How can a "Newbie" possibly become a SHELBY owner!?

I don't think it is going to happen buddy. Set you eyes on the new GT500 or a nice clone. For now, the prices are quite strong. If you are persistant, look for either 66,67,68 GT350's for I think these are the most reasonable of the bunch as far as price. IMO.

 

Yes, Mostly because of production numbers. The price of 65's is closer to the price of the 67/68 GT500's were as the 66-68's are about half the price or there abouts.

 

If I had to go out and buy my 67 GT 350 today, (I bought it in 1971) I'd have to sell my house and live in the car.

Most of us who already have one, still would like to buy another.

BUT, never say never.

 

Newbie, hang in there. I was where you were in 1989 when Shelby pricing started spiking. 1965-66 Shelbys were the Hot Ticket. 67-70 GT 500's Fastbacks where about half the price. Convertible big blocks were close to 80-90K. Then the market had a slight correction and prices actually came down to where you could get 1966 models in the mid forties and 67-70 prices where still reachable in the high 20's - mid 30's. I bought my KR for 22K in 1990 and my 67 GT-350 for 7.5K in 1991. Of course the 67 required a total restoration at the tune of ~ 20K but hey it was all there. You may be able to get a restorable small block car in the 20's and put about 20-30K (conservative) in it before you have a drivable automobile. Have you joined SAAC. They publish a Snakebite newsletter every other month with Shelbys for sale. There might be something that is reasonable that may be in your price range. With these cars, you have to have the money ready to go when an opportunuity arises. The alternative is wait on the new models or set aside enough money to purchase a restoarable car and finance the restoration. Before you guys flame me, I know a couple of 427 Cobra guys who did actually did this. Laugh all the way to the bank when they sold them . Anything you set your mind to is achiveable. It is only how much persistence you have to get there.

Doc

 

Keep in mind also, there are a lot of scams out there too. Be diligent and do you home work. If a price seems too good to be true, it probably is. There are plenty of resources out there to help you out.

 

Are you hung-up on owning a Mustang? 86-87 GLH-S and 87-89 CSX are very affordable. And they are real Shelby's to boot!

robin

 

Want some advice? Keep your EYES open, and your MOUTH shut. Ask, Look and listen. Investigate every lead, no matter how small. There are still a number of unaccounted for cars out there and deals to be had. I know this for a fact. About 30 years ago, I absolutely fell into a deal and bought a crashed Cobra for $1500.00.

These things will only come from ‘out of the way’ places. Ad’s in the classifieds, word of mouth, someone who is a friend of a friend. A guy traveling through a small town in Montana inquires at a gas station if anyone has any Mustangs they might want to sell. Ends up buying a GT-500. If you look long enough, you will find something. It may not even be a Shelby product but something you can turn into $.

Drive around neighborhoods and look. Do scouting trips in other towns. For about ten years, there was a 70 Mustang shell buried under a bunch of trash in the backyard of local house in the run down section of town. I must have seen that car a hundred times. A guy I know stopped one day and knocked on the door of the house and offered to buy the car. Like I said it was a shell, just the body with the doors and little else. He bought it for $300.00. The VIN number started with KK – it was a Boss 429! Gave him a start that ultimately made him multiple thousands of dollars. Hang in there, never give up.
Good Luck

 

You already have some good advice .... 1. Join SAAC. 2. Purchase a copy of the Shelby Registry and read each section on the Shelbys you want. 3. Put together the money you are going to spend on that 2006 / 2007 GT500 in one bank account; $40K (add $10K if you can). 4. Persist in your search. 5. When you find a potential Shelby, act immediately. If your not the first guy, the first guy is going to buy a "good" car. When your first, and the Shelby checks out, do not hesistate. The second guy will take the car. Does this work? I have several almost Shelby stories from my pursuits, but I also have three 1968 Shelby Mustangs in my garage. The first one bought in 1999 and the third bought in January of this year. If I am doing my math correctly (Age=17 in 1984 means age=38 in 2005), I do not believe I qualify as an old timer given I am only 2 years your senior. Good luck!

 

My search for a 67 Shelby took approximately four years - know going in that your search will take time to find an authentic car for a reasonable price. During my search, I missed out on at least a half dozen cars for multiple reasons such as being out bid, seller backs out, car not in condition as represented (happened twice), seller actually not the owner, and being the "2nd" caller. Understand it's expected that these things may happen given the popularity of these cars and potential profit people may try to gain. Your best protection is knowledge and the experience of others that are available to help. I followed much of the suggestions posted here - again it's essential to know everything possible about the year of Shelby you decide to pursue. Once you have found a car and completed your due deligence (including a personal inpection and/or inspection by a Shelby expert), run the Ford VIN by the SAAC register to confirm it matches the Shelby VIN. I also asked SAAC register for any additional information on the car not listed in the register.

Unfortunately, we as buyers cannot control prices, but you can control the amount of effort put into finding a car which creates greater opportunities to locate a good car for a reasonable price. Good luck and keep asking questions.

 

Hang in there and be patient. Here's my humble $.02:

I personally don't think that the current muscle car market will sustain itself. There have been two price spikes with these cars in the last two decades (late 80's and '00-current). After awhile, they'll come back down a bit. Maybe not much, but I don't think that in 5 years you'll see nearly as many Shelby's fetching $100K+ unless it's an R-model or other extremely rare edition (like the original Super Snake).

In addition, by producing Eleanors and other "new" Shelby's, the jokers down at Unique Performance are only helping to soften the market for the originals. So the more cars they produce to satisfy demand, the less demand there will be for the REAL Shelby's, thus causing the price of originals to come down.
It's just a shame that so many perfectly good Mustangs have to be wasted doing it.

 

I hear you with regards to the Eleanors but they suffer the same stigma has the Continuation Cobras. Part of the Family that will always get the cold shoulder from the original clan. At least the Continuation Cobras are built from the ground up as a Shelby and not a carcass mustang. It's hard to sit back and watch these cars sell for more than the the originals. I guess all the extra stuff and Shelby endorsement is worth the price tag.

Doc

 

Congratulations. If you are happy, it doesn't matter what you paid for it.

Doc

 

Boy that was fast! I agree with Doc, don't worry about he price just enjoy the car