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

Cool looking car. Must be a rare colour combo. You could spend the rest of your life looking for the exact car you wanted. Bottom line you own a Shelby. In my opinion a 2005 is just as much a Shelby also. I know a lot of people believe 65-67 are the 'real' ones. A 65 would have been nice but 69 are the best looking.

 

Looks to be a nice car from the one picture you posted. They are running from $30-70K. If you paid more than you got stung a little. as for us "Continuation Cobra" Owners, I do not care if an Original Cobra Owner gives me the Cold Shoulder. I can assure you this, It will not be at a Red Light turning Green in My Neighborhood because most of those "Original" Cars NEVER see the Road. I am enjoying the Heck out of My COBRA and it is a REAL COBRA built by Carroll Shelby's Company. I had a 68 GT500 for 3.5 years and enjoyed it greatly. when the value Doubled, I sold it and Got My COBRA at a Great Price. I exchanged one dream for another. simply cannot afford to own and keep every Car that comes along. and in Time the Cobra will go for another Desired Ride. But not until I am done having FUN!!

 

I've a 69GT500 that I bought in the early 80's that I finally got on the road recently. I love it! As long as you're happy don't look for price quotes. It's like asking the guy next to you on a flight how much was his ticket and if it's lower your happy and if it's not you fell taken.

 

1969 gt 350 -- is a great investment...it's low on the food chain but it's like buying the cheapest house in the nicest neighborhood -- that being said -- i just was looking for those cars and a complete car that ran ... even if it was a rough driver was getting close to 50k -- so my guess is you paid 65k and i think that's a great buy ....

 

blu
great buy -- i just checked out your picture -- i don't know where you got it but we all love to hear those stories...of the chase and the kill...do tell...is it a california car? -- i'm telling you that if that guy had put it on e-bay he would have gotten 50...also know that the opinions of many on this forum (which I greatly respect) often fall on the side of very savvy buyers who are always ready to buy a shelby if it's a great deal -- you will rarely if ever see these guys trading blows on an e-bay auction where emotional buyers bid wildly...they are smart that way...they tend to make great investments....just my opinion...welcome to the site -- and please post more pix and tell us the story --

 

I'm glad someone revived this post. I haven't read the old post since joining and love to hear hunting stories. I was in the same boat 16 years ago. Little money to spend and prices going out of sight. Lucky for me the prices fell in the early 90s. Congratulations on finding a good buy on a REAL Shelby without having to wait on a price correction.

I might be going against the grain here, but are you sure you want to do a rotissiore restoration on a rust free car. My concernes over a full restoration are two fold. First, I have seen many peoples joy in finding a Shelby turn to angust. After getting there cars to nice to drive. Second, I always wonder why a "rust free all original car" would need to be fully restored. This concern comes from seeing a car I had replaced the entire floor pan, shock towers, and part of the tail light panel. Advertsed as a "original sheet metal no rust ever car" . It was a "rust free" car when I finished and the sheet metal was "all original" . It just originaly came on another car . Without stripping the car to bar metal no one will ever know. Just my .02.

Loved hearing your story and look forward to future installments. Keep them coming.

Larry

 

i agree...reading the stories about the hunt for a car always thrill me. it sounds like this gentleman got his pretty quick, all things considered. i'll quickly share my story.......
it all started long ago, like most of you... a 15 year-old kid lusting over the shelby mustangs that, back then, were still runninng around quite often. working after school and mowing lawns for money put gas in my dart and paid for saturday nite beer and dates, but there was no way i'd ever be able to afford the $8-10 grand those shelbys were bringing!!
fast forward about 20 years...now i'm getting to the point where i can actually buy one of these things, so i start looking. i know for sure i want a 68 fastback, and it must be an automatic car...just like some of you, i must have looked at 10 or more cars....the first few, i hesitated, and lost. after 4 years of really looking hard, i got the phone call. it never fails.....when you least expect it....i was at our farm in southern ohio mowing hayfields when a friend calls to say he heard about a 68 kr fastback that was for sale in dayton. highland green and automatic....perfect!! a quick shower, and i'm off....turns out #2286 has been living with the then-owner since 1984. well cared-for with all-oringinal body, and one repaint in 1989. for whatever reason, like a lot of these cars, the guy had started to take it apart....really apart!! there was stuff scattered everywhere-in the garage, house and basement. it happened that he was going through some personal situation, and was refurbishing the car to sell it.fortunately, he was careful to keep everything labeled and packaged. i wasn't going to let this one get away...i camped out in his driveway until 2 a.m. gathering parts, etc. the next morning, it's off to u-haul to rent a trailer...then a call to the bank to get a wire done. that 24 hours seemed like 24 days, but finally we were loaded up and headed home....looking like the beverly hillbillies!! it all seemed so surreal....after years and years of looking, and now it's in my rear-view mirror!! weird...
that was last fall....i got to work on it right away, and was fortunate in that the body/paint and interior needed nothing but a good cleaning. the 17-year old paint still looks great. we've got everything just about done, and hope to start it for the first time next week. i'll be sure to post a pic when it's done.....next time i'll tell you about the "other" '68 500 that lived 20 miles away from the kr! chris

 

Dreams come true you know, and it might for you too.
I dreamt about a 65 GT350 since I saw the movie Red Line
7000 in 1965. In 1973 I bought my first Mustang (in Sweden)
and in 1976 I was two days late on 5S070 for SEK 16000 which
translates to about $2000. A friend got it. In 1977 I went to
L.A. to buy a 65 and found one in L.A.Times for $3500. Called
like a maniac for two days but no answer and ended up buying
a 67 instead for $3800. Still have that car today in Sweden.
After moving to the USA in 1987 I found my dream car,
5S275 in Tyler, Texas 1988. It took 23 years for my dream to come true.
Hope it doesn't take as long for you, but keep on dreaming.
Love these cars, their owners and the hobby as such. Sad it has
become an investment for many people instead of a hobby.
No way back though.
/Texas Swede

 

Never stop looking. Follow up on every lead, no matter how small. I am sure you have heard the story of the $300.00 Corvette but don't know the actual people involved. How about the story about the $1500.00 Cobra?

http://spaces.msn.com/gt350shelby/

True Story.

 

Looks good ! Enjoy

 

I do not discuss what I paid for my 68 gt350 with non shelby owners. I use the if you have to ask you can't afford it. I don't discuss what my salary is with any either.

If we were to have a pricing site on this forum I would put what I paid on it, because the users of this forum have given me tremendous help.

You also have to look at aditional mechanical repairs costs as a catagory and adtional body work costs as you own the car. I have just about spent $ 20,000 on my car over acquaition price. I am getting ready to spend about $`12,000 on body and paint, then a couple of grand on interior.

I love and drive my car in it's present condition, all original with the need for new rear quarter panels.

Sure I probably over paid,but everytime I take it out I get guys driving new vet's, kids in junkers, dad's in minvans, and chicks younger than I care to think about rolling down thier windows and saying: " Hey mister, thats a cool car." Makes up anyover payment problems. I used to have a new porche 911, did not ever get the looks and compliments that I get with my shelby that is in " looks great at 40 feet or driving by condition". bottom line, it was worth everything I paid for it. I would have bought yours if i had seen it and did not have mine. Probalbly would have paid 60-75 for it. You got a great car, enjoy it.

After having the cr-ap kicked out of me every week at work, from family and every one else I feel pretty worthless. Getting a compliment from some teenage kid who is driving a the best pos he can aford, wearing a sock hat and a days worth of beard growth restores what it is all about. Never discuss the money, that is for the porsche owner.

All shelbys are cool.

 

USER (COBRA 289) SAID:

"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."

Just the opposite has happened because of Unique Performance.

I too am looking for an original Shelby GT500 to occasionally drive and to invest in, the rarer or nicer the better. I have my eyes open. Not looking for a deal, just a nice car I can pass on to my kids one day. I look every week.

I also wanted a Shelby I could drive often, race, and tour with. After seeing what Unique Performace was doing with Carroll Shelby and Ford's endorsement, I bought 1 of the 7 1967 GT500E Convertible's that will be produced. 75 Supersnakes in all, 7 will be convertible. There is only 1 true Supersnake, no arguments here. Carroll never built the other 50 that were to be produced, but he is building 75 of them now with Unique out of 1967 Mustangs, just like the original Shelby's were.

These are not "perectly good mustangs" as you said. These are cars sitting in yards and junk yards that for the most part are not driven anymore. See mine below before it was sent to Las Vegas for sheet metal. It will be back in Texas soon where it will be equiped with a 427 Aluminum Shelby engine with a 200hp supercharger for 725 HP in all, 0-60 in 3.7 secs.

Your Shelby Cobra or Mustang is appeciating in value because there is an entire group of muscle car enthusiasts out there being served by Unique Performance. They want an older car with today's high performance. You should go thank them for creating all this attention on "Rides" and other shows around Shelby's, it has caused a frenzy for both the new GT500e's and more so, the original Shelby's. They have grown the overall market and not taken potential buyers away from your Shelby but actually added more buyers like me.

Now I am hooked and want an original cobra or GT500. It just grows on you.

 

The pictures are too big to post on the site but I can email anyone who wants to see them.

This is the Rescued Mustang before restoration.