1968 Shelby Mustang GT500 - 1 of only 5!

[msclassiccars]

1968 Shelby Mustang GT500 - 1 of only 5!
Advertised for an upcoming Bring a Trailer online auction.

**THIS VEHICLE WILL BE SELLING ON A BRING-A-TRAILER ONLINE AUCTION AS A PREMIUM LISTING. ONCE THE AUCTION DATES HAVE BEEN PROVIDED IT WILL BE UPDATED HERE. IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN PURCHASING THIS VEHICLE PLEASE REGISTER DIRECTLY WITH BRING-A-TRAILER. IT'S A QUICK AND SIMPLE PROCESS. PLEASE CALL WITH ANY QUESTIONS.**

The term, “Holy Grail” is often used as a metaphor for something very important or special.

“I've labeled this 1968 Shelby GT500 Fastback #00975 “The Holy Grail” because it checks all of the boxes for the true Shelby collector. As indicated below this is extremely rare because it's an authentic Raven Black Shelby GT500 Fastback with factory installed air conditioning and a 4-speed manual transmission. It's listed in the latest 1968 Shelby Registry which is included with the sale. It has limited ownership history with only 19,676 original miles. It was with the previous owner Patricia Farrell since 1981 as documented in the Shelby registry. Patricia owned the car for 42 years before selling it in 2023. An original Rhode Island Registration Certificate dated April 29th, 2022 in Patricia Farrell's name is includes with the sale. It has been correctly restored to show quality standards. It retains its original dash VIN tag, original door tag, original inner fender buck tag, original Shelby tag, original inner fender VIN stamp, most of its original sheet metal, most of its original interior, original engine, most of the original air conditioning components, original transmission and original rear end. I had the car inspected and validated as authentic by Shelby experts Jason Billups and Tim Lea in May of 2024. The report is included with the sale. Jason and Tim are both head judges for the SAAC Club. Jason and Tim are also both known for restoring authentic Shelbys to correct and high quality standards. This is a very rare opportunity to purchase a super Shelby that's never seen the market until now.” - Marc Schiliro

Marti Auto Works Deluxe Report Statistics:
Of the 4,451 1968 Shelby's produced 1,423 were GT-500s. 1,020 of these were Fastbacks.
Of them, 405 came with 4-speed manual transmissions.
22 of those were painted Raven Black of which 17 had Black Knitted Décor bucket seats.
5 of them had Air Conditioners.
1 of them was shipped to the Pacific States.
8T02S169267-00975 is that Shelby.

This extraordinary original-matching numbers 1968 Shelby GT500 Fastback #00975 is the ultimate collector's piece with its excellent pedigree. It could be the only authentic Black, 4-speed with air conditioning car known to exist. MS CLASSIC CARS had this car inspected and validated by Shelby experts Jason Billups and Tim Lea in May of 2024. The report is included with the sale. Jason and Tim are both head judges for the SAAC Club. Jason and Tim are also both known for restoring authentic Shelby's to correct and high quality standards. As the Marti Auto Works Deluxe Report indicates this example was actually built at Metuchen on February 14th, 1968 as a Shelby GT500 Fastback. It was ordered with the following options: Raven Black exterior, Black Knitted Décor bucket seat interior, tinted glass, wheel lip moldings, visibility group, interior décor group, tilt-away steering column, AM radio, Air Conditioner, sport deck rear seat, power steering, heavy duty battery, power disc brakes, 428-4V engine, 4-speed manual transmission and 3.00 standard rear axle ratio. Based on the Marti Auto Works Deluxe Report Statistics only 183 Shelby GT500 Fastbacks were painted Raven Black. Only 90 Shelby GT500 Fastbacks were ordered with a 4-speed and AC of all available colors. Only 22 Shelby GT500 Fastbacks were painted Raven Black of which only 17 had Black Knitted Décor bucket seats of which 5 of them had Air Conditioners. The car was shipped to Downey Auto Center located in Downey, CA. As the Shelby Automotive Co, INC window sticker indicates the original MSRP was 5,262.95. As the Shelby Registry indicates on May 29th, 1968 salesman Mr. Arizia of Downey Auto Center sold the car to original owner Clyde C. Meddings as part of a dealer “Summer Sales Contest” from May 21st through October 31st. The car eventually found its way to Rick Forte in Rhode Island. As the Shelby Registry indicates it was purchased by Patricia McInnis- Farrell of West Warwick, RI in 1981. At the time of purchase the car was in original condition with low mileage. The car was enjoyed and eventually was parked because of a minor front end accident where it sat for many years. Patricia decided to have the car completely restored and chose Extreme Restorations located in Slaterville, RI for the job because they have a reputation for high quality work. The restoration was started in October of 2007 and was completed in February of 2010. Once the restoration was completed the car was properly stored and seldom used. Patricia sold the car privately in 2023 to a local Shelby collector named Randy Pomfret who lives in Rhode Island. Randy sent the car back to Extreme Restoration for refresh. MS CLASSIC CARS approached Randy about purchasing the car and a deal was made in May of 2024. MS CLASSIC CARS invested a total of 5,527.29 in service and detail which is documented with an invoice that's included. June of 2024 is the first time the car has ever been listed for sale.

VIN: 8T02S169267-00975 – retains its original dash VIN tag, original door tag, original fender buck tag, original Shelby tag and original inner fender VIN stamp as inspected and validated by Shelby experts Jason Billups and Tim Lea.
The exterior of #00975 is in absolutely beautiful condition throughout. The factory Shelby Mustang Fastback body design is truly iconic. This car retains most of its factory original sheet metal which is straight and fits very nicely. This car also retains its factory original fiberglass upper side scoops, lower side scoops, trunk lid, end caps and tail light panel. Many years ago the car was involved in a minor front end accident so the core support and inner fender aprons were replaced. The headlight buckets, letter panel and hood appear to be non OEM parts that have been reworked to mimic the originals. The body was repainted in its factory original Raven Black Paint which is Ford #1724-A. The paint was applied in the correct manner with the factory OEM (orange peel) finish. Jason Billups stated it was one of the best factory OEM Black paint jobs he's ever seen. Black is a very difficult color to paint with the correct appearance of the original. The team at MS CLASSIC CARS recently detailed the paint to a brilliant shine which looks wet. All of the glass is dated with the Carlite logo stamps present and in overall very nice condition. The cars trim pieces, bumpers and emblems all appear to be factory OEM quality. The car sit's proudly on the 15” steel wheels with original Shelby hub caps that were restored by Tim Lea during the restoration timeframe. The wheels are wrapped with the correct style Goodyear Speedway 350 E-70-15 tires.

The Black Knitted Décor Bucket Seats interior of #00975 is in very nice condition throughout. The bucket seats retain the original material and are reflective of a low mileage vehicle. The sun visors, dash pad, gauge cluster, Shelby gauges, seats belts, inertia reels and roll bar are factory OEM. The headliner, dash simulated wood trim, door panels and carpeting was replaced during the restoration. Everything in the interior including the tilt-away steering column and factory air conditioning is in working order. The interior carpets were dressed with custom Shelby GT500 carpeted floor mats. The trunk compartment is in excellent condition throughout. It has the correct finishes on the trap door and hardware. It also has the correct taillight covers and correct sequential dynamite sticks wired into the taillight harness. The correct spare wheel and tire, jack, handle and hold down are all present. It was noted that it does have excessive sound deadener.

The engine compartment is highly detailed throughout with many correct parts. The firewall, inner fenders and radiator support was repainted in the correct shade of black. The car is powered by the original matching numbers 428 -4V V8 engine. The engine runs excellent and with the low mileage didn't require rebuilding. The engine was refreshed during the restoration. As most 428 FE engines, it does have a minor real main seal leak. The engine is the correct cast C7ME-A block with a cast date of 8A9 with the correct C7ME-A heads that have a very faint (typical for Metuchen) partial VIN stamp. The engine has the correct C7AE intake, C8AF-J distributer, C8ZX carburetor, correct smog components, radiator shroud, fan and clutch. The car appears to have all of its original AC components including the C8ZX compressor tag. The 1968 air conditioning cars were fitted with special oil cooler that still remains on the car. The engine breathes through its factory original manifolds and original dual exhaust features including the original exhaust hangers, clamps and partial exhaust system. The original exhaust components are reflective of the vehicles original low mileage. The engine is coupled to the original matching numbers 4-speed manual transmission that shifts smoothly. The power is transferred to the original matching numbers standard rear axle with 3.00 gears. The correct dated original nodular case rear end has the ultra-rare original C8ZX tag.

The undercarriage is also highly detailed throughout with many correct parts. The overall detailing of the undercarriage is done very well. The floors were painted in the correct shade of red oxide primer. It retains mostly all the original style power steering components which is in excellent working order. The Shelby Registry noted the original owner brought the car into service because of sagging in the rear so it's believed an extra leaf spring was added at that time. Everything has been completely gone through including the fuel system, suspension system and braking system. This vehicle drives and handles very well on the road.

Finding an authentic black 1968 Shelby GT500 Fastback is extremely hard. Most of the black examples seen over the years have had color changes during the restoration process. Not only is this an authentic black car but it's an original 4-speed with AC car! This car also checks so many other boxes. This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity!

[Steve Shauger]

What a fantastic car, love the rare color and options. Jason Billips is also my lead Vintage Certification judge for 67-70 Mustang/ Shelby.

[msclassiccars]

Originally Posted by Steve Shauger

What a fantastic car, love the rare color and options. Jason Billips is also my lead Vintage Certification judge for 67-70 Mustang/ Shelby.

Thank you Steve!