 9-inch rear axle.  Please note: this Shelby has its original Shelby vin tag and buck tag.  This Shelby is factory Highland Green (Steve McQueen green) with black deluxe interior, power steering, tilt-away wheel, power disc brakes, fold down rear seat, roll bar and rare factory air conditioning.  It came with AM radio and 15? hubcaps like most if not all 1968 Shelbys.   I am the third owner of this Shelby.  The second owner had it since 1970.  I have the ORIGINAL, extremely rare window sticker from Shelby American for this GT 500 (see picture).  And the original factory build sheet is still stuffed under the driver seat springs (see picture).

This Shelby needs work and does not run, but it?s solid as a rock.  The frame rails, torque boxes and shock towers are solid with no rust (see pictures). Trunk floors and drop-offs are perfect with no rust (see pictures).  It has solid doors.  The prior owner took the carpet out which revealed only minor small rust holes on driver floor only---the other floors are rust free with nice original paint on them (see pictures).  The only other rust is the lower-rear quarters?however, the rear inner wheels wells and trunk drop offs are perfect (see pictures)---so repairing the quarters will be easy.    I see no accident history.  Because it is a factory air conditioning GT 500, it has a very rare factory engine oil cooler.   The factory power steering cooler is also there.  The Marchal fog lights are original to the car.  The original fiberglass is pretty good with some repairable cracks on the rear spoiler top and on the hood scoop opening corners.  There are no headers or Pep Boy racing parts, just Shelby.  All air conditioning parts are there.  Excellent Shelby seat belts and roll bar.  The original interior shows wear in the typical spots.   Headliner is bad and both front/rear windows were removed by the prior owner to properly install a new headliner.   Shelby gauges are all original including the original 8K tachometer and 140 MPH speedometer.   

This solid Shelby was driving when parked in long term storage and that?s how I found it.  It needs work and TLC.  The brakes were nicely rebuilt by the prior owner.  I bought this Shelby in August and then 2 weeks later I bought the Gold GT 500 that was for sale at the National Shelby Meet at Thunder Bolt Raceway in Millville New Jersey.   I?m keeping the non-air conditioned Gold GT 500 (I love that color) and I?m selling the green one.   I did some work on the green GT 500 when I tried to start it.  I installed new concourse battery cables and replaced old gas with fresh gas.  I almost got this Shelby started last weekend.  But it needs new plugs, fuel pump and a carb rebuild.  It has clean gas in the tank, but the gas lines need to be flushed some more.  I was told the motor was rebuilt 40K miles ago when the original block was replaced in the early 1980s, so the block is not original.  I checked the date on the engine block and it?s dated December 1968.   This Shelby was built March of 1968.  The heads, the C7 aluminum PI intake, distributor and the exhaust manifolds are original.  The carburetor is not original.  The battery tray needs repair from battery acid.

I do not have time to work on this GT 500 due to my other five ongoing projects, so I?m selling it.  This Shelby is sold ?as is?.  I expect full payment in 10-days.  I reserve the right to end this auction at anytime because the car is advertised locally.   Please call me, Rick Barker at (301) 779-0114, for more info or to inspect in person this ?American Ferrari? Shelby GT 500!!