Hello from the Northwest

I just signed up for this Forum as I will soon join the ranks of Shelby owners with a Torch Red 2007 Shelby GT 500. This will be my first Ford car. What a way to start. I have owned many Ford trucks in the past. I have been an NHRA drag racer for many years. My current race car is a 1971 Oldsmobile Cutlass 442 Super Gas car. I am also a Disabled Veteran, and have longed to own a Shelby since I was slogging around in the jungles in Viet Nam, but either could not afford one or couldn't find the right one. Now 37+ years later, (after I called no less than 150 Dealerships in a quest to find a 2007 Shelby GT 500), a 2007 Shelby actually found me. I belong to several other Forums, and always use the name mrdoc442. I will endeavor to treat other members on this Forum with dignity and respect,and hope to learn as much as I can about Shelby's, and share my automotive/drag racing knowledge, experience, and expertise as appropriate.

Doc

 

Thanks for the

Welcome.

As I mentioned, I called at least 150 different dealerships around the U.S. trying to locate a 2007 Shelby GT 500, where I was everything from, laughed at, ridiculed, made fun of, to encouraged and supported. The trouble is, I did not get my name on a list, put $$$$$ down, a year to a year and a half ago at some dealership. So I made it a point to get on every list that I could, and leave a number how to contact me, that various dealerships I called would put me on. This included, believe it or not, a dealership in the small town where I was born and raised, of about 2000 people, 27 miles from my current home. It was the second dealership I called. They had had one 2007 Shelby GT 500, but sold it to some organization to be raffled off, and expected a second one in soon, which of course was spoken for. As luck would have it, the person who had spoken for the second Shelby GT 500 backed out, and the dealership called and offered it to me. I guess I took it to be a good omen, it was kind of like full circle. It took me less that an hour to do the financing thing and reserve the car. This time I wasn't leaving anything up to chance, especially after what I had seen going on at other dealerships around the country and on EBay. To be truthful, I was getting pretty discouraged, and had about resolved myself to getting a 2008 Shelby GT 500, if one at all. But I am very persistent, and as you know in the collector car world, it pays off to never give up. The other side of that is, I'm sure I will be getting phone calls from dealerships all over the country in the upcoming year, trying to sell me a 2008 Shelby GT 500 :+) Nothing like having an unlisted phone number and then giving it out to 150 dealerships. Ah well, it was worth it, and I'd do it again in a heart beat to get a 2007 Shelby GT 500. I am like a kid waiting for Christmas. I can't remember when I have been this excited. I have known how special the 60's-70's Shelby's were for a long time, but the more I learn about this new Shelby, the more impressed I am. What a neat car.

Doc

 

Thank you for the

Welcome

I look forward to my time on here.

Doc

 

Hi there OS

Thanks for welcoming me. I hope I can be an asset to this Forum. I have a wealth of drag racing experience, and a little 60's/70's/80's/90's muscle car background.

Sounds like you have a very rare, wonderful car, and Raven Black, what a sinister sounding color that is.

Doc

 

Hi Mike,

I first started NHRA drag racing back in the early/middle 1960's.

My first car was a 1958 Pontiac Star Chief Tri-Power. That was some girlin' car. It had leather seats that you could lay down full length in the back seat :+), Wonderbar radio, electric everything. Did not have a/c though. Six people could easily get in the trunk to sneak into a driver in theater.That car was bullet proof. If I had a dollar for every time I did a 3000 RPM neutral drop start in that heavy car, I could probably pay for half of my 2007 Shelby GT 500. Never had one problem with that hydramatic transmission.

Then I raced some small block Chevy stuff in a 1962, 1963, and 1964 Impala's, then a 1966 SS 396 Impala, a 1968 SS 396 Chevelle. I took some time off after I got back form Viet Nam. Took me time to get it back together after that ordeal, and finally finding a career. Then I got back into it with a 1969 Hurst Olds. I did really well with that car. I didn't hurt it, just put a hot Mondello cam and some good lifters, headers, MSD ignition components, and Holley 800 cfm carb. It still has the original paint, which looks good from about 10 feet, but up close it is starting to spiderweb. I just couldn't bring myself to have it repainted, the original Hurst gold color is so difficult to match properly, though I have the formula. The interior is like new, and the car is in very good condition. I still have that car. They are finally starting to become valuable. Hurst only made 912 of them. Everyone talks about the Hemi 426 cars, that car has 455 C/I, and hard telling how many more hemi's were made than 1969 H/O's. Probably thousands. Then after I saw a cherry 68 Camaro get wrecked by an altered at Firebird Raceway in Boise, I retired my 1969 and I raced an 1984 H/O. Believe it or not I did real well with that car bracket racing, even though it was a smogger, it was real consistent. Now my race car is a 1971 Olds Cutlass 442. I did ok with that car in Super Pro bracket racing as well, ( that is what we have here), and then took it the rest of the way to be an all out, dedicated race car with full Chris Alston chassis, tubs, one piece fiberglass front end, etc. It now weighs about 2635 lbs. putting out 527 H/P and 537 lbs. ft. torque. When all metal with original chassis, it was a 11.6 second 1/4 mile car at 6000' + density altitude, and after taking off 1000 lbs., should be a mid 10 second 1/4 mile car. At sea level it might get down into the 9's in the 1/4 mile. For many years my wife and I went to all the races in our area tracks, up to and including the Division 6 ET Finals. For four years straight I was a finalist and semifinalist at the Div 6 Divisional ET finals.

My wife passed away from cancer at the ripe old age of 45 yrs old a while back and I have taken my time getting back into drag racing. I also put another $30K in the race car getting it finished. It was our dream race car. I finally have it about paid off, but it makes me sick to think I could have easily bought a 2007 Shelby convertible loaded, and had $$ left over for what I am into that race car. Of course it is instantly worth $.30 on the dollar for what I put into it. But I had to finish it, like I said it was our "dream" race car. She was my pit crew, my best friend, constant companion. Sometimes I wonder if I am ever going to completely get completely over that. It's a little weird to prepare for retirement with a spouse and then find yourself retiring alone. However, I have been dating a real sweet lady for sometime, am moving forward, and will make it official with her one day soon.

So as you can see, I have raced pretty much exclusively GM stuff. I have battled against many FMC products while drag racing in my life however. Some of those fast Mustangs, and other fast FMC cars along with the Mopars, (never had one of those either), used to give me fits.

I also played with a 1987 Buick Grand National, a 1991 GMC Syclone, and a 1993 GMC Typhoon, but did not race them at tracks. I finally got tired of working on turbo vehicles and sold/traded them. My daily driver is a 2006 Cobalt SS S/C with Stage II +, which I traded in a 1991 Quad 442 daily driver for. That was a little sleeper, but the Cobalt SS S/C would bury it.

So as you an see, I have been blessed to have the opportunity to fool with muscle cars from 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and 2000's. I restored a 240Z and a 280Z many, many years ago. As you may be able to tell, fast/muscle cars are my passion.

That's probably way more background than you asked for, but as they say, don't ask the question ........

Hey Mike, I just noticed that you were from Colorado. I spent some time at Ft .Carson after I got back from Viet Nam, and also worked on the Routt National Forest out of Steamboat for a couple of seasons when I was going to college. I also raced my 1966 Impala SS396 at Mile High Raceway when I was stationed at Ft Carson. I think I still have the trophy I won.

Doc

 

Hi Jim B,

Thank you so much for the welcome aboard.

I made a feeble attempt at uploading some pictures in my photo gallery. I will try to upload some better ones when I have more time, now that I have some clue of how to do it. The one with the 1971 442 front wheels in the air was very early on, with stock frame, and ladder bars if I remember correctly.

Doc

 

Hi Michael,

It's a very small world.

Back in my Mile HIgh racing days I was on a shoe string budget, to say the least. I think I was making a little under $100 a month, and after a car payment was taken out, I didn't have a whole lot left.

I looked at the few Kodac Instamatic pictures, I had, just on the off chance your Poppy Red 1965 Galaxie might be in the background, but no luck.

I don't anticipate racing the 2007 Shelby GT 500 at a dragstrip. I have a pretty bullet-proof 1971 Oldsmobiler Cutlass 442 race car for that purpose, not that I won't play with the Shelby. I think a 2007 Shelby GT 500 with 500 certified H/P without as big drag slicks that will fit under the rear wheel wells, not drag radials either, would personify your stating line malady with the Galaxie, of shredding the rear tires. Probably even more so, as the Wt. to H/P ratio with the 2007 Shelby GT 500 is significantly less, which is even greater power and torque. Your Galazie probably was rated back then at somewhere around 425 H/P gross H/P, which was actually about 362 net H/P, versus the true 500 net H/P for the 2007 Shelby GT 500, which is probably a lighter car as well. I would be really curious what a well prepped for drag racing 2007 Shelby GT 500 will turn in the quarter mile. Theoretically, a 2007 Shelby GT 500 thus prepped should be way down into the 12 second range in the quarter mile, might even flirt with 11's. For a factory built car, that is really, really fast. I remember reading many years ago about a Shelby Cobra, (I don't remember what year the Cobra was), that went from 0 to 100 MPH to 0 in something like 13.8 seconds. That is just flat hauling ass.

I appreciate so much the hospitality I have been shown since I joined the Forum. At times I feel a little like a fish out of water, not having a great deal of FMC automobile background.

Doc