My First Reaction to a Shelby (LONGISH)

What a great topic, Pete! With apologies to Mike
Drew, the avowed king of captivating true
storytelling, I will attempt to entertain you with a
true story about my "first time."

I kind of had a catharsis tonight as I was mentioning
Pete's subject to my wife when it started to dawn on
me. I was just talking a stream of consciousness
about my lifelong love affair with cars (and Shelbys)
and I began to reconstruct almost precisely the time
and place that I first came across what I would later
know to be a Shelby (as well as some other car
memories).

It's around 1970 and I am 6 years old, growing up in
the suburbs of Philadelphia. I remember that mom
would drag me out for my periodic haircuts to the King
of Prussia Plaza (nowadays one of the largest malls in
the country).

Let me set this up properly, because I am Car Crazy as
they say. Thanks to my dad's automotive interests and
his work as a mechanical engineer, I knew my cars ever
since I was 3 or so-- just as my wonderful son does
today. (Warning: Cross-Brand Digression here, please
no flames!) I had a thing for Mr. Brady's 'Cuda and
the Mopars and Darts as we had a family friend who had
a red '70 440 6-pack Cuda with a pistol grip 4 speed.
They'd come to visit and Mr. L. would take me out for
the obligatory high-speed runs around the
neighborhood, with me sliding around the front seat
like a kid in a candy store, squealing in perfect
pitch to those squeals emanating from the Polyglas
GT’s. I used to refer to these cars a "race cars"
until my dad introduced me to the term "musclecar."
Even as I got older (in first and second grade), my
folks would once in a while pick me up from school (I
think on report card day) to go to Reedman’s in
Langhorne PA just to let me (and my Dad, too) check
out the cars— back then, many of their cars were
unlocked with keys in them purposely. As long as you
looked like the responsible family type, you could
just walk into the corral, get in, and drive any
accessible car out onto a little fenced-in test track
without even talking to a salesman (those were the
days, huh?). I was delighted to be a passenger in
some of these neat cars, just fixating on the day I
would turn 16 and be able to drive myself!

But even before Reedman’s I knew most of my other cars
by sight (or so I thought), including those neat
Mustangs and Cougars. And, if we were ever out in my
dad's maroon '65 Electra (the 'Red Baron') and
happened to fall in line behind a Cougar or a
Thunderbird, look out! I would launch into pleas with
my dad to follow that car at least until it turns so I
can see the sequential lights operate!

Oh yeah-- back to the haircut. Anyhow, we're walking
along and I suddenly pull away from mom's protecting
grip to run across the parking lot toward a flashy
grabber yellow '68 GT-350 or 500 (sorry, still don't
know which) parked in the end spot closest to a small
strip of shops that bordered on the Acme grocery
store. The eyeball-bathing color of this car stunned
me so much that it must have been etched into my
synapses forever, as you'll soon find out. I was
beside myself the minute I laid eyes on that car.

Of course, I was ambivalent about my Mom's scolding me
for leaving her side and I remember saying words to
the effect "Look, Mom-- it's a customized Mustang.
That's not a S-H-E-L-B-Y, I really know it's a
customized Mustang, honest! See it's got Cougar
taillights!" and "Look, he even added fog lights to
the front-- no, wait, that's different too!"

Between her quizzical glances, my mom was a good sport
about trying to sound enthusiastic about my new
discovery, as was my dad when he came home from work
that night and I proceeded to detail ad-nauseum every
feature of this amazing, bright, shiny yellow custom
car (except for that number in the stripe!).

Anyway, I have always been captivated by that color
but never quite put my finger on why I liked it so
much until just tonight, as I was trying to remember
my “first time.” And, lo and behold, my mind’s card
catalog took me back to that first vision of a
S-H-E-L-B-Y on my way to a haircut on a sunny
afternoon around 1970.

Well many years later (and after a few cars under my
belt) last year I found myself with a Grabber Yellow
'69 GT-500 in one of my garages. Sure love that
color. Always did. But tonight, I actually remember
why.

Doug
#2578




__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - now with 250MB free storage. Learn more.
http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250

 

Excellent story. I felt that way about the 63 Split Window Corvette and the
64 GTO convertible. I still remember even at the age of 47 my first glimpse
and experiences of these cars. I ended up buying both many years ago and
sold them as well regrettably. Well I also loved the Shelby's but
particularly the 69 GT 500 and the 67 GT 500 KR. I remember the rumble and
the way it sat at a stop light looking like a 100 MPH standing still . I
loved the change in the body styling of the 69 but unfortunately they were
to be no more after 1970. Well I am very fortunate to have a 69 GT 500.
Although in storage for many years it still gives me the pleasure to
remember the times when these cars were just simply awesome whether it be a
1965 or a 67 KR or a 69 GT 500. They were still born of Shelby and an era
never to be revisited or really emulated. These were a true statement for
the time and although engineering and technology has made vast improvements
in performance and production. They will never match the originality of
these vehicles.

Randall

-----
From: "Musclecars001" <musclecars001@yahoo.com>
To: <Shelbymustang@carmemories.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 12, 2005 5:18 PM
Subject: My First Reaction to a Shelby (LONGISH)


> What a great topic, Pete! With apologies to Mike
> Drew, the avowed king of captivating true
> storytelling, I will attempt to entertain you with a
> true story about my "first time."
>
> I kind of had a catharsis tonight as I was mentioning
> Pete's subject to my wife when it started to dawn on
> me. I was just talking a stream of consciousness
> about my lifelong love affair with cars (and Shelbys)
> and I began to reconstruct almost precisely the time
> and place that I first came across what I would later
> know to be a Shelby (as well as some other car
> memories).
>
> It's around 1970 and I am 6 years old, growing up in
> the suburbs of Philadelphia. I remember that mom
> would drag me out for my periodic haircuts to the King
> of Prussia Plaza (nowadays one of the largest malls in
> the country).
>
> Let me set this up properly, because I am Car Crazy as
> they say. Thanks to my dad's automotive interests and
> his work as a mechanical engineer, I knew my cars ever
> since I was 3 or so-- just as my wonderful son does
> today. (Warning: Cross-Brand Digression here, please
> no flames!) I had a thing for Mr. Brady's 'Cuda and
> the Mopars and Darts as we had a family friend who had
> a red '70 440 6-pack Cuda with a pistol grip 4 speed.
> They'd come to visit and Mr. L. would take me out for
> the obligatory high-speed runs around the
> neighborhood, with me sliding around the front seat
> like a kid in a candy store, squealing in perfect
> pitch to those squeals emanating from the Polyglas
> GT's. I used to refer to these cars a "race cars"
> until my dad introduced me to the term "musclecar."
> Even as I got older (in first and second grade), my
> folks would once in a while pick me up from school (I
> think on report card day) to go to Reedman's in
> Langhorne PA just to let me (and my Dad, too) check
> out the cars- back then, many of their cars were
> unlocked with keys in them purposely. As long as you
> looked like the responsible family type, you could
> just walk into the corral, get in, and drive any
> accessible car out onto a little fenced-in test track
> without even talking to a salesman (those were the
> days, huh?). I was delighted to be a passenger in
> some of these neat cars, just fixating on the day I
> would turn 16 and be able to drive myself!
>
> But even before Reedman's I knew most of my other cars
> by sight (or so I thought), including those neat
> Mustangs and Cougars. And, if we were ever out in my
> dad's maroon '65 Electra (the 'Red Baron') and
> happened to fall in line behind a Cougar or a
> Thunderbird, look out! I would launch into pleas with
> my dad to follow that car at least until it turns so I
> can see the sequential lights operate!
>
> Oh yeah-- back to the haircut. Anyhow, we're walking
> along and I suddenly pull away from mom's protecting
> grip to run across the parking lot toward a flashy
> grabber yellow '68 GT-350 or 500 (sorry, still don't
> know which) parked in the end spot closest to a small
> strip of shops that bordered on the Acme grocery
> store. The eyeball-bathing color of this car stunned
> me so much that it must have been etched into my
> synapses forever, as you'll soon find out. I was
> beside myself the minute I laid eyes on that car.
>
> Of course, I was ambivalent about my Mom's scolding me
> for leaving her side and I remember saying words to
> the effect "Look, Mom-- it's a customized Mustang.
> That's not a S-H-E-L-B-Y, I really know it's a
> customized Mustang, honest! See it's got Cougar
> taillights!" and "Look, he even added fog lights to
> the front-- no, wait, that's different too!"
>
> Between her quizzical glances, my mom was a good sport
> about trying to sound enthusiastic about my new
> discovery, as was my dad when he came home from work
> that night and I proceeded to detail ad-nauseum every
> feature of this amazing, bright, shiny yellow custom
> car (except for that number in the stripe!).
>
> Anyway, I have always been captivated by that color
> but never quite put my finger on why I liked it so
> much until just tonight, as I was trying to remember
> my "first time." And, lo and behold, my mind's card
> catalog took me back to that first vision of a
> S-H-E-L-B-Y on my way to a haircut on a sunny
> afternoon around 1970.
>
> Well many years later (and after a few cars under my
> belt) last year I found myself with a Grabber Yellow
> '69 GT-500 in one of my garages. Sure love that
> color. Always did. But tonight, I actually remember
> why.
>
> Doug
> #2578
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Mail - now with 250MB free storage. Learn more.
> http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250
>

 

4th try. I am sorry if this publishes multiple times. The server is not
accepting my responses...it happens every once in awhile.




My love for cars emanated from living overseas...Jamaica to be exact. I
longed for anything that smelled or reminded me of home. So, as a late
grammar school lad, I was allowed to subscribe to just about every car
magazine published to foster my reading.

This was in the late 60's so I can recall seeing the Shelby ads for the
69 cars and Shelby looked pretty cool leaning against the front fenders.
Those ads really caught my attention. But, I really wanted a Boss 302.

Fast forward to 1971 and we had moved home to the SF bay area and I
spent a lot of time with my oldest brother in Berkeley where he attended
UC Berkeley. Berkeley is not quite the car town that LA is but it is
close. I can recall my first trip to visit my brother I laid dyes on
Boss 429, 1971 911S, and Ferrari..all before lunch! We actually moved to
a small town called Orinda ...and Orinda has some great car collectors
but they are not the showy type of folks. They keep to themselves. I
know, what about Shelby's. To date I don't think I had seen one, but I
had read every printed word. I was ready to spew facts and figures at
the first sight of one.

Now I am in college and I meet up with a potential study buddy after to
school to exchange notes. Brian Dumas is his name. After studying, we
exchange comments on cars and he says he has a Shelby! Yeah right! But,
as we walk out to the parking lot....he walks up to a Gremlin! Oh, he
does not drive the Shelby to school.He promises me a ride the next
day....I am convinced he is dreaming.

Next afternoon, there it is. 1967 GT350. Brian had purchased it from the
original owner. I hear stories of his driving it to S Cal every summer
to attend something known as SAAC conventions....I think he began going
at SAAC 3. Better yet, after he had bought the car, it had thrown a
bearing and he had the engine rebuilt by none other than Morgans Machine
shop in Walnut Creek. Morgans was the preeminent sped shop in NorCal at
that time with at least 10 hydro world records to their credit or
ownership. They raced "Morgans flying machine"

Oh, the ride. I owned a nice respectable 911 that produced about 200HP
from a modified 6 with 2 triple draft webers. I worked more than several
jobs during the summers so I could drive my choice of car...so the car
ran like most 1970 era Porsches ...nice acceleration ( not great), great
breaks and cornering. I am not used to slow cars but I am not all that
wordly yet....I still am not! So, Brian has me jump in the acapulco blue
( repainted) 1967, and gives me the ride of a life time. I can just
recall that I had not had a ride in a car that had such a flat power
band. It ran all the way up until he shifted.. And to boot....the darn
car really chirped the tires in 2nd gear. That never happened in a
Porsche! Not one flat spot in the power curve. Very cool.

So we became life long friends. he is my longest term friend and
introduced me to some fun Shelby's through his friends and contacts. I
did not buy one until much later with Pete Geislers help. We still talk
every week, mostly about families but we never miss a nice car
conversation.

If anyone is going to be at Shelby Vegas. Look for me. I'll have our
sapphire blue 66 there..number 66. And, the best part, is that Brian
will be there to reminisce a little bit.

Dan C



musclecars001@yahoo.com wrote:

>What a great topic, Pete! With apologies to Mike
>Drew, the avowed king of captivating true
>storytelling, I will attempt to entertain you with a
>true story about my "first time."
>
>I kind of had a catharsis tonight as I was mentioning
>Pete's subject to my wife when it started to dawn on
>me. I was just talking a stream of consciousness
>about my lifelong love affair with cars (and Shelbys)
>and I began to reconstruct almost precisely the time
>and place that I first came across what I would later
>know to be a Shelby (as well as some other car
>memories).
>
>It's around 1970 and I am 6 years old, growing up in
>the suburbs of Philadelphia. I remember that mom
>would drag me out for my periodic haircuts to the King
>of Prussia Plaza (nowadays one of the largest malls in
>the country).
>
>Let me set this up properly, because I am Car Crazy as
>they say. Thanks to my dad's automotive interests and
>his work as a mechanical engineer, I knew my cars ever
>since I was 3 or so-- just as my wonderful son does
>today. (Warning: Cross-Brand Digression here, please
>no flames!) I had a thing for Mr. Brady's 'Cuda and
>the Mopars and Darts as we had a family friend who had
>a red '70 440 6-pack Cuda with a pistol grip 4 speed.
>They'd come to visit and Mr. L. would take me out for
>the obligatory high-speed runs around the
>neighborhood, with me sliding around the front seat
>like a kid in a candy store, squealing in perfect
>pitch to those squeals emanating from the Polyglas
>GT’s. I used to refer to these cars a "race cars"
>until my dad introduced me to the term "musclecar."
>Even as I got older (in first and second grade), my
>folks would once in a while pick me up from school (I
>think on report card day) to go to Reedman’s in
>Langhorne PA just to let me (and my Dad, too) check
>out the cars— back then, many of their cars were
>unlocked with keys in them purposely. As long as you
>looked like the responsible family type, you could
>just walk into the corral, get in, and drive any
>accessible car out onto a little fenced-in test track
>without even talking to a salesman (those were the
>days, huh?). I was delighted to be a passenger in
>some of these neat cars, just fixating on the day I
>would turn 16 and be able to drive myself!
>
>But even before Reedman’s I knew most of my other cars
>by sight (or so I thought), including those neat
>Mustangs and Cougars. And, if we were ever out in my
>dad's maroon '65 Electra (the 'Red Baron') and
>happened to fall in line behind a Cougar or a
>Thunderbird, look out! I would launch into pleas with
>my dad to follow that car at least until it turns so I
>can see the sequential lights operate!
>
>Oh yeah-- back to the haircut. Anyhow, we're walking
>along and I suddenly pull away from mom's protecting
>grip to run across the parking lot toward a flashy
>grabber yellow '68 GT-350 or 500 (sorry, still don't
>know which) parked in the end spot closest to a small
>strip of shops that bordered on the Acme grocery
>store. The eyeball-bathing color of this car stunned
>me so much that it must have been etched into my
>synapses forever, as you'll soon find out. I was
>beside myself the minute I laid eyes on that car.
>
>Of course, I was ambivalent about my Mom's scolding me
>for leaving her side and I remember saying words to
>the effect "Look, Mom-- it's a customized Mustang.
>That's not a S-H-E-L-B-Y, I really know it's a
>customized Mustang, honest! See it's got Cougar
>taillights!" and "Look, he even added fog lights to
>the front-- no, wait, that's different too!"
>
>Between her quizzical glances, my mom was a good sport
>about trying to sound enthusiastic about my new
>discovery, as was my dad when he came home from work
>that night and I proceeded to detail ad-nauseum every
>feature of this amazing, bright, shiny yellow custom
>car (except for that number in the stripe!).
>
>Anyway, I have always been captivated by that color
>but never quite put my finger on why I liked it so
>much until just tonight, as I was trying to remember
>my “first time.” And, lo and behold, my mind’s card
>catalog took me back to that first vision of a
>S-H-E-L-B-Y on my way to a haircut on a sunny
>afternoon around 1970.
>
>Well many years later (and after a few cars under my
>belt) last year I found myself with a Grabber Yellow
>'69 GT-500 in one of my garages. Sure love that
>color. Always did. But tonight, I actually remember
>why.
>
>Doug
>#2578
>
>
>
>
>__________________________________
>Do you Yahoo!?
>Yahoo! Mail - now with 250MB free storage. Learn more.
>http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250
>
>

 

If this comes through multiple times...my apologies. This is my third
try......


My love for cars emanated from living overseas...Jamaica to be exact. I
longed for anything that smelled or reminded me of home. So, as a late
grammar school lad, I was allowed to subscribe to just about every car
magazine published to foster my reading.

This was in the late 60's so I can recall seeing the Shelby ads for the
69 cars and Shelby looked pretty cool leaning against the front fenders.
Those ads really caught my attention. But, I really wanted a Boss 302.

Fast forward to 1971 and we had moved home to the SF bay area and I
spent a lot of time with my oldest brother in Berkeley where he attended
UC Berkeley. Berkeley is not quite the car town that LA is but it is
close. I can recall my first trip to visit my brother I laid dyes on
Boss 429, 1971 911S, and Ferrari..all before lunch! We actually moved to
a small town called Orinda ...and Orinda has some great car collectors
but they are not the showy type of folks. They keep to themselves. I
know, what about Shelby's. To date I don't think I had seen one, but I
had read every printed word. I was ready to spew facts and figures at
the first sight of one.

Now I am in college and I meet up with a potential study buddy after to
school to exchange notes. Brian Dumas is his name. After studying, we
exchange comments on cars and he says he has a Shelby! Yeah right! But,
as we walk out to the parking lot....he walks up to a Gremlin! Oh, he
does not drive the Shelby to school.He promises me a ride the next
day....I am convinced he is dreaming.

Next afternoon, there it is. 1967 GT350. Brian had purchased it from the
original owner. I hear stories of his driving it to S Cal every summer
to attend something known as SAAC conventions....I think he began going
at SAAC 3. Better yet, after he had bought the car, it had thrown a
bearing and he had the engine rebuilt by none other than Morgans Machine
shop in Walnut Creek. Morgans was the preeminent sped shop in NorCal at
that time with at least 10 hydro world records to their credit or
ownership. They raced "Morgans flying machine"

Oh, the ride. I owned a nice respectable 911 that produced about 200HP
from a modified 6 with 2 triple draft webers. I worked more than several
jobs during the summers so I could drive my choice of car...so the car
ran like most 1970 era Porsches ...nice acceleration ( not great), great
breaks and cornering. I am not used to slow cars but I am not all that
wordly yet....I still am not! So, Brian has me jump in the acapulco blue
( repainted) 1967, and gives me the ride of a life time. I can just
recall that I had not had a ride in a car that had such a flat power
band. It ran all the way up until he shifted.. And to boot....the darn
car really chirped the tires in 2nd gear. That never happened in a
Porsche! Not one flat spot in the power curve. Very cool.

So we became life long friends. he is my longest term friend and
introduced me to some fun Shelby's through his friends and contacts. I
did not buy one until much later with Pete Geislers help. We still talk
every week, mostly about families but we never miss a nice car
conversation.

If anyone is going to be at Shelby Vegas. Look for me. I'll have our
sapphire blue 66 there..number 66. And, the best part, is that Brian
will be there to reminisce a little bit.

Dan C



indy_carl50@yahoo.com wrote:

Cool story Doug, do you have a pic to share?

Carl



__________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - Find
what you need with new enhanced search.
http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250

musclecars001@yahoo.com wrote:

>What a great topic, Pete! With apologies to Mike
>Drew, the avowed king of captivating true
>storytelling, I will attempt to entertain you with a
>true story about my "first time."
>
>I kind of had a catharsis tonight as I was mentioning
>Pete's subject to my wife when it started to dawn on
>me. I was just talking a stream of consciousness
>about my lifelong love affair with cars (and Shelbys)
>and I began to reconstruct almost precisely the time
>and place that I first came across what I would later
>know to be a Shelby (as well as some other car
>memories).
>
>It's around 1970 and I am 6 years old, growing up in
>the suburbs of Philadelphia. I remember that mom
>would drag me out for my periodic haircuts to the King
>of Prussia Plaza (nowadays one of the largest malls in
>the country).
>
>Let me set this up properly, because I am Car Crazy as
>they say. Thanks to my dad's automotive interests and
>his work as a mechanical engineer, I knew my cars ever
>since I was 3 or so-- just as my wonderful son does
>today. (Warning: Cross-Brand Digression here, please
>no flames!) I had a thing for Mr. Brady's 'Cuda and
>the Mopars and Darts as we had a family friend who had
>a red '70 440 6-pack Cuda with a pistol grip 4 speed.
>They'd come to visit and Mr. L. would take me out for
>the obligatory high-speed runs around the
>neighborhood, with me sliding around the front seat
>like a kid in a candy store, squealing in perfect
>pitch to those squeals emanating from the Polyglas
>GT’s. I used to refer to these cars a "race cars"
>until my dad introduced me to the term "musclecar."
>Even as I got older (in first and second grade), my
>folks would once in a while pick me up from school (I
>think on report card day) to go to Reedman’s in
>Langhorne PA just to let me (and my Dad, too) check
>out the cars— back then, many of their cars were
>unlocked with keys in them purposely. As long as you
>looked like the responsible family type, you could
>just walk into the corral, get in, and drive any
>accessible car out onto a little fenced-in test track
>without even talking to a salesman (those were the
>days, huh?). I was delighted to be a passenger in
>some of these neat cars, just fixating on the day I
>would turn 16 and be able to drive myself!
>
>But even before Reedman’s I knew most of my other cars
>by sight (or so I thought), including those neat
>Mustangs and Cougars. And, if we were ever out in my
>dad's maroon '65 Electra (the 'Red Baron') and
>happened to fall in line behind a Cougar or a
>Thunderbird, look out! I would launch into pleas with
>my dad to follow that car at least until it turns so I
>can see the sequential lights operate!
>
>Oh yeah-- back to the haircut. Anyhow, we're walking
>along and I suddenly pull away from mom's protecting
>grip to run across the parking lot toward a flashy
>grabber yellow '68 GT-350 or 500 (sorry, still don't
>know which) parked in the end spot closest to a small
>strip of shops that bordered on the Acme grocery
>store. The eyeball-bathing color of this car stunned
>me so much that it must have been etched into my
>synapses forever, as you'll soon find out. I was
>beside myself the minute I laid eyes on that car.
>
>Of course, I was ambivalent about my Mom's scolding me
>for leaving her side and I remember saying words to
>the effect "Look, Mom-- it's a customized Mustang.
>That's not a S-H-E-L-B-Y, I really know it's a
>customized Mustang, honest! See it's got Cougar
>taillights!" and "Look, he even added fog lights to
>the front-- no, wait, that's different too!"
>
>Between her quizzical glances, my mom was a good sport
>about trying to sound enthusiastic about my new
>discovery, as was my dad when he came home from work
>that night and I proceeded to detail ad-nauseum every
>feature of this amazing, bright, shiny yellow custom
>car (except for that number in the stripe!).
>
>Anyway, I have always been captivated by that color
>but never quite put my finger on why I liked it so
>much until just tonight, as I was trying to remember
>my “first time.” And, lo and behold, my mind’s card
>catalog took me back to that first vision of a
>S-H-E-L-B-Y on my way to a haircut on a sunny
>afternoon around 1970.
>
>Well many years later (and after a few cars under my
>belt) last year I found myself with a Grabber Yellow
>'69 GT-500 in one of my garages. Sure love that
>color. Always did. But tonight, I actually remember
>why.
>
>Doug
>#2578
>
>
>
>
>__________________________________
>Do you Yahoo!?
>Yahoo! Mail - now with 250MB free storage. Learn more.
>http://info.mail.yahoo.com/mail_250
>
>

 

Re: My First Reaction to a Shelby

My love for cars emanated from living overseas...Jamaica to be exact. I
longed for anything that smelled or reminded me of home. So, as a late
grammar school lad, I was allowed to subscribe to just about every car
magazine published to foster my reading.

This was in the late 60's so I can recall seeing the Shelby ads for the
69 cars and Shelby looked pretty cool leaning against the front
fenders. Those ads really caught my attention. But, I really wanted a
Boss 302.

Fast forward to 1971 and we had moved home to the SF bay area and I
spent a lot of time with my oldest brother in Berkeley where he
attended UC Berkeley. Berkeley is not quite the car town that LA is but
it is close. I can recall my first trip to visit my brother I laid dyes
on Boss 429, 1971 911S, and Ferrari..all before lunch! We actually
moved to a small town called Orinda ...and Orinda has some great car
collectors but they are not the showy type of folks. They keep to
themselves. I know, what about Shelby's. To date I don't think I had
seen one, but I had read every printed word. I was ready to spew facts
and figures at the first sight of one.

Now I am in college and I meet up with a potential study buddy after to
school to exchange notes. Brian Dumas is his name. After studying, we
exchange comments on cars and he says he has a Shelby! Yeah right! But,
as we walk out to the parking lot....he walks up to a Gremlin! Oh, he
does not drive the Shelby to school.He promises me a ride the next
day....I am convinced he is dreaming.

Next afternoon, there it is. 1967 GT350. Brian had purchased it from the
original owner. I hear stories of his driving it to S Cal every summer
to attend something known as SAAC conventions....I think he began going
at SAAC 3. Better yet, after he had bought the car, it had thrown a
bearing and he had the engine rebuilt by none other than Morgans Machine
shop in Walnut Creek. Morgans was the preeminent sped shop in NorCal at
that time with at least 10 hydro world records to their credit or
ownership. They raced "Morgans flying machine"

Oh, the ride. I owned a nice respectable 911 that produced about 200HP
from a modified 6 with 2 triple draft webers. I worked more than
several jobs during the summers so I could drive my choice of car...so
the car ran like most 1970 era Porsches ...nice acceleration ( not
great), great breaks and cornering. I am not used to slow cars but I am
not all that wordly yet....I still am not! So, Brian has me jump in the
acapulco blue ( repainted) 1967, and gives me the ride of a life time. I
can just recall that I had not had a ride in a car that had such a flat
power band. It ran all the way up until he shifted.. And to boot....the
darn car really chirped the tires in 2nd gear. That never happened in a
Porsche! Not one flat spot in the power curve. Very cool.

So we became life long friends. he is my longest term friend and
introduced me to some fun Shelby's through his friends and contacts. I
did not buy one until much later with Pete Geislers help. We still talk
every week, mostly about families but we never miss a nice car conversation.

If anyone is going to be at Shelby Vegas. Look for me. I'll have our
sapphire blue 66 there..number 66. And, the best part, is that Brian
will be there to reminisce a little bit.

>

 

My First Reaction to a Shelby

Great thread. I had to comment.

My high school car, which I still have, was a silver 1971 429CJ Mach 1 with
an auto and 3.25 single drive gears. It was one of the fastest cars in my
5000 member high school. A 1970 Buick GS 455 Stage 1 could just edge it out,
until a friend bought a 1968 GT 500. It was black and was a 4-speed with
2.79 gears!

Wegee Walker, the owner, and I decided to run our cars after school one day
at the local street racing location. We burned tires out of the school
parking lot and he got a ticket for exhibition of speed. That did not deter
our little race though. We decided to go from a roll, since we both had
single tracks. The result was the same for the two or three times we went at
it. We stayed together until he changed into second gear about 60 mph, and
then he was gone, I mean really gone. It was like I ran out of gas and my
Mach was a low 14 second car! By the end of the marked off quarter, he was
numerous car lengths ahead. I was no contest and knew I would have one some
day....

I was hooked on Shelbys and purchased a 68 GT 500 in 1984 as soon as I got
out of college and had a job. Still have it today, a white 4-speed AC car.
I've always had a thing for the 68s and all the snakes on them......


Rick Thompson

 

My First Reaction to a Shelby

While attending Texas A&M during the 79-84 timeframe I was in the Texas A&M
Sports Car Club. There I met Jay Bittle who now owns JBA Racing in San
Diego. At the time he owned a Texaco station while attending school at A&M.
We would meet every Wed. night (I think that's the day) and many awesome
cars would show up, a 65 Corvette convert., tunnel rammed 50 GMC pickup, 440
GTX, Hemi Belvedere and on and on. It was awesome, but there was this 67
GT500 red with white stripes and a 427 that rolled in one evening and that
was Jay. He stole the show every time even back then with many other
awesome cars in attendance. At the time I had my parents 69 Galaxie 500,
but I knew I'd like to have a car like Jay's. Upon graduation I owned an 84
Dodge Shelby Charger (blue with silver stripes); close, but still not there.

For my 23rd birthday in 1983 I got a birthday present which was one of those
calendar type photos of a 1967 GT500 red with white stripes. I did not
remember that until one week ago when we were converting an old VHS tape to
DVD and I said stop the tape! 'er DVD!. We backed it up and there in the
photo was a picture of a 67 GT500.

I started working for NASA here in Houston after graduation and 17 yrs later
I started traveling to Edwards Air Force Base in California for work and was
at a place in life where I had some time & money to make this car happen. I
decided to call Jay. I could not locate his phone number, but I did have an
address so I wrote him a letter. A couple months went by and I almost gave
up on the idea, then out all of a sudden we got in touch with each other.
Jay came up from San Diego and trailered his 67 GT500 and in exchange I got
him a behind the scenes tour of Edwards Air Force Base. That act of
bringing the car up and taking the time to talk me through a buildup kicked
off an outrageous 3-1/2 year, over the top buildup. I am now fortunate to
have a car that which was 20 yrs in making and it's an incredible pleasure
to drive.

Thanks for taking the time to share this with me ...

Jeff


----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Cundiff" <DRCundiff@netscape.net>
To: <campaul1@xtra.co.nz>
Cc: "Musclecars001" <musclecars001@yahoo.com>;
<Shelbymustang@carmemories.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 7:50 AM
Subject: Re: My First Reaction to a Shelby


>
>
> My love for cars emanated from living overseas...Jamaica to be exact. I
> longed for anything that smelled or reminded me of home. So, as a late
> grammar school lad, I was allowed to subscribe to just about every car
> magazine published to foster my reading.
>
> This was in the late 60's so I can recall seeing the Shelby ads for the
> 69 cars and Shelby looked pretty cool leaning against the front fenders.
> Those ads really caught my attention. But, I really wanted a Boss 302.
>
> Fast forward to 1971 and we had moved home to the SF bay area and I spent
> a lot of time with my oldest brother in Berkeley where he attended UC
> Berkeley. Berkeley is not quite the car town that LA is but it is close. I
> can recall my first trip to visit my brother I laid dyes on Boss 429,
> 1971 911S, and Ferrari..all before lunch! We actually moved to a small
> town called Orinda ...and Orinda has some great car collectors but they
> are not the showy type of folks. They keep to themselves. I know, what
> about Shelby's. To date I don't think I had seen one, but I had read every
> printed word. I was ready to spew facts and figures at the first sight of
> one.
>
> Now I am in college and I meet up with a potential study buddy after to
> school to exchange notes. Brian Dumas is his name. After studying, we
> exchange comments on cars and he says he has a Shelby! Yeah right! But, as
> we walk out to the parking lot....he walks up to a Gremlin! Oh, he does
> not drive the Shelby to school.He promises me a ride the next day....I am
> convinced he is dreaming.
>
> Next afternoon, there it is. 1967 GT350. Brian had purchased it from the
> original owner. I hear stories of his driving it to S Cal every summer to
> attend something known as SAAC conventions....I think he began going at
> SAAC 3. Better yet, after he had bought the car, it had thrown a bearing
> and he had the engine rebuilt by none other than Morgans Machine shop in
> Walnut Creek. Morgans was the preeminent sped shop in NorCal at that time
> with at least 10 hydro world records to their credit or ownership. They
> raced "Morgans flying machine"
>
> Oh, the ride. I owned a nice respectable 911 that produced about 200HP
> from a modified 6 with 2 triple draft webers. I worked more than several
> jobs during the summers so I could drive my choice of car...so the car ran
> like most 1970 era Porsches ...nice acceleration ( not great), great
> breaks and cornering. I am not used to slow cars but I am not all that
> wordly yet....I still am not! So, Brian has me jump in the acapulco blue
> ( repainted) 1967, and gives me the ride of a life time. I can just recall
> that I had not had a ride in a car that had such a flat power band. It ran
> all the way up until he shifted.. And to boot....the darn car really
> chirped the tires in 2nd gear. That never happened in a Porsche! Not one
> flat spot in the power curve. Very cool.
>
> So we became life long friends. he is my longest term friend and
> introduced me to some fun Shelby's through his friends and contacts. I did
> not buy one until much later with Pete Geislers help. We still talk every
> week, mostly about families but we never miss a nice car conversation.
>
> If anyone is going to be at Shelby Vegas. Look for me. I'll have our
> sapphire blue 66 there..number 66. And, the best part, is that Brian will
> be there to reminisce a little bit.
>
>>

 

My First Reaction to a Shelby

While attending Texas A&M during the 79-84 timeframe I was in the Texas A&M
Sports Car Club. There I met Jay Bittle who now owns JBA Racing in San
Diego. At the time he owned a Texaco station while attending school at A&M.
We would meet every Wed. night (I think that's the day) and many awesome
cars would show up, a 65 Corvette convert., tunnel rammed 50 GMC pickup, 440
GTX, Hemi Belvedere and on and on. It was awesome, but there was this 67
GT500 red with white stripes and a 427 that rolled in one evening and that
was Jay. He stole the show every time even back then with many other
awesome cars in attendance. At the time I had my parents 69 Galaxie 500,
but I knew I'd like to have a car like Jay's. Upon graduation I owned an 84
Dodge Shelby Charger (blue with silver stripes); close, but still not there.

For my 23rd birthday in 1983 I got a birthday present which was one of those
calendar type photos of a 1967 GT500 red with white stripes. I did not
remember that until one week ago when we were converting an old VHS tape to
DVD and I said stop the tape! 'er DVD!. We backed it up and there in the
photo was a picture of a 67 GT500.

I started working for NASA here in Houston after graduation and 17 yrs later
I started traveling to Edwards Air Force Base in California for work and was
at a place in life where I had some time & money to make this car happen. I
decided to call Jay. I could not locate his phone number, but I did have an
address so I wrote him a letter. A couple months went by and I almost gave
up on the idea, then out all of a sudden we got in touch with each other.
Jay came up from San Diego and trailered his 67 GT500 and in exchange I got
him a behind the scenes tour of Edwards Air Force Base. That act of
bringing the car up and taking the time to talk me through a buildup kicked
off an outrageous 3-1/2 year, over the top buildup. I am now fortunate to
have a car that which was 20 yrs in making and it's an incredible pleasure
to drive.

Thanks for taking the time to share this with me ...

Jeff


----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Cundiff" <DRCundiff@netscape.net>
To: <campaul1@xtra.co.nz>
Cc: "Musclecars001" <musclecars001@yahoo.com>;
<Shelbymustang@carmemories.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 7:50 AM
Subject: Re: My First Reaction to a Shelby


>
>
> My love for cars emanated from living overseas...Jamaica to be exact. I
> longed for anything that smelled or reminded me of home. So, as a late
> grammar school lad, I was allowed to subscribe to just about every car
> magazine published to foster my reading.
>
> This was in the late 60's so I can recall seeing the Shelby ads for the
> 69 cars and Shelby looked pretty cool leaning against the front fenders.
> Those ads really caught my attention. But, I really wanted a Boss 302.
>
> Fast forward to 1971 and we had moved home to the SF bay area and I spent
> a lot of time with my oldest brother in Berkeley where he attended UC
> Berkeley. Berkeley is not quite the car town that LA is but it is close. I
> can recall my first trip to visit my brother I laid dyes on Boss 429,
> 1971 911S, and Ferrari..all before lunch! We actually moved to a small
> town called Orinda ...and Orinda has some great car collectors but they
> are not the showy type of folks. They keep to themselves. I know, what
> about Shelby's. To date I don't think I had seen one, but I had read every
> printed word. I was ready to spew facts and figures at the first sight of
> one.
>
> Now I am in college and I meet up with a potential study buddy after to
> school to exchange notes. Brian Dumas is his name. After studying, we
> exchange comments on cars and he says he has a Shelby! Yeah right! But, as
> we walk out to the parking lot....he walks up to a Gremlin! Oh, he does
> not drive the Shelby to school.He promises me a ride the next day....I am
> convinced he is dreaming.
>
> Next afternoon, there it is. 1967 GT350. Brian had purchased it from the
> original owner. I hear stories of his driving it to S Cal every summer to
> attend something known as SAAC conventions....I think he began going at
> SAAC 3. Better yet, after he had bought the car, it had thrown a bearing
> and he had the engine rebuilt by none other than Morgans Machine shop in
> Walnut Creek. Morgans was the preeminent sped shop in NorCal at that time
> with at least 10 hydro world records to their credit or ownership. They
> raced "Morgans flying machine"
>
> Oh, the ride. I owned a nice respectable 911 that produced about 200HP
> from a modified 6 with 2 triple draft webers. I worked more than several
> jobs during the summers so I could drive my choice of car...so the car ran
> like most 1970 era Porsches ...nice acceleration ( not great), great
> breaks and cornering. I am not used to slow cars but I am not all that
> wordly yet....I still am not! So, Brian has me jump in the acapulco blue
> ( repainted) 1967, and gives me the ride of a life time. I can just recall
> that I had not had a ride in a car that had such a flat power band. It ran
> all the way up until he shifted.. And to boot....the darn car really
> chirped the tires in 2nd gear. That never happened in a Porsche! Not one
> flat spot in the power curve. Very cool.
>
> So we became life long friends. he is my longest term friend and
> introduced me to some fun Shelby's through his friends and contacts. I did
> not buy one until much later with Pete Geislers help. We still talk every
> week, mostly about families but we never miss a nice car conversation.
>
> If anyone is going to be at Shelby Vegas. Look for me. I'll have our
> sapphire blue 66 there..number 66. And, the best part, is that Brian will
> be there to reminisce a little bit.
>
>>