One famous Ferrari, probably why you recognize the name Testa Rosa

Testa Rosa = italian for red head... due to the red valve covers on a Ferrari engine
Driven by Carroll Shelby to 1st place at the Brynfan Tyddyn, Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania open road race

http://www.ibeam-net.com/pvr/0652MD_Testa_Rossa_back.html

18 thousand miles since new... probably to and from the 1/4 mile, and lots of times down the track

1968 Shelby GT 500 KR, Nascar tunnel ram 427 side oiler. Only 900 miles on it since 1970... think investment. 13.5 to 1 compression, think 115 octane or better, expensive to get even 900 miles along.

With probably 6 or 7 miles per gallon on this dual quad gas pump, a 20 gallon tank, and around 8 bucks a gallon, I think it may be close to guess that they've only burned up about 1200 bucks in gas in 37 years. Thats 900 miles in 37 years = 24 miles a year = 4 gallons of fuel a year.

A couple cool cars from El Cajon weekly cruise

57 Olds just from the ownership of a little old lady, now on the road to rejuvenation

Cool intake

GT 350... bumper sticker says "Carroll Shelby is alive and well, and living under the hood!"

German Shelby commercial

Why import a Shelby GT500 in to Germany? Can't find a car there you'd like?

new Shelby Mustang commercial

What cops do to Shelby Mustangs when they catch them



And Carroll talks a little about the Mustang, and how the GT500"KR" came about...

2007 Del Mar Goodguys

Replica

Shelby wallpaper, "Only the best wear black." Carroll Shelby

Lee Marvin's Shelby convertible, that he gave to his gardener.

Carroll Shelby's personal Cobra sells for $5 million

Auction details here http://www.speedtv.com/articles/automotive/lifestyle/34919/ in 3 minutes it was $1.5 million, at the 4 minute mark $2 million, at 4:45 it was $3 million, at 5:30 minutes it was $4 million , and at the 8 minute mark it went out for $5 million.

The buyer is Ron Pratt, who paid 4.1 million last year for the GM Motorama bus. Who the competion was that got the price that high is something I'd like to know.

That is a monument to the man, the legacy, and the craze that auctioning rare cars is. It made US history, World history, and it feels insignificant to mention that it made auction history.
http://www.speedtv.com/barrett-jackson/ for the 8 minute feed from Speedtv's website.

click on the link to my earlier postings for more info, a copy of the 1968 Motor Trend article in full, and other links for more on Carroll Shelby's personal dual supercharged Cobra Super Snake.
http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2006/12/meanest-cobra-ever-made-ever-carrols.html#links

Holman Moody on a Shelby 427

Picture taken at San Diego Balboa park annual Auto Museum car show, Mike took this one, only time we've seen this engine... nice. Damn nice.

GT 350 H advert

http://de.geocities.com/us_musclecars/cars/mustang/65_mustang_ads_us.html for all the original 60's Shelby mustang ads that guy could find,.... go way in the beginning of this blog for the ones he didn't.

the Shelby GT 350H

Via: http://svammelsurium.blogg.se/

http://dbusso.typepad.com/vintagemotors/vintage_cars/ french old car site, not bad, just need a translator to read.... did I fool 'ya? Hell, I don't read, I just look at these for the pictures!


The Hertz Shelby GT350H was specially prepared for Hertz Rent-A-Car as a publicity move for the benefit of Hertz, Shelby American, and Ford.

Peyton Cramer, a brilliant marketing man, was Shelby's General Manager at this time. He was told to try to get some fleet sales. He called upon Hertz and came back with an order for 936 cars.

The catch was that they had to be painted Hertz colors, black with gold, a paint scheme used on cars made by Hertz in the 1920's, when Hertz was an automaker.

Thus was born the GT-350H.

http://www.heritagegtcc.co.uk/index.php?menu_id=26

Now what this writer didn't say, or didn't know, is that in the very last months a GT 350H could also be ordered in other colors, but the stripe remained gold. Red, blue are the rare colors, black the remembered one. If you only wanted to know what every one knows.... you wouldn't be looking or reading my blog, we're here for the cool stuff, the one step further and better stuff... that's what makes a car guy different from a car driver.

http://www.vantagesportscars.com/gallery/gallery.cgi?func=show&file=200466&Category=100012&Page=1 for a good picture of the blue,

http://www.qv500.com/shelbygt350p2.php gives the following more accurate info
"All were supplied with Gold sill stripes that read GT350H, many also being kitted out with matching Le Mans centre stripes.

Around 80% were painted Raven Black, the remaining 20% being split primarily between Wimbledon White and Candyapple Red."

The meanest Cobra ever made. EVER. Carroll's personal 800HP AC Competition Cobra

Carroll had an AC Cobra upgraded just the way he wanted it, for his own pleasure. Twin supercharged, dual quad, 427 side oiler. 800 HP.

It's going to auctioned. Some fortunate filthy rich guy is going to plop his butt into the car Carroll told his mechanics to assemble, FOR THE BOSS. I think that merits bold typeface. I think that deserves some thought.

The crew knew when they put it together that it wasn't just for a customer, it was for the racing legend, the car building icon, the man who made saved a car (the AC) and put racing into the blood of Ford. I don't mean left hand turns, I mean RACING THE EFFIN BEST ON THE PLANET!

IN THEIR ARENA!

HE WON LEMANS! The only American car to ever win the FIA World Manufacturers Championship for GT cars was the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe. http://www.petersen.org/default.cfm?DocID=1014&cat=Shelby&ExhibitID=264&index=4
















http://www.seriouswheels.com/cars-f.htm

BEARDED THE FERRARI'S!

I think this deserves a hell of a lot of respect, he may be the greatest.
Andretti is a great driver, never built a car company.
Richard Petty won lots of races as a driver, never designed a damn car.
John Force and Bob Glidden set lots of drag race records. Nothing in the common car model names.
The Sunoco Camaro is synonymous with Roger Penske.

But Shelby developed the GT 40 from a previous similar design and beat the snot out of Ferrari.

Some great circuit racers like Sterling Moss are known in more countries than than Micheal Jordan or Tiger Woods, and doesn't have his name on a single production car anywhere.
Cale Yarborough has his name on a Talledega, and Mark Donahue has his name across the Javelin, now let's be sure to remember those, and not let them be forgotten. That means something, drivers so good their name sold cars because it was written on them.
Even Dale Earndhart had an Impala SS with his name. I'm sure I don't know of some that also were honored on new Impala SS's, or Monte Carlo SS's. I don't follow new NASCAR, my interest ends in the very early 70's when it comes to NASCAR. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Most either are new, or old NASCAR fans, but not both. Thats an entry for another time... this one is for CARROLL"S PERSONAL FREAKING EPITOMIUS COBRA! Never was another made better, equal, but never better.

Now here are the links for more, http://www.wurthitdesigns.com/cobrastory.htm is the 1981 restoration story photographed by the mechanic who brought it back from some body damage and it was missing all the original cool parts that bolted on, the Shelby dual quad intake, Paxton superchargers, etc.

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/carlist/cardetails.asp?In_AuctionID=221&In_LotNumber=1301 is the Auction site's authenticator's breakdown of how we can be sure this is the real Super Snake Cobra of Carroll's. One of only 23 427 Cobra Competition Roadsters built, different from the AC Cobras sold to the public, later in 67 it was transformed into the Super Snake and reclassified as 427 Cobra Semi-Competition.

I find the description a bit confusing, and doesn't make it clear if this guy denies the legitimacy of the 68 Road and Track article, or just specifies why that car pictured is the real deal. I think he should have had someone read over his notes to check it's clarity. Hell, this car is worth around 15 million, a little extra effort isn't amiss.

http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2006/11/carroll-shelby-once-had-special-ac.html#links for the Road and Track article I blogged earlier here on this website.

The first Shelby Cobra

http://www.petersen.org/default.cfm?DocID=1014&cat=Shelby&ExhibitID=264&index=6 has a pic of the car recently in the Peterson museum in Pomona (part of Los Angeles).

Shelby races Mickey Thompson, wonder who won?

Shelby intake manifolds

Various Shelby ads, 1968-1970 Hot Rod magazine

Mindblowing, Sears was a Shelby parts outlet... look closely at the catalog bottom half

Along with Mickey Thompson, Hedman, Holman Moody, they also sold Shelby stuff. Whoa.

Road and track GT500 article

Road and track tribute to Carroll Shelby