Many readers thought the GT350 we featured the other day was too expensive. Many also would have preferred a GT500. Well, here you go… This 1969 Shelby GT500 has been sitting in this garage since the eighties. It only has 62k miles on the odometer and is still in the possession of the first owner. The owner’s son has listed it for them here on eBay with no reserve. It will go to the highest bidder.
The owner of this GT500 purchased the car right after returning from Vietnam. They babied it and supposedly never raced it. That is hard to believe considering they had 400 horsepower under the hood, but you never know. It was equipped with an automatic so maybe they just used it for cruising. Anyway, the car was parked in the eighties because of some water pump and heater core issues.
The car is currently not running. The carburetor and air filter are sitting in the trunk, but everything else looks to be in place and accounted for. That is a 428 V8 in there and we are hopeful it can be made to run again without too much effort. Even if it does take some work, you will be well rewarded.
The engine, transmission, interior, and even the Competition Red paint are all claimed to be original to this Shelby. With a little work you could have yourself one of the best preserved GT500s around and if bidding stays under $60k it will be one heck of a deal too. We just hope the next owner will at least have the sense to forgo a restoration and just drive the car as is.
How sad, looks like mice have been having a field day in the engine bay. Who does this?
I’m surprised and impressed that this Shelby has been bid to over $51K at the half way point in the auction, even more so because there are quite a few different people doing the bidding, not just a couple of guys fighting it out together.
I could be wrong since I haven’t driven a ’69, but by ’69 Shelby wasn’t engineering and building the cars anymore, and people say that they lost the handling and snap that the early cars had, especially when they had the auto trans like this car. But I guess since these GT500s can reach over $100K when they are in #2 or better condition, maybe this car makes sense because it seems to have suffered little or no rust in the garage in Texas. The 1-owner status, documentation, and straight-up description in the eBay listing no doubt help, too.
From the look of the passenger side rocker cover, I wonder if there’s been a minor engine
fire?
I was thinking the same thing.
If the engine overheated, no telling what else cooked under that hood. However the hood doesn’t show signs of paint blistering. At least the fire extinguisher doesn’t look like it was used. Were fire extinguishers a stock option in GT 500s? To me, a fire extinguisher on board makes me think maybe it was raced, even if “casually”.
Back in HS I had a 70′ Torino 429CJ and in auto shop I mounted one in mine mainly for show but ya never know better safe than sorry.
I think thats grease on the valve cove that was blown back by the fan. And the intake manifold is still bolted to the moter. Whats in the trunk? And if it had a Holley on it a fire ext. was a must! hahaha
Sorry, meant to say that the carb and air filter are in the trunk.
If you are going to buy ’69/’70 Mustang………….get a Boss 302, trust me. Better in every way.
Incredible car. In response to Paul. I doubt anyone sets out to “do this”. Many who have collectable vehicles have many good intentions. I doubt it was anyones intent to put out a welcome sign for a condo for mice in front of their car. Life get into the way of 90% of projects. People are busy then run out of time and they themselves expire. Money is a factor. Average familys now have to work three jobs. A King Kong restoration on a Shelby is out of the relm for almost anyone. Most likely it was a combination of both for this car.
The seller is going to come out very well on the sale though……if the seller follows through.
It looks in very good condition to me (considering). The Interior and exterior seem to be in very good condition and mostly if not all there. I would love to own one of these one day and a barn find could be the only way to afford it.
I hope someone buys this and either uses it or restores it to showroom/concourse condition, cars like this have a soul and should be used, but they should also be in top AND I MEAN TOP nick so whilst I would prefer it to be used if it can be preserved in top nick for the future generations to see then I am also ok with that, I do however think that the line, the golden zone is somewhere in the middle, Chris Moyals with his Ferraris is one such example.
~ the seller, and son of original owner, Grayson states honestly and clearly compelling facts of the car’s condition and history. his reasons for selling the GT under the present circumstances are of a personal nature similar to those we will all experience at some point in our lifetimes. i take this completely at face value.
Auction ended with zero bids (starting bid $20k)
Appropos of nothing, I live in NJ, and theres a local spring car show in one of the shore towns, and theres this due who has an original 1968 Shelby GT500 (4 spd 428CJ)that he brings to the show (seen it there past 2 years). Its original in the sense that its unrestored, but it received this rather garish gold metal flake paint job at some point in the 70s that still sits on the car; and it hasnt aged well. He has a couple of primered areas on the car where he’s chased after some cancer, but otherewise the car is all there. It had twin 4 barrels but he swapped them out for 3×2 carb and manifold set up from an old ford 406. Said the dual 4 barrel arrangment only netted him around 6-8 mpg, and he couldnt afford the gas for it. After I left the show I passed him at the local Autozone picking up parts for it.
While this wasn’t my favorite year for the Shelby, I liked the unusual inset grille design on these. The 1969 Shelby had a tough act to follow, coming just after those 1967-68 models, which IMHO, were the best of the bunch.
Here is the 1969 Shelby GT500 Survivor I purchased here in Houston. The Shelby is back on the road!
Here is another picture of the Shelby GT500. You cannot imagine the blood, sweat and tears it took to get this car looking this good! It also drives as good as it looks! It’s hard to believe this is the same car that was pulled out of the original owners garage right here in Houston! I have put about 350 miles on the car since getting the car running and I can honestly say that I have been grinning ear to hear for every mile!!!!!!
Thanks for sharing Charlie! If you send in some photos and a short writeup of your car’s story we may run it here on the site. mail@barnfinds.com