1968 GT 500 #76 found in shed. Hello Shelby!

[hornwilliamshelby]

This pursuit started for me when I first moved here from Louisville,KY, 16 yrs ago. I was in my first yr of high school in a new city and I remember doing quite a bit of driving around, having just earned my driving license. I passed a dilapidated shed, literally falling in on itself and leaning, and saw a portion of dusty tail lamp and fin; It was a 1968 Shelby GT 500, # 76, that I had found in the old fallen shed that day. This exact experience was where it all started: my appreciation for the art form of the American muscle car, leading to my interest in internal combustion engines, which led to a degree in mechanical engineering and what is now a flourishing business that is part low production car collecting, part restoration service, part pro street car building service and a little bit of car arbitrage. Since that fall day in 1990 I have known that I would one day have that strange and beautiful creation in the shed in my possesion. It happened yesterday. The elderly gentleman bought the car in '71, when the bank repossesed it from the original owner, and took it off the street in '77. In 1974, the guy started ordering spares of a lot of pieces for the Shelby from the Ford house. This Shelby comes to me with a storehouse of NOS stuff that has never been opened. The GT 500 has no rust, has never been wrecked, original paint, engine and drive train. It is a very easy restoration, for a Shelby person. But I have never been around a car like this. Can someone please guide me a little on what to do. Tks

[Calvin]

Hi, you called me about your find late night. Congrats again on your new acquisition. You sounded extremely excited about the car last night. This web site was one of the ones I was going to suggest to you for finding information. Here is another one:

http://thecarsource.com/shelbylist.html

and I realized that 1968cobra.com had recently changed its name to:

http://www.thecoralsnake.com

I hope you can post some pictures pretty soon. I am anxious to see what it looks like.

[dwdshelby]

what a great story - what I would do first is take an inventory of what documentation the car has either in it or from the buyer plus call the SAAC registrar and find out what they have then get the Marti report on it

this should give you a basis to determine what the car should be then do an inventory of Shelby specific parts and and numbers to ensure all the important parts are there and if not what is missing so you can start the hunt (ie) tilt away; fold down; console; proper guages; carb; heads; vin in the block or tranny, build dates, etc. The Shelby registry can be a great source to start the quest with regard to any history plus what are the specifics that should be on this car.

from there the restoration decisions are yours - you sound like an accomplished car guy so you probably could do it properly with the right info or there are plenty of very reputable engine and car builders who specialize in Shelby's and the 1968 specifically

take a look at Peter's website - www.thecoralsnake.com for a great site on the 1968 specifically to start your adventure

i have a 68 KR conv so if you need any thing - if i can help i will

there are plenty of more knowledgeable folks that watch this site so don't hesitate to ask specifics

[Len]

Glad to hear persistance pays off. I would definately call SAAC to alert them of your find-- because the Registry says they have an unconfirmed report the car was parted out in 9/95. You will want to get that corrected before the next update. Len

[daltondavid]

Originally Posted by Len

Glad to hear persistance pays off. I would definately call SAAC to alert them of your find-- because the Registry says they have an unconfirmed report the car was parted out in 9/95. You will want to get that corrected before the next update. Len

Len speaketh words to listen to!! in this day and age corroborating Paperwork documenting a car's Trail/history is very important. a comment like what is in the registry needs to addressed imediately. welcome to the Forum and I, like everyone else here look forward to some pics of your long awaited triumph!!

[65gtfastback]

Take a lot of pictures as-is. Not just to record these great memories you are creating but to document the car coming out of its time capsule. If you get into a restoration you'll want to docuemnt everything with photos.

These pictures will be something of a treasure for you and if you ever decide to sale, backs up the car's story. A buyer will probably pay more if you have these photos. Fake restored cars are common. Fake barn finds are not.

Good luck.

PS Take great care to keep the original block servicable. Also share at least one picture with this forum...

[Calvin]

As to fake barn finds. I remember a car that showed up at one of the first Charlotte conventions that was a 67 "barn find" but all of of the Shelby fiberglass on the car did not match the rest of what was on the car. Looking more and more closely, it appeared that this car was where someone had attempted to create a "fake barn find". I guess that is why photographing the "removal" process, or at least pictures of the car "as it was" before you start the restoration is important.

[Coralsnake]

I am partial to the www.thecoralsnake.com

I did notice that some of the information on the other website is copied and incorrect.

The color codes are one example. There was only one shade of Blue on 68 Shelbys. Acapulco Blue.

Here is a car I restored a couple of years back.....Ebay Item number: 180006900493.

I predict it will sell for over $275,000. Just a guess.....
Cheers