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Shelby American, Venice Facility

Discussion in 'Shelby Collectibles: Books, Model Cars, Posters & ' started by BillH, Jul 9, 2010.

  1. BillH

    BillH Well-Known Member

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    Looking for photos of street GT-350's being produced at the Venice plant. Since these cars were only made here for very short time (around 90 days), I realize photos are very hard to come by. There are scads of photos of Cobras and the race shop, but I have only seen one photo of street car production (consisted of three cars on jack stands).
    Thanks
    Bill
     
  2. steveshelbymustang

    steveshelbymustang Well-Known Member

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    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    http://www.mustangmonthly.com/thehistoryof/mump_0903_shelby_mustang_history/index.html
     
    Last edited: Jul 14, 2010
  3. jamest52

    jamest52 Active Member

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    I used to drive past a smaller shop he had over in Playa del Rey, on Admiralty Way I think it was. The doors would be closed most of the time, but once in awhile you would see a Cobra, a midget, or Carroll's Lincoln out front. Wish I cared about photography back then; it was between 1969 and 1971.
     
  4. BillH

    BillH Well-Known Member

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    This is one of only two photos I have ever seen of street Mustangs being worked on at Venice (not Cobras or the race car shop). Since they were only made there for a very short time, I guess that's understandable. The other photo was a front view of three 65's on jack stands. The was what looked like a piece of notebook paper hanging from the rear view mirror on all three cars. On one photo, the original VIN was readable. (not my car, though). I wanted a copy of it, but it seems to have disappeared.
     
  5. bitzman

    bitzman Well-Known Member

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    The bottom picture is at LAX

    The same hanger is still at LAX, close by the corner of
    sepulveda and Imperial hwys. That top picture is the first I have seen of Shelby Mustangs being made in Venice. At the LAX facility they
    had Shelby Mustangs, GT40s, Cobras, probably mostly big block Cobras.' In the bottom picture the original Ford PR caption said it was a 427 Cobra but actually that was a one off car which later became known by the nickname "flip top" (for the flip top cigarette pack) because the fenders and hood flipped forward a la Jag E-type
     
  6. steveshelbymustang

    steveshelbymustang Well-Known Member

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    After looking at the photos above and looking at a recent photo on Carroll's Facebook page I am wondering the time line of the photos and thinking the photos could be the earliest of the "R" cars being assembled??? Instead of the street?? The new photo shows a closer look at the rear of the striped GT350 in the background..and having the GT350 taillight panel emblem... Would that not indicate the later time frame for that photo and possibly the early cars being already assembled and moved out of the Venice shop???
     
  7. BillH

    BillH Well-Known Member

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    If you are talking about the car in the upper right corner of the lower photo, that's 003. (Mark Hovander, who owns 003 showed me the same photo yesterday). There are a number of photos (I was told "thousands") of Cobra production and the race car shop, which the lower photo is.
     
  8. Doug D

    Doug D Active Member

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    Re: The bottom picture is at LAX





    Was this actually on airport property? Just wondering. I grew up (60s-70s) in the El Segundo/Westchester/Playa del Rey area and am shocked that I never new about the Shelby shops at this location. I lived on Imperial for some time and I just can't visualize it. Can you give me any clues? I can't believe I missed this piece of history.

    Was there a Shelby shop on Glencoe Street in Venice as well, besides the other Venice location mentioned in the Mustang Monthly article?

    The MM article mentioned "Persian" street next to LAX. I'm quite sure that's supposed to be "Pershing", which ran North/South between El Segundo and Playa Del rey, at the extreme west end of LAX. It was long and wide...lot's a street racing used to take place on Pershing. I almost got arrested there once.

    Unrelated, but there used to be a NIKE Missile launch facility just off Pershing, close to the LAX property. I think it was decomissioned in the early 70s. I think.

    Ramble switch turned "off"

    Cheers
    Doug Dwyer
     
  9. 557

    557 Well-Known Member

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    lax facility was 6501 w.imperial hwy. adress still exists but obviously different business now(shelby finished up there in 67 subsequent cars built in michigan)...Many stories about their"going out of business "sale......Trent
     
  10. bitzman

    bitzman Well-Known Member

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    You'd have to trust my memory on that one...

    When I went there in 1965, it was South on Sepulveda, West on Imperial to the first entrance and then North into the parkinglot. Then there was two large hangers. I don't think they said Shelby in big letters, maybe still had the name of the airline they were rented from (Pan Am?). On the outside of the building there were a lot of concrete fence like structures to try to cut down the noise from the airport. I heard at least one over-excited Shelby employee doing a burnout hit that fence. There was at least one airplane parked there. Shelby used to own a DC3, partly so it would be justified that he was renting airport property for a non airplane related business. I don't know when they shipped Cobras by air for racing if the planes taxied over to the Shelby facility to pick them up or they just drove the Cobras over to TWA. I think the two hangers are still there. I heard that they used to test drive the Cobras on the winding roads around nearby Marina Del Rey about a mile North of there before there were restaurants and hotels there, but the cops would mysteriously never catch them (was it coincidental the cops liked to drop by Shelby American?). Also the Shelby works being near the airport there were a lot of stewardesses that would drop by and be photographed with their buddy Carroll.

    This area has always been a favorite hangout of Shelbys. A few years later, sometime in the early 70s I visited Carroll Shelby in his office in a 4 story office building in Playa del Rey,a beachside community next to the airport. I heard he had an apartment house that was full of stewardesses. I think this was a few years after the period when young ladies applying for stewardess jobs had to be unmarried (boy,whoever thought that up was a genius!), but anyhow there were still a lot of single ones and, hey, what an accomodating landlord ("Welcome to my parlor said the spider to the fly"). Anyhow, I heard Shelby had to give up the airport property because someone pointed out that their business wasn't airplane related, and that's when Shelby production moved to Michigan. But they still photographed Shelby Mustangs at LAX for '68 publicity photos, so that's why some people might think the later Shelbys were still being built on the Coast. I don't know if Shelby still owns land in Playa del Rey, or where he parks his airplane.

    An airplane buff told me Shelby has his jet for sale and will throw in a new Shelby Mustang if you buy it...
     
  11. 557

    557 Well-Known Member

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    yeah those concrete fence structures i believe are known as blast barriers....read on an saac site that they were actually hollow and you could go inside them....supposedly they used the area inside to work on fiberglass parts for the 67 shelbys...Trent
     
  12. Doug D

    Doug D Active Member

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    Oh my. I used to live almost directly across the street. It was years later, though, after the Shelby days.

    Still I'm shocked that I didn't know about that facility.

    Thanks
    Doug
     
  13. Doug D

    Doug D Active Member

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    Re: You'd have to trust my memory on that one...



    Entirely plausible, as there were plenty of wide open spaces along Culver, Lincoln, and Jefferson Blvds and surrounding areas.

    I don't recall many curves, though.

    The popular "raod racing" curvy roads were on a long hill/dune just beyond the west end of LAX where several blocks of homes were removed. The above mentioned Pershing Ave was between the airport and this hilly region. The homes were not removed till the late 60s though, after the Shelby days.

    Back in the day that whole area was sorta a hotbed of hot rodding.

    Well, anyhow, thanks for the stroll down memory lane

    Cheers
    Doug
     
  14. Edward66GT350

    Edward66GT350 Well-Known Member

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    referring to the 1st picture in post number 2. this question is for the concours judges to consider.
    would a concours restoration need to show paint scratches where the jack stands were placed(rear axel and frame rails) to be an authentic restoration?
    thanks,
    ed
     
  15. ERIK

    ERIK Member

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    [​IMG]

    Bitzman, the bare Cobra chassis (#8 with the two batteries in back) on the bottom of the photo with two mechanics servicing the Cobra is the flip top Cobra, CSX2196. The #98 Cobra, CSX3002, is the first and only 3000 series 427 Factory Competition Cobra raced by Shelby American Inc.
     
  16. rshelby

    rshelby ShelbyForums Admin Staff Member

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    Re: You'd have to trust my memory on that one...

    True.
     
  17. rshelby

    rshelby ShelbyForums Admin Staff Member

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    Re: You'd have to trust my memory on that one...

    He lived in the building on the right side of this photo for many years (1970s-early 1980s). It is located in Marina del Rey.
    RS
     

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