 Lyndon B. Johnson was president, the "space race" was
on, the Beach Boys released their best-selling album and a gallon of
gasoline would set you back $0.32 cents. It was the summer
of 1966...
On August 15th,
just when production was about to begin on the newly
redesigned Mustang, Shelby American placed an order with Ford for three
specially-equipped cars; a coupe, a fastback, and a convertible.
Other than the body style, all three
were to be
identically equipped with
the massive
428cid "Police Interceptor" engine, C-6 automatic, A/C, P/S,
P/B, Thermactor, AM radio, tinted glass and a black
décor interior under a Candyapple Red exterior.
These Mustangs would become the first three big block Shelby GT 500 cars
to be built. The fastback was finished first, followed by
the coupe ("Little Red"), and then the convertible.
Serialized on
November 1, 1966 and completed on November 21 at Ford’s San
Jose plant, this car received the Shelby sequence
number of 0139. Upon receipt, Shelby designated the convertible as a "Company Car – Engineering Proto" on the
Production Order.
According to the
Vehicle Information
Report provided by the Carroll Shelby Foundation
and the interviews of other Shelby American employees, this
one-off convertible was initially assigned to
Carroll Shelby as his personal driver, was used by various Shelby American
personnel, and was often loaned to several non-employees.
After being thoroughly enjoyed by Carroll and friends, the
convertible was transformed into a '68 styling prototype in
April 1967 so that it
could be photographed for brochures, print ads and dealer
literature to promote the upcoming 1968 model year GT cars.
Over 45
years have passed since this extra special GT 500
convertible came off the Shelby American assembly line. Several years
were spent researching the history and then restoring this
special car. R&A
Motorsports completed the Concours-level restoration in
February 2012 under the supervision of SAAC head judge Bob Gaines and with the priceless technical
contributions from so many experts, enthusiasts and past
employees in the Shelby community.
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