This is a 1968 Shelby Mustang GT500 that has been in the seller’s family for 34 years, it’s now being offered for sale, and it’s one of the desirable examples with the 4-speed manual transmission rather than the automatic.
The car is finished in Highland Green and it’s now powered by a rebuilt replacement 428 cubic inch Cobra Jet V8 with a performance hydraulic roller camshaft, a larger radiator, a polished crankshaft, Ferrea Racing valves, ARP hardware, and more.
Fast Facts: The 1968 Shelby Mustang GT500
- This 1968 Shelby Mustang GT500 has remained in one family for 34 years and is now being offered for sale in San Diego. Finished in Highland Green, it’s one of only 1,020 Fastback GT500s built for that year, originally delivered new in New Jersey on January the 29th, 1968.
- The car has a rebuilt 428 cubic inch Cobra Jet V8 prepared by Total Performance, equipped with performance internals including a hydraulic roller camshaft, forged components, Ferrea Racing valves, and ARP hardware. Power is sent back through a 4-speed manual gearbox – making it more desirable than the more common automatic versions.
- It was originally optioned with the Extra Cooling Package, Visibility and Interior Decor groups, power steering, tilt-away steering column, power disc brakes, shoulder harnesses, and Sport Deck rear seat. It now also has 10-spoke aluminum wheels and BFGoodrich Radial T/As on all four corners.
- Having once been converted to GT350 specification with a 302 engine in 1991, the current family rescued it, restoring it back to GT500 form. It’s now offered for sale with a Deluxe Marti Report, owner’s manual, records, spare parts, and a clean California title.
The Origins Of The Shelby Mustang
When the Mustang had first arrived, executives at Ford were acutely aware that it was a sporting car with no sports car pedigree, and plans were put into place to establish some bonafides as soon as possible.
The Shelby GT500 series would remain on sale from 1967 until 1970 however this wasn’t the end for the badge – it would return due to popular demand in 2007 and remain in production over a number of sub-variants to the current day. Image courtesy of Ford.
Carroll Shelby was consulted, and a deal was penned for him and his team to create a new version of the Mustang specifically targeted at SCCA B-Production class racing in the United States.
Shelby already had a good relationship with Ford at this time, as he was using Ford V8s (the same engine used in the Mustang) to power his Shelby Cobra sports car that had been regularly giving the Chevrolet Corvettes black-eyes since 1962.
The car that resulted from this project was the Shelby GT350. It was a completely stripped back Mustang with upgraded brakes, upgraded suspension, a significantly reworked engine, and it had been put on a weight loss regimen so strict that even the back seat had been thrown out.
The Shelby GT350 would prove to be a resounding success, it won the B-Production championship for three straight years and established the Mustang’s bonafides as a true race-winning performance car.
A newly redesigned Mustang would make its first appearance in 1967, and Ford sent it over to Shelby to see if he could give it the special treatment, this time with a big block V8.
The Arrival Of The Shelby GT500
When the 1967 Ford Mustang debuted it would be the largest redesign of the Mustang platform that had taken place since the model’s wildly successful debut back in 1964. The 1967 model was slightly larger, with updated styling, and perhaps most importantly, it now had an engine bay large enough to accommodate Ford’s big block V8.
The Shelby GT500 would receive the Ford Cobra FE Series 428 cubic inch (7.0 liter) Police Interceptor V8 with two 600 CFM Holley four-barrel carburetors on an aluminum intake manifold. Image courtesy of Ford.
Shelby would create two distinct lines of Shelby Mustangs from this point forward, the small block Shelby GT350, and the big block Shelby GT500.
The Shelby GT500 would receive the Ford Cobra FE Series 428 cubic inch (7.0 liter) Police Interceptor V8 with two 600 CFM Holley four-barrel carburetors on an aluminum intake manifold.
No one could have known it at the time, but this would be the car that would go on to inspire the creation of the car “Eleanor” from the 2000 film Gone in 60 Seconds.
This big block V8 was considerably more powerful than the K-Code 289 V8 fitted to the GT350, offering 355 bhp vs the 271 bhp of the smaller engine. Torque was much higher also, with the big block twisting out 420 lb ft vs the 329 lb ft of the 289.
This power was sent back through either a 4-speed manual or a 3-speed automatic transmission to the live axle rear end and inside the car a roll bar was fitted for safety – perhaps an indication that there was concern about putting this much power in the hands of untrained drivers.
A number of other changes were made to the vehicle to help improve performance and better cope with the heavier new engine. The front coil springs were uprated as was the anti-roll bar, front disc brakes came as standard along with Gabriel shock absorbers.
As noted above, this car has remained in single family ownership since new. It’s one of 1,020 Fastback Shelby GT500s built for the model year and it was completed on January the 29th. It was delivered through Morristown Ford in New Jersey to its first owner.
The Shelby GT500 series would remain on sale from 1967 until 1970 however this wasn’t the end for the badge – it would return due to popular demand in 2007 and remain in production over a number of sub-variants to the current day.
The 1968 Shelby Mustang GT500 Fastback
As noted above, this car has remained in single family ownership since new. It’s one of 1,020 Fastback Shelby GT500s built for the model year and it was completed on January the 29th. It was delivered through Morristown Ford in New Jersey to its first owner.
Back in 1991, and for reasons unknown, it was modified into a GT350-spec car – the original 428 cubic inch Cobra Jet V8 was replaced with a 302 cubic inch unit. The current owner’s father bought the car and set about rescuing it – working to return it to Shelby GT500-spec, adding a correct Cobra Jet V8 and bringing it back to how it was when it was first built.
When the car was ordered new all those years ago it was specified with the Extra Cooling Package, the Visibility and Interior Decor groups, shoulder harnesses, power-assisted disc brakes, a tilt-away steering wheel, power steering, and a Sport Deck rear seat.
It now also has a Centerforce clutch, aluminum 10-spoke 15″ wheels, and BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires. The new engine was built by Total Performance with Crane forged distributor gear, performance hydraulic roller camshaft, lifters, and rockers, Clevite bearings, FMS valve covers, ARP hardware, a polished crankshaft, Crower Cams keepers and seat cups, and Ferrea Racing valves.
When the car was ordered new all those years ago it was specified with the Extra Cooling Package, the Visibility and Interior Decor groups, shoulder harnesses, power-assisted disc brakes, a tilt-away steering wheel, power steering, and a Sport Deck rear seat.
The car is now being offered for sale out of San Diego, California with a Deluxe Marti Report, the owner’s manual, service records, spare parts, two sets of keys, two sets of spare key blanks, and a clean California title in the seller’s name.
If you’d like to read more about it or place a bid you can visit the listing here on Bring a Trailer.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
