March 25, 2019
Posted By : Barrett-Jackson
Written By : independent automotive journalist Steve Statham

BIG GUNS: Two classic GT500 Shelby Mustangs remind us why this special muscle car is about to be reborn

BIG GUNS: Two classic GT500 Shelby Mustangs remind us why this special muscle car is about to be reborn

March 25, 2019
Posted by Barrett-Jackson

Written by independent automotive journalist Steve Statham

Two fine examples of the Shelby GT500 will be crossing the auction block in Palm Beach: a black 1967 model (Lot #737) and a Grabber Orange example from 1969 (Lot #725).

Two fine examples of the Shelby GT500 will be crossing the auction block at No Reserve in Palm Beach: a black 1967 model (Lot #737) and a Grabber Orange example from 1969 (Lot #725).

At the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction in January, a new-generation 2020 Ford Shelby GT500 – what will be the most powerful street-legal Ford ever – sold for $1.1 million to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).

1967 Shelby GT500

The 1967 GT500 (Lot #737) features all-original sheet metal and inboard headlights.

The high-profile charity sale was just one more example of the enduring appeal of the special Shelby Mustangs bearing the GT500 brand. Originally sold from 1967-70, the GT500 was the first Mustang to get the thumpin’ 428 big-block V8 under-hood, and the car’s aggressive styling made it one of the most collectible vehicles of the original muscle-car era. The revived Ford Shelby GT500 from 2007-14 introduced a new generation to the high-performance formula, this time with a supercharged V8 that made it the most powerful Mustang ever up to that point.

Two exceedingly fine examples of why the GT500 remains at the top of the muscle-car pyramid will be offered at No Reserve at Barrett-Jackson’s Palm Beach Auction. The black 1967 Shelby GT500 (Lot #737) and Grabber Orange 1969 Shelby GT500 (Lot #725) show how Shelby American took the concept and ran with it, creating an enduring legacy.

1967 Shelby GT500

The interior of the 1967 Shelby (Lot #737).

Every legend has a beginning, and for the GT500 the start came in 1967. The Mustang had received its first styling update that year, with a larger body and wider engine compartment that could hold one of Ford’s FE-series big-block engines for the first time. Bigger V8s was the unmistakable trend in the performance car market, and even the hugely popular Mustang wasn’t immune to those pressures. Ford made the 390ci V8 available in the Mustang GT, just in time to do battle with the new Camaro and its 396ci V8 and the Firebird with its 400.

Shelby, of course, immediately upped the ante. Ford had larger-displacement V8s in the FE engine family with the same physical dimensions as the 390, such as the 428 introduced in 1966. So it was no great trial to get Ford to send Mustangs fitted with the 428 that Shelby American could transform into GT500s, the new big brother to the small-block GT350.

1967 Shelby GT500

The engine of Lot #737, the 1967 GT500.

The 428 in the 1967 GT500 came in Police Interceptor tune, with dual Holley 4-barrels mounted on an aluminum intake manifold, and the Police Interceptor camshaft. The engine was rated at a conservative 355 horsepower and 420 ft/lbs of torque. The Shelbys were fitted with progressive rate springs, heavy-duty Gabriel shocks, and 15-inch wheels and tires.

There was more to the new GT500 than just the 428 engine. The 1967 Shelby Mustangs were aggressively styled using a unique fiberglass hood, nose, rear deck and side scoops. Early cars had center-mounted high beams and side running lights in the upper scoops, which violated vehicular codes in several states, and were quietly revised. Styling was even bolder for 1969, when Shelby Mustangs were given their own unique fiberglass front fenders, a NASA-inspired hood with five air ducts, a distinctive grille opening and center-mounted rear exhaust tip.

1969 Shelby GT500

The 1969 GT500 (Lot #725) ready to cross the Palm Beach auction block.

The 428 evolved quickly in three short years. For 1968, the GT500 was fitted with a single-4-barrel version of the 428 Police Interceptor V8, then replaced midyear by the new 428 Cobra Jet, which came standard in the GT500KR. The 428CJ powered the GT500 through the end of its life, when leftover 1969 models were retitled and updated by Kar Kraft with the edition of a front chin spoiler, hood stripes and revised distributor and carburetors for the 1970 editions. The 428 Cobra Jet was the engine where everything came together for Ford ‒ genuine quarter-mile performance and streetable manners, all at a more affordable price point than the expensive race-bred 427.

The two GT500s offered at Palm Beach represent both ends of the spectrum. The fully restored black 1967 GT500 comes with its date-code-correct 428 Police Interceptor and automatic transmission. It has all its original sheet metal and the inboard headlamps. Although it’s rolling on meatier rubber than what came from the factory in 1967, the car comes with its original wheels.

1969 Shelby GT500

Lot #725 is powered by its matching-numbers 428ci Super Cobra Jet engine.

The Grabber Orange 1969 GT500 illustrates how Ford’s Total Performance campaign shaped the Mustang. This car has the Drag Pack option with 4-speed transmission, Hurst shifter and 3.91 Traction-Lok differential. The Drag Pack option, besides including the Traction-Lok rear end, triggered the 428 SCJ (Super Cobra Jet) version of the engine. Although this was rated at the same 335 horsepower as the standard 428 CJ, it was definitely built for track duty. The SCJ engine was fitted with forged Le Mans connecting rods, forged aluminum pistons, beefier rod bolts, an external balancer and an oil cooler.

This GT500 is well-loaded, with power steering and brakes, Sports Deck rear seat, tilt-away steering wheel, power ventilation, AM/FM radio, intermittent wipers and visibility group. Shelby-installed equipment includes the 140 mph speedometer, 8,000 rpm tachometer, roll bar with shoulder harness and lap belts, console gauges and Lucas fog lamps.

1969 Shelby GT500

A look inside the cockpit of Lot #725, the 1969 Shelby GT500.

This Shelby was sold new in Canada. It has its matching-numbers engine, which has been rebuilt and nicely detailed. The Marti Report indicates the car was special-ordered with the Grabber Orange color, one of seven painted that color combined with the 428 SCJ. The car still has both of its original fender aprons with factory VIN stampings and the original dash VIN behind the windshield, as well as the driver’s door tags.

The seller reports the car is ready to be driven, and includes two original sets of keys. With its bright orange paint, unmistakable Shelby styling, and Drag Pack hardware, it would be hard to find a better representative of why the GT500 has been so desirable across the decades.

For up-to-date information on these and other vehicles on the 2019 Palm Beach docket, click HERE.

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