What is a Shelby car?

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by clintj

...They were sitting around the garage, working on a Cobra with a smaller engine (289 or 351, I don't remember which) when someone pointed to a 427 crate engine in the corner and said "Hey, do you think that will fit?"...

It was a 289, the engine used in the second generation of Cobras (the very first ones had a 260 like the "Maxwell Smart" Sunbeam Tiger) as well as the '65-66 GT-350; the 351 came later, and along with the 352 and 390 never made it into any Shelby product TMK. BTW, estimated output from that little 289 was in the 400-425HP range in race tune, 575-600HP for the 427 SC; among '60s Ford products only the legendary SOHC 427 at 625HP (the factory-team A/FX racers could push them to well over 700HP on Sunoco 260) was stronger...

Originally Posted by dirkronk

I worked with a guy named Jeff who went just a tad car crazy after the ad agency he partly owned did well (we're talking c.1978 through 1984). He had a Shelby Mustang 350...the original white with blue stripe, totally pristine; one of the squirreliest cars I've ever driven. Clutch like a truck, and no matter how carefully I'd nurse it out of first or second, it would rise up on its back tippy-toes and try to walk sideways. Could NOT get it into third gear...legally...in the city without lugging the engine. On the road, though, it could be a screamer...

Now imagine the same car with a 725HP 427 'cammer under the hood and about 800 pounds less weight, twisting the chassis and hanging the front wheels four feet in the air when you whack the throttle - that's what a day at the drags would have been like in 1965...

[Larry Pattis]

Originally Posted by Brucebubs

<<snip>>

They sold the Shelby 427 Cobra, Shelby Mustangs and the GT40. Man!

Did someone just say "GT40"...?


Oh, man...

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by Larry Pattis

Did someone just say "GT40"...?


Oh, man...

Heard a story many years ago about a young and upcoming ice-hockey player in Canada who signed a contract with a major team that just happened to be sponsored by Ford.
On that contract he could have any car he wanted but it had to be a Ford.
The kid wrote 'GT40' in the space provided.
A Ford representative, probably thinking, 'It's a Ford GT, should be easy enough." co-signed the contract.
Guess what?
They had to find a GT40 first but evidently Ford did honor their contract and the kid got a GT40.
Wow!

[Richgj3]

I was lucky enough to meet him at the Oshkosh fly in in 2006 or 7. I was hanging out at the American Legend display and six passenger golf cart with Ford logos all over it pulled up with Clay Lacy and his group. Lacy is a well known guy in aviation. Everybody got out to look at the airplanes and everybody else followed Lacy around, leaving the driver sitting in the cart.

I knew it was Shelby, being a motor head, but nobody else noticed him. I had a nice chat with him. He had transplant surgery and was complaining that the doctors were making him wear gloves to avoid infection, but he took them off to shake my hand!

As soon as we finished I called my buddy back home who has a bunch of cars including a GT 350 and a GT 500 and said "I just met Carroll Shelby." he replied "I hate your guts."

Rich

[HHP]

Carroll Shelby is also the man Ford turned to after his offer to buy out Ferrari was turned down. He wanted to win LeMans and Shelby was offered the entire resources of the company to do it.

[KevWind]

And to make things more confusing now Jerod Shelby of Shelby Super Cars (no relation to Carroll)

Is claiming to soon be producing the worlds fastest electric car ( the status of which seems to change by the month)
But if the reality matches the hype it could be a good step forward for electric vehicles.
All electric, 10 minute recharge, 200 mile range and scalable for multi vehicle application.

http://techcrunch.com/2009/01/21/ultimate-aero-ev/

[RedJoker]

Here is my Shelby replica pulling the wheels coming out of a corner. This is with a fuel injected 302. I built it about 10 years ago...

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by KevWind

And to make things more confusing now Jerod Shelby of Shelby Super Cars (no relation to Carroll) is claiming to soon be producing the worlds fastest electric car (the status of which seems to change by the month)...

This guy might have something to say about that - he's as legendary as Carroll Shelby, he's got 60+ years of know-how, and he already shattered the existing record by 28MPH earlier this year:



http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/...tric-dragster/

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

This guy might have something to say about that - he's as legendary as Carroll Shelby, he's got 60+ years of know-how, and he already shattered the existing record by 28MPH earlier this year:

Well I'm guessing Shelby is talking road legal but both are pretty cool none the less

[architype]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

This guy might have something to say about that - he's as legendary as Carroll Shelby, he's got 60+ years of know-how, and he already shattered the existing record by 28MPH earlier this year:



http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/...tric-dragster/

I had no idea Don Garlits was still racing! The guy has to be in his 80's by now. I saw him race a couple times back in the early 70's. I got his autograph, but I have no idea what happened to it.

I used to sit in class and draw top fuel dragsters while my teacher thought I was taking notes. I also built models of his "Swamp Rat" dragster and the rear engined rail the he pioneered for safety after he lost half his foot when the bell housing exploded on his front engine dragster.

It is cool that he his pushing the electrical technology, but there is nothing like the sound and feel of a top fuel dragster leaving the line when the green light comes on. I used to brag that I didn't need to cover my ears, but I probably lost some hearing from that.

[Bob Womack]

Hey, even Mini had John Cooper, who took the first transverse-engined subcompact and turned it into a rip-snorting rally race legend winning three of the 1964-1967 Monte Carlo Rally races.



MINI bought out the John Cooper Works and brought them in-house a few years ago.

Bob

[Otterhound]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

It was a 289, the engine used in the second generation of Cobras (the very first ones had a 260 like the "Maxwell Smart" Sunbeam Tiger) as well as the '65-66 GT-350; the 351 came later, and along with the 352 and 390 never made it into any Shelby product TMK. BTW, estimated output from that little 289 was in the 400-425HP range in race tune, 575-600HP for the 427 SC; among '60s Ford products only the legendary SOHC 427 at 625HP (the factory-team A/FX racers could push them to well over 700HP on Sunoco 260) was stronger...



Now imagine the same car with a 725HP 427 'cammer under the hood and about 800 pounds less weight, twisting the chassis and hanging the front wheels four feet in the air when you whack the throttle - that's what a day at the drags would have been like in 1965...

Check your history .
There were many more 428 equipped Shelby Mustangs built than 427's .
Shelby GT500KR .

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Otterhound

Check your history .
There were many more 428 equipped Shelby Mustangs built than 427's .
Shelby GT500KR .

Not talking about the Mustang-mod GT-350/500 in any of its variations here (and yeah, I'm well aware that the 428 went in there around the same time the factory-team Cobra Jet Mustangs were kicking heavy-duty butt in the NHRA Super Stock ranks), but the British AC-based two-seater that Carroll Shelby targeted at Ferrari - and the last of those were equipped with the same side-oiler 427 used in the '64 Thunderbolts designed for A/FX competition, and revived for NASCAR when the aforementioned SOHC 427 (intended as competition to the second-generation Hemi - and available as a $3000 factory option in mid- and full-size Ford products in '66/67) was outlawed. In the musclecar pantheon, a GT-500KR is to a '66 Cobra 427-SC as a Twin Reverb is to a 200W Marshall Major 8x12", powerful by most standards but sorely outclassed here - check this out:



Here's one that they managed to shoehorn a gennie SOHC 427 into (no, that's not a modular 4.6 with a single quad) - kinda nose-heavy for road racing but the ultimate street-legal drag car in the mid-60's (and beyond):



Just for fun, here's Carroll Shelby's own personal Cobra AKA Super Snake, with commentary from the man himself:



Glad to clear things up...

Originally Posted by architype

I had no idea Don Garlits was still racing! The guy has to be in his 80's by now. I saw him race a couple times back in the early 70's...It is cool that he his pushing the electrical technology, but there is nothing like the sound and feel of a top fuel dragster leaving the line when the green light comes on. I used to brag that I didn't need to cover my ears, but I probably lost some hearing from that.

"Big Daddy" is 82, still puttin' it down, and he's not alone - just to name a few others, Bruce Larson (USA-1 Camaro) is back on the nostalgia circuit with a safety-updated replica of his '68 Camaro S/XS funny car, Shirley Muldowney is rumored to have a replica of her "English Leather" '73 Plymouth AA/FC under construction, Al Marcellus is running the "Winged Express" AA/FA with a new driver (FYI he still keeps Willie Borsch's name on the door, and places the urn containing his ashes in the driver's seat when the car is in the pits ) and Top Fuel driver Chris Karamesines still runs a limited number of NHRA/IHRA National events at a rumored 88 years of age. FYI Garlits had to quit driving for several years due to retinal problems, and tried his hand at a comeback a few years ago in Factory Stock Showdown racing with a Drag-Pack Challenger, with little success. His heart's always been in the rails, though - caught him several years ago at Englishtown making a few easy test passes in his single-strut wing Top Fueler (don'cha love the smell of nitro in the morning ) - and if anyone's going to crack two-double-0 in an electric car I'll put my bucks on him...

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

Hey, even Mini had John Cooper, who took the first transverse-engined subcompact and turned it into a rip-snorting rally race legend winning three of the 1964-1967 Monte Carlo Rally races.



MINI bought out the John Cooper Works and brought them in-house a few years ago.

Bob

Wow! You're right, forgot about John Cooper. I`d rank him right up there next to whoever at Ford UK decided to build the Mk1 Lotus Cortina. The Cortina led the way to a succession of brilliant Escorts.

[Gunny]

While many call it sacrilege, the little Omni GLHS was a scary fast little car. 14 second 1/4 mile bone stock. My Dad worked at Chrysler for 31 years and when they got them back from Shelby for shipping he drove a couple. Scary little car he said. GLH stood for "Goes Like Hell" and the S made it "Goes like Hell s'more"

I remember guys at the Byron Illinois dragway turning 12's with just minor mods.