Monday 27th August 2012

PH Carpool: Shelby GT

This week's Carpooler has a serious V8 addiction, very serious as it turns out...

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Name: Alan Faulkner-Stevens
Car: Shelby GT
Owned since: June 2011
Previously owned: Shelby GT350/500, 289 '66 Mustang, Corvettes, Triumph Stag, Pontiac Trans Ams, 3.0 Capris - total car nut since I could drive my friends down the pub when I was 19...

GT built by Shelby in LA rather than Ford

Why I bought it:
I restore original '60s Shelbys and Cobras for a living and Carroll Shelby is a hero of mine. I loved his hot-rodding style of taking a standard car and turning it into something special. The Shelby GT is hand-built by Shelby American in very limited production numbers using exactly the same methods as the '66 cars, so it is true to the original. Each vehicle receives special bodywork with vinyl twin stripes, hood scoop, tuned engine, lowered and stiffened suspension, big front and rear roll bars, low restriction exhaust and 3.55:1 LSD axle. Then each car is given a unique Shelby VIN number which is listed in the Shelby registry. Most people don't realise the famous modern Shelby GT500 is not built by Shelby at all but by Ford and are mass produced in their thousands.

Some bloke's written on the dash, look...

I bought the car as a partner to the 2006 Shelby GT Hertz I owned, however the Hertz was really a collector car and I needed something I could drive more. I noted this Shelby GT on PistonHeads, parked outside a very plain red brick house and the asking price was well below the UK accepted price. When I saw the seller's address was Suffolk I guessed he was a US serviceman here on duty. Contacting the guy, he was based at Lakenheath, the car's lower price was correct if you converted it to dollars ... so my gain. The owner had all the original paperwork and was great - helpful and 100 per cent to deal with. I then traded the Shelby GT Hertz against a V8 Aston.

I cannot recommend the Shelby GT enough, much more special than the GT500 although nowhere near as powerful. A much more exclusive car for those who really know about Shelby cars and are not taken in by all the hype surrounding the GT500. The GT is hugely drivable, good on fuel and follows Shelby's original '60s hot rod brief very closely ... the knowing person's modern Shelby.

Now sports bigger wheels and brakes

Things I love:
Driveability, exclusivity, follows the original brief, quick in standard trim, comfortable and easy to maintain and care for. So tuneable......

Things I hate:
Standard brakes with 13-inch discs, rubbish ...easy fix is an 14-inch Brembo conversion.

Costs:
Standard maintenance is not expensive at all and there's a fantastic array of aftermarket performance goodies available. Exhausts, engine parts, body trim, wheels ... a hot-rodder's dream.

Supercharger 'louder than The Who'

The best thing about it is driving it, not sitting in a field showing it. The GT has responded so well to Mr Shelby's initial work, I have just tweaked it with some other goodies; big front discs and Brembo calipers and cold air ducting to the brakes. Also, larger Shelby wheels have been fitted to clear the new calipers.

But the most dramatic thing was the Roush supercharger. The most cost-effective upgrade I've ever carried out on a car - bloody amazing device. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde: below 3,250rpm, good standard performance with instant throttle response, above 3,250rpm all hell breaks loose. A howl from the supercharger that even The Who at full volume can't drown out and performance of a £100K supercar ... fantastic!

[Numeric]

I have a huge love for American muscle and yours just looks fabulous. I don't know enough about the different types but I bet yours just shakes the earth when it rumbles away!!

I do have one question - I realise the importance of the Hertz model so weren't you tempted just to keep and run that?

As an aside - I used to sometimes come across the Shelby cars from the dark years when his name was plastered on Dodge Daytonas and the like - thank God before he went the world allowed a proper use of his name again!!

[anonymous-user]

Awesome

[monthefish]

What are the wires at the front of the bonnet for?

[supermanraf]

I'd love to drive one of these, dont see many around, and I think they look great, it would make you smile just looking at it, I would have a red one with a single black vinyl stripe through the centre of the car!

[webmasterz]

Very nice
PS They are bonnet pins !

[BorkFactor]

Fantastic, always loved these!

[Enricogto]

monthefish said:

What are the wires at the front of the bonnet for?

Racey bonnet lock. They actually hold the pin that is used to block the bonnet.

Enrico

[Dave Hedgehog]

i just came

instant 10 for the monster pony car

[redvictor]

Nice to see your daily on PH Alan..

[Pistonwot]

Thats a nice car, Ill bet it sounds amazing.

[rtz62]

This demonstrates why I hate Pistonheads and this particular column;
It makes me want one soooooo much.
Oh well, buy and sell a few (dozen) more cars and I might be there!

[LuS1fer]

Lovely car but anything Shelby is still way over-hyped IMHO when dollars became his ultimate goal.

[monthefish]

Enricogto said:

monthefish said:

What are the wires at the front of the bonnet for?

Racey bonnet lock. They actually hold the pin that is used to block the bonnet.

Enrico

That's what I thought. So has the standard bonnet catch been removed?

Lovely car BTW

[Baron Greenback]

Drove past one on Thursday, great classic USA muscle car! Hate/love to drive the B road as it is a BIG car but fun to drive.

[Motorrad]

LuS1fer said:

Lovely car but anything Shelby is still way over-hyped IMHO when dollars became his ultimate goal.

I still love to love this one though.

[splitpin]

As an aside, don't you find it strange that Shelby apparently considerably hopped up a car but left it on/with pi55-poor brakes ........ OK, easily corrected apparently but 'why, oh why? still remains. Kind of substantially undermines the perception of their engineering integrity, as afterall, brakes are pretty important.

Nonetheless, fantastic looking car and all credit to it's previous and current owners. Despite the totally pretentious bonnet pins, I love it. Simple As That.

[davepoth]

splitpin said:

As an aside, don't you find it strange that Shelby apparently considerably hopped up a car but left it on/with pi55-poor brakes ........ OK, easily corrected apparently but 'why, oh why? still remains. Kind of substantially undermines the perception of their engineering integrity, as afterall, brakes are pretty important.

Nonetheless, fantastic looking car and all credit to it's previous and current owners. Despite the totally pretentious bonnet pins, I love it. Simple As That.

You don't need big brakes for a quarter mile drag race.

[splitpin]

davepoth said:

You don't need big brakes for a quarter mile drag race.

Mind you, they did 'mess about' with the F & R Arbs ........ I guess the logic must be that with poor brakes and more power, you'll eventually run out of strip and therefore have to make a harder than normal turn?

[baptistsan]

Assume this is/was your Hertz http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/4069388.htm

Love both cars, but think your new one shades it for me.

[hedgefinder]

monthefish said:

What are the wires at the front of the bonnet for?

modern american build quality dictates that they have to hold it together with something......