Interest in all things related to automotive pioneer Carroll Shelby reached a peak on eBay last week after his death on May 10. Searches on his name topped our weekly search trends list, as we related on last weekend’s post entitled “A rare 1965 Shelby Cobra.” Shelby was an automotive visionary and leader, and his legacy includes his achievements in racing history and, of course, the cars he built or helped design.
Over the course of the last 6 months (and aside from the amazing 1965 Shelby Cobra we talked about, above), we found a few interesting Shelby-influenced cars on eBay that we showcased on this blog. These include the prototype 1986 Dodge Omni GLHS (modified by Shelby) and the Sunbeam convertible (Shelby was involved in the development of the prototype). While these cars have interesting stories, they are not what people consider the “classic” muscle cars that Carroll Shelby is most famous for creating.
Luckily this week, our eBay Top Shared page surfaced a car that would interest any Shelby enthusiast, the One Owner 1968 Shelby Mustang GT500 Convertible:
Kay and her carefully stored Shelby Convertible
This has to be considered the “classic garage find to end all garage finds” that we sometimes stumble upon. The listing notes that in 1968 the original owner, Kay, drove her 1965 Shelby GT350 from Statesville to Charlotte, North Carolina, to trade it for the GT500 convertible. She moved to Florida and continued driving the GT500 until 1981, when she opted to garage the car. For the next 31 years the car sat in the garage, until this year.
Here’s what the car looks like now that it is out of the garage:
The seller notes there is some surface rust, and that the car is not running, but that it has only 53,000 miles. It will take some work to get this car into shape, but what a fun project!
The GT500 was reportedly the first Mustang to carry the famous “Cobra” name, but by no means the last. Although the production of Shelby GTs ended in 1970, the Shelby/Mustang brand was revived in 2007 with the introduction of the Ford Shelby GT500.
In fact, last weekend we saw another, more recent version show up on our eBay Top Shared list. In this case, it was a 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Flat Black:
This unique, one-of-a-kind 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 has over $25,000 of performance upgrades, including the custom flat black paint job, the Shelby Racing Intercooler upgrade, and much more. Although the car did not sell this time, we hope to see this black beauty up for auction in the future.
Carroll Shelby was a true innovator, and his work lives on today. So whether you already count yourself lucky enough to own one of his cars, or you want to restore a classic, or you would like to buy a newer model, you can turn to eBay to find a wide selection of cool cars.
Good Morning Kay,
This looks like a restorable vehicle. What were you looking to get for it?
I will wait for a response from you.
Fellow Ford Fan; Bill L.
I would love to see the front end of the 68. This is the first time I have seen this car with an every day person, owner, LOVE IT, VERY SMART GAL !! I think the only ones I have seen were in a magazine. I think this is the best of the best, if I could see the front, I would know for sure. Really I think this is it.
There is no price limit,period. Jay Leno would be the one to contact (if this is the car i think it is)!!!
YOU’VE GOTTA LOVE MUSTANGS!!!!!!! MY WIFE HAD A 65 CONVERTIBLE WHEN WE GOT MARRIED. WISH WE STILL HAD IT. GREAT TO SEE THE CAR WITH SOMEONE WHO IS NOT A BILLIONAIRE !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why would anyone deny themselves of all the fun of redoing such a wonderful classic. I sure hope money is not the main reason. Money, the money made in selling or attempting to restore each little piece to as showroom new condition… Looks like it is ready to to put the top down and go for a spin… It isn’t running with only 53,000 miles on it. Heck, new plugs & fresh fuel… Or push up a large hill and throw it in nuetral, WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Ronnie: There are more pictures on the listing, which you can see here.
@William: The seller is real-muscle-1. Contact them through their My World page.
i want to buy it .what kind of price are u looking at?
After looking at the pictures, those must have been the hardest 53,000 miles ever put on a car. That horse was riden hard and put up wet! A rare and valuable car yes. But man that thing has more road grime under the hood, wear on the interior, and body panel damage than I was expecting. No disrespect, but you know it was flogged if the big block and tranny had to be yanked and sent out to pasture. Hopefully someone with deep pockets can bring this bad boy back to life. Thank goodness for old lady hoarders.
I have to agree with Craig. She may be rare, but she is more trouble than she is worth.
For the cost one will be putting ito a full restore, and I have no doubts you she needs a complete frame off restore to bring back to 100%, you may as well buy one already restored.
I agree…cost of a frame off resto not to mention your headaches and time are worth more than the car is worth. Deep enough pockets, do the automotive world a favor and go for it, otherwise buy one already restored at auction.
Check out the comments on Bring A Trailer dot com regarding this car. Click on “older entries” at the bottom of the page until you get to it. There are some quite knowledgeable people on that site. Then make up your mind as to how much you want to spend to purchase this car. It seems as if there are a lot of unanswered questions regarding and unexplainable damage on this vehicle.
If my car and garage looked like that,I would not pose for the picture in or around it with a smile….I would hang my head in shame.
I love old classic cars! It would be so fun to own one myself!
The photo of the engine compartment shows a ‘small block’ not the 428 that the GT500 was built with. The GT500 fender lettering also doesn’t look factory.
what price are you asking for the car
@wayne and @brian: This is an auction, and you’ll need to go to the seller’s page (by clicking here) to bid.
Yes, I’ve really been checking this car out and the pics make me VERY worried. I know a bit about restoring classics, been doing so for almost 15 years, and this one screams “NO”
Not telling people how to spend their hard earned money, but I would go over this car with a fine tooth comb before taking possession.
The reserve hasn’t hit yet, so they’re probably asking 100k. Say 40 to 80k to bring her back to pristine condition, taking into consideration that there is no major structural damage that forces a scrap.
You can buy a whole lot of car for 180k. In fact, there is a ’09 Ferrari Cali on Ebay with 9k on the odometer for 170k obo.
Hello, this would be a great project for my son who is turning 15 yrs old and just started high school, do you know what you would need for this car. Please make us happy, Best Regard. Thanks
This is an “S” code car with the guts pounded out of it, Original parts all gone……. I own a restoration shop and I say this is a dead horse at this price, There are cars availiable restored for this money,
I laughed my butt off reading Jeff’s comment about the car and garage looking the way it does ought not make her smile but rather hang her head in shame…..funny!
I don’t like the color either. I’d rather have my beautiful B-5 blue ’69 Road Runner any day!! Beep Beep!!
My mother -in-law has a 1960 Dodge Phoenix that’s been sitting outside not running for 35 years and almost looks as good as this car. BTW….she is a hoarder too!! LOL.
this car makes me want to cry
Wow….too bad the car was trashed and beaten up as it appears it was! I would not want the headace of restoring it….if it can be restored at all. There does come a time when a car is just too far “gone”, and I hope this is not the case. She really should be ashamed to think the car is worth 10k, much less her reserve!
UMMM, Polo…. She needs EVERYTHING!!!!…. I don’t see how that can look like it does with only 58,000 miles put on her. Must have left everything that car should look like on every one of those miles. I Love Mustangs, especially 68′s, that just brings a tear to my eye. To bad someone that would have treated that car like it should have been didn’t get it instead of that lady. What’s the sense of putting it on ramps instead of jackstands??? I hate to laugh but OMG. So Sad..
Funny, but I see primer in many of the usual places Mustangs are known to develop severe rust problems…rear quarter panels ring a bell???
Buyer beware!
I survived junk cars myself………..
What did this lady do to this poor, once beautiful car in just 53,000 miles? Not the original engine in my opinion (is that why it shows all the pictures of a trashed block and parts scattered everywhere?). There is a lot of untold stories involving bad experiences. By the way it looks there was no regular maintenance, was the oil ever changed? And what happened to the interior? All those cracks are not just from sitting for 30+ years. Even the floor mats are trashed, if they were in good shape I would love to have them in my 67.
If she would have at least taken the tires off, drained all the fluids, put some primer on it and put it up on blocks when she stored it there would be some rare parts to be salvaged.
This car is a question in a nightmare. Good luck to whomever buys it. No way it is worth anywhere near $100k.
What a shame.
T
I think that the person writing…..”It will cost more to restore it, than what it is worth”. This is not a Ford Focus people! In the condition it is now, it is worth $100,000-$150,000……I build these cars for a living, so I am very familiar with all costs. It will cost $30,000-$35,000 to restore it.
I agree with most here on the condition of the car. The car was put in the garage at a young age of 12-13 years old with only 53k and a replaced engine! The interior looks like someone took a razor blade to it and the body panels, front grill, engine compartment, door jams…..etc…etc…Something is not right here. I mean really, the cars in fear factor are in better shape. I have a 68′ Cougar Eliminator with the 428 CJ6 with 81k never restored, original owner, always garaged weekend car that looks literally “new” compared to that poor GT500. The car must have been a theft recovery or some crazed boyfriend trashed the car for reasons unknown…… Hopefully it’s brought back to life….
Only Manufactures build cars, we can modify or restore them as a hobby or living. That car needs a full frame off Rotisserie Restoration, about a 1000 hours labor, everything replaced from front to back and in and out, all for the price of my $ 35,000 Harley? I would love to see that! LOL………..
@ Alex Smith
I would love to see your work one day. I would also like to see your numbers on this particular car being “Worth 100 to 150K” in this condition.
Since your comment was directed at me, I can tell you right now that I know what i’m talking about and many comments here agree with my assessment. I have been working on cars with my father since I was old enough to pick up a screwdriver, my hobby turned into a full time job. I’ll be more than happy to show off my work if we can see yours.
This car needs a off frame restoration. The entire enterior needs to be pulled due to neglect along with the extremely high probability of mold. If the buyer is extremely lucky, they might be able to salvage the seat frames, paneling and dash.
The exterior speaks for itself. No need to get into details when the pictures already show it. This car was not loved or taken care of, it was driven into the ground and some of it’s parts were pulled and sold.
There is no way in the world that you can get everything that needs to be done to this car for 35k. I have no idea where you’re getting that number, but i would love to see your estimate and the name of your wholesaler so I can get the same deals you are