FIRST-YEAR MAGIC: A 1967 GT500 as impressive as it was five decades ago
June 6, 2018
Posted by Barrett-Jackson
Written by independent automotive journalist Steve Statham
This highly original first-year Shelby GT500 (Lot #712) will be crossing the block at No Reserve on Saturday, June 23, at the 3rd Annual Barrett-Jackson Northeast Auction.
Produced by Shelby and Ford from 1967-70, the GT500 quickly elbowed its way into the top tier of American muscle cars. Revived in 2007 for the new generation of Shelby Mustangs, the supercharged Ford Shelby GT500 managed to surpass even the original’s performance.
What made a GT500 so special? When released, it was the ultimate performance Mustang. A customer could walk into any Ford dealer in 1967 and get a big-block V8 in a Mustang, but Ford only offered the relatively mild 390ci version, rated at 320 horsepower. To make the GT500, Shelby American installed a 428 Police Interceptor V8, fed by a pair of 600 cfm Holley carburetors on an aluminum medium-riser intake manifold, and rated at 355 horsepower. Later versions from 1968-70 used the 428 Cobra Jet V8, arguably Ford’s most successful engine of the original muscle car era.
And while the Mustang GT’s styling was on the subtle side, the GT500 was anything but. The GT500 had a unique nose, hood, trunk lid, spoiler and side scoops, all made from fiberglass. The high-beam headlamps were mounted in the center of the grille, at least initially. In the rear, Mercury Cougar sequential taillights replaced the stock Mustang units. These styling upgrades transformed the GT500 into the kind of car that could never pass unnoticed. Shelby marketed them as “The Road Cars.”
Beneath the handsome exterior, the GT500 was fitted with progressive rate springs, a beefy front anti-sway bar and Gabriel adjustable shocks. Shelby made 2,048 GT500 fastbacks in 1967, far more than the GT350 with its smaller 289ci V8.
To grab a piece of that GT500 magic for yourself, a highly original first-year example will be offered for No Reserve at Barrett-Jackson’s Northeast 2018 Auction at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. This 1967 GT500 (Lot #712) is Dark Blue with a Parchment interior, and has its original 428 Police Interceptor engine. The engine bay has been professionally detailed, and those dual carburetors and oval Cobra air cleaner make the same impact they did five decades ago.
The car is equipped with automatic transmission, original 10-spoke cast-aluminum wheels, power front disc brakes, factory Stewart-Warner oil and temperature gauges, and an AM radio.
For up-to-date information about this vehicle, click HERE.