1967 Gt500

[Al Marsden]

Would be interested in knowing how many original owners still have a 1967 Shelby GT500.
Regards
Al

[Len]

Hi Al,
Welcome to the forum. Very interesting question, I am sure a lot of people wish they were as clever as you to buy and hold onto a 67 GT500 since new. I am taking the liberty of adding your xmas card from last year.

[67GT500#2100]

Well, I wasn't born in 1967 but I have had mine for 20 years next month. Anyway my question is, Al are you the original owner of yours? Also, cool Christmas card.

[daltondavid]

I bet the group of Original owners of any 65-70 Shelbys, Mustangs or Cobras, is less than 125 if even that. I only know of one 67 GT500 owner beside you at this point! this elite group is getting almost like ww2 Vets! shrinking by the day!! lucky for them a strong following has stayed in place and the cars that were cared for will help original owners move on through their golden years.

[Snakepit]

Think here was 2-3 original owners with 67 cars at SAAC this year. ALways a good place to run across them and many times see their cars

[vernonestes]

These days, being an original owner of anything shelby shows great commitment to the brand and exemplifies these few people as true enthusiasts.

I say this because of today's sky rocketing values!

My respect to all those original owners out there.

Best Regards,
Vern

[John76]

I am impressed whenever someone can buy a car and hold on to it for forty years. With financial pressures from kids and a wife nagging for them to "get rid of that old mustang" it is inspiring when someone can show up in their 60's with a car they bought and loved in their 20's.
However, the true test will come in the next forty years...with sky rocketing values they are breathing investments. It is easier to hold on to something that you paid a few thousand dollars for 30 years ago when money is tight, then to hold on to something worth a 100 plus thousand dollars when money is tight.
Also what makes these cars valuable? Is it moments like when i took dad for a ride and he recounted living his whole life in LA, living a few miles from where Shelby built these cars and seeing them in the dealership and around town? Or stopping at Barney's Beanery for a burger and him telling me how this was one of Jim Morrison's favorite bars and i can only imagine his nightmist blue 67 GT 500 parked outside then later wrecked a 1/4 of a mile up road on Sunset Blvd. Are they valuable b/c guys like my dad remember the cars, the Shelby mystique and what these cars represent...youth and a better time? What about the later generations who's only connection to a 67 GT 500 is seeing Nicholas Cage drive a cloned Shelby in Gone In Sixty Seconds?
Will they still as valuable?
I am 30 yrs old...I own a 67 and 68 GT 500. None of my friends own Shelbys. And with prices rising everyday will be will they be out of reach for the next generation to get involved ?

[vernonestes]

Well said john76.
However, i feel that the next generation will grasp onto the Shelby brand just as much, if not more, than the current generation.
I say this because of the current cars coming out of the shelby factory such as the Shelby GT.
Furthermore, the high value for these cars at auction do nothing but inspire the next generation to achieve their goal of owning such wonderful cars.
I feel tha the shelby brand has always been and will always be fueled by the youth market.
Best Regards,
Vern

[roddster]

I'm not an original owher, just close. I bought my 67 GT 350 from the 2nd owner in January of 1971. So, thats a little more than 36 years now.
Why do I still have it? Because I never thought of this car as an investment.
I still remember when the value went from $12,500 to $25,000 and some owners sold. "Hey" they said, "I got $25,000 for my car". Then just a very few years later they where all crying " I only got $25,000 for my car".
I'm 55 now, I'll have this car for a while more. Enjoying the car - not the value - everyday.

[Al Marsden]

Thanks to all for your replies. We purchased the GT500 on September 1, 1967 and it will remain in our family. In the late '60's -- most of us had muscle cars. This one was a bit expensive at the time but somehow we ate just pasta to make the payments. It is a pleasure to take the car to cruises and shows just to see the many smiles on car enthusiasts faces. We are indebted to Mr. Shelby for creating such beautiful and very fast cars -- vet eaters!! Thanks, too for posting the picture. We really do not know why we kept it for so many years -- other than we just loved the machine; it is driven almost every week May - September. It is truly enjoyed. Thanks again and hope to see some original owners next year at SAAC.