When it came to performance cars in the 1960s, the Shelby Mustang was the “King of the Road”. Based on production Mustangs, these special cars were modified by Shelby American from 1965 to 1967 and then by Ford itself from 1968 to 1970. The GT500 was perhaps the most prolific of the group, seeing production rise to 1,423 units in 1968, of which 402 were convertibles like the seller’s beautiful example. Somewhat original, this drop-top is available here on eBay where a mere $10,800 has been bid. The reserve is unmet, but the Buy It Now price is $139,000. There, however, is a caveat: the car is located in Norway.

The first Shelby Mustangs originated with the 1965 versions of the stock automobile that started the “pony car” craze. These autos dominated foot traffic at Ford’s (and its competitor’s) dealers for the balance of the decade. In the beginning, Ford would ship cars to Shelby to modify, but internal issues within Shelby led Ford to take over the conversion process themselves, with the help of A.O. Smith.  That would occur in 1968 when Shelby assemblies increase to 4,451 overall, including the GT350. Given the Marti Report provided by the seller, this example appears to be in rare company: 249 GT500 drop-tops built with automatic transmission, 36 painted Sunlit Gold, 8 with air conditioning, and just 2 shipped to the same dealer in Texas where the seller’s car was originally sold.

This ’68 GT500 is mostly original and presents well after 55 years and what may be 63,000 miles (the seller is uncertain if that’s correct). It’s listed in the Shelby Registry if you want to find out if that source can provide any additional information. The paint has been redone, but only once, and the gold finish is nice except for some small cracks on the hood. Rust isn’t an issue, and the seller believes all the sheet metal is from Day 1. The black stripes were added later, probably with the respray. We’re told the Shelby is sound mechanically and the seller believes everything is numbers-matching except for the carburetor.

If you decide to take the plunge, don’t forget to factor in shipping. The seller indicates it may cost $8,000 to get the car shipped in its own 20-foot container from Norway to the US. The listing sounds as though a third party is involved, indicating that a lot of documentation from prior owners will the provided. The only payment means accepted will be by wire transfer and the seller’s phone number for texts has an international prefix. This looks like a solid, rare car that can be yours if the numbers work out.