Finding a ’67 Mustang in never-restored condition can make any enthusiast’s heart beat faster. Finding one with its original special engine or a boat-load of accessories is even more exciting. Finding a Shelby Mustang in never-restored condition might top them all! Thanks to reader Nathan H. for finding this purported 1967 Shelby Mustang GT350 in Columbus, Indiana. Despite a complete lack of documentation, this tired-looking and partially stripped Mustang is offered here on Facebook Marketplace for a Shelby-like $67,000.
Before the Internet Age, finding a rare Carroll Shelby race-prepped GT350 Mustang would have been the talk of every bar-fly within a 50-mile radius. Today, however, the chicken coops and quonset huts of the world belch up lost automotive gems like clockwork. Still, this would be remarkable if validated!
This car has what is “believed to be” the original drive train. Some of what’s visible runs against the Shelby claim, such as the stock-looking steering wheel in place of the wood-rimmed Shelby, the standard speedometer where the Shelby had a 140 MPH unit, and the lack of under-dash oil pressure and amperage gauges. For more details, check out autoweek.com and classicregister.com.
Early ’67 GT350s came with an aluminum high-rise intake, and manual gearbox units gained a Holley 715 cfm carburetor. Of course the presence or absence of these bolt-on items would not validate or disprove the car’s pedigree.
No Shelby data plate adorns the left fender, but the center-mounted high beam mounts look right, and despite the fact that they may have been sawed off for some reason, the hood pin mounts are there as well. What’s your vote? Is this the real deal, or just an interesting Shelby clone? Either way lets hope the new owner puts it back on the road without stashing it for another decade or two waiting for a winning lottery ticket.
This one is a real conundrum I’m torn as to what it really is, could’ve been dressed to look like a Shelby and left for the past 25-30 years. Hopefully some documentation is found.
J
Unlike many other cars, Shelby’s are rather easy to verify…hidden VINs, engine numbers, evidence of where the roll bar was, and the Shelby registry may be helpful too…the seller should have done his or her homework before offering this up for sale for that kind of bread…my guess? Not real…
You are right, if the seller wants $65,000+, it’s up to him to cross his T’s and dot his I’s. The lack of leg work on his part suggests he suspects it isn’t real and he’s hoping for a sucker to make an offer.
Steve R
what to get excited about ?just another rust bucket mustang that is a total money pit! and 67 grand! pour another 50 into it and ask your self why didn’t I go get drunk and leave the money in the bank
Perhaps a Marti Report would lead the owner in the right direction. It does however have alot of Shelby items that would have cost a big chunk of change. Maybe someone bought a totalled Shelby and transferred the unique parts to their 6 cylinder pile and wah-la. Shelby GT350. Anyway without documentation,it’s really crazy to reach into your pocket for almost 70K, but again those willing to gamble and take the chance, sometimes it does pay to be first.
“voila”…
Sorry. That was bugging me.
merci
No way this is real. The tach and steering wheel not to mention the missing date tag are real red flags.
I’m in the midst of restoring a partially restored 6 banger coupe myself and after having done a 68 Camaro to national show winner standards (not intentionally, mind you…. It just kinda turned out that way) I can now, unequivocally, state I completely understand the hate for old Fords. It seems like many things were built intentionally difficult to put back together. Take the wing window adjustments. That’s a good 45 minutes!
That said it looks solid but I bet the floor, rear spring perches, trunk, and front columns are all shot. This one will bankrupt someone who thinks it’s real.
Run away!
Yes..
It’s a real car.
She’s over 50 years old and some of the parts are missing.
However, just because a tag or steering wheel is missing it doesn’t mean it’s not an real Shelby Mustang.
If a Corvette is missing a tag and it’s original steering wheel is it still a Corvette?
Easy to answer…..
Yeah, I’m not sure, but I think that it probably isn’t real, unless, like someone before said, someone may have just taken th ‘cool’ parts that idedntify it as a Shelby off to put on something else or to sell. But who knows! Maybe it is even a Shelby that was stolen years ago, but had the ‘Shelby’ parts removed from it to maked it look like a normal Mustang. Ha ha. I guess we’ll have to wait until papers are found or something.
It’s not a real shelby stang, it’s obvious someone again trying to pull the wool over the eyes. Zoom in on that side qt panal that’s definitely handy work of a amateur bodyman throw on some bodyfiller.
You are wrong..
It’s a real car and she’s had a hard life…
We know it’s a real car. The question is is it a Shelby, or a Mustang with Shelby parts on it. And the difference in value means that it matters, and if it can’t be proven true it must be assumed false.
So some body work on a 52 year old car is enough evidence it’s not a real car?
There’s body filler on a 52 year old unrestored car?
Really?
And that disqualifies it?
I bought a 67 GT500 in that very same color with white stripes from a guy that I met in my favorite watering hole in Riverside, Ca, back in 1975. The bartender knew that I was a car guy and he pointed to a patron at the end of the bar and he told me that the guy had a Mustang convertible that he wanted to sell ASAP. I introduced myself and asked him about the car and he told me that he bought it for his ex wife and when she split she left the car behind. Since it was in his name he wanted to turn it in to cash. All he knew about the car was that it was a 4-speed V-8, and it would run with a jump start. Period. I went to look at it and when he opened the garage I was stunned, Shelby GT500! Next thing out of his mouth after I jumped the car was “I’m not taking a penny less than $1500.00!” Needless to say he took the cash!
They didn’t make Shelby convertibles in 1967 other than one prototype.
Do what now?
What he said.
From Google translate:
FROM ARGENTINA I WRITE THEM… YOU THAT THEY ARE FOR THE LANDS OF THE FABULOUS MUSTANG, PLEASE, TRY TO RESTORE AND MAKE THIS BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLE OF MUSTANG SHELBY. GREETINGS. HORACIO
Great work Edward! Thanks and take care, Mike.
Horacio with one of the best comments ever.
Que bueno, Horacio y muchas gracias!
I like Nevadahalfrack’s translation better. Much more conversational. Of course, Horacio is not reading the majority of our comments which are down on this thing being anything but a fake. A rough fake.
I don’t do Facebook, so I can’t see the listing. Going solely off the photos posted here, the car does not appear to have a roll-bar fitted, which I’m pretty sure a genuine ’67 Shelby Mustang would. Irrefutable documentation is a must here, and I doubt it exists. I hate to bring up old sayings about fools and their money, but I hope no one is foolish enough to give that kind of money for this car.
I wouldn’t spend a dime on this car without some verification on what this car really is!!! Who strips a Shelby??? There’s no way you would even back in the day part out a Shelby!! They were always special cars from day one!! The prices were higher on them cause they were marketed as race cars for the street!! We’ve all seen corvettes taken apart for restoration and for some reason the project stalls but we’ve never seen one that’s been parted out!! Seems like a sheep in wolves cloths!!!
I have owned a ‘67 Shelby for 22 years and it should be fairly easy to verify it’s real. The data plate missing is a negative but it should still have its original Ford VIN where the plate was and the Shelby VIN should be stamped on the apron by the passenger shock tower. Both are visible with the hood open (assuming it still has its original panels of course).
With those two VINs you can check with SAAC and verify the numbers correlate.
It does have the roll bar and shoulder harnesses in place. The gauges and cluster and steering wheel could have been easily robbed. There are some indicators under the car too and some additional welding on the shock towers (at least on GT500s anyway, not sure on 350s) that would help to see too. The taillight holes seem too well cut out to be from Shelby American but the workmanship can vary a lot on the holes on these cars so who knows. The holes are eventually covered by a fiberglass panel during assembly so they don’t really show when done.
I’d tend to say it’s real just because of the patina of it all but hard to say without more pictures. If it doesn’t have the numbers on the panels it would be a hard sell. He also doesn’t give the Shelby number of the car either which like mentioned above seems easy to come up with if you have the car and title.
Interesting find!
And of course the Ford VIN should be for a K code engine which would make it valuable even if it wasn’t a Shelby
I don’t know much about Shelbys, but the last photo on the FB ad clearly shows what looks to be a factory roll bar.
By far the easiest way to check this car out is ask for a copy of the last registration or the pink. If it says Ford Mustang, feel free to abuse the seller. These cars were sold and registered as Shelbys.
Stig,
While it’s good to look at original paperwork, many states prior to 1968 registered new cars based on their own formulas. For example, Pennsylvania marked the vehicle year based on the year it was sold. Maryland still registers factory built limousines as well as stretch limousines, as 4-door sedans. I’ve even bought cars that were not marked on the title with the make, but the corporate name.
I once bought a 61 Plymouth Fury that had a Missouri title from 1961, it said . . . Make: Chrysler. Model: Plymouth. Body style; 2-door. And also confusing are the various states that didn’t even have titles until 1968.
And consider the poorly paid Motor Vehicle Admin or DMV employee that before the Federal Title Standardization regulation in 1968, could list the car info per the dealer’s hand written sales invoice!
One of the more interesting situations dates back to 1956. A brand new Packard & Clipper dealership, located in Arlington, VA, was Dubois Packard. Mr. Harry Duboise bought his franchise a little over a year before Packard stopped building cars in Detroit.
Packard allowed dealers to order new cars based on their sales from previous years. Having had no prior Caribbean sales, Dubois found itself locked out of ordering Caribbean convertibles or hardtops, even tho it was in a high income location just outside Washington DC. What to do?
Dubois ordered [local Packard people believe] 14 Packard “400” 2-door hardtops and ordered additional external Caribbean trim, including hoods with hood scoops, plus the dual carb setups, all ordered thru the parts division. They made their own Caribbean style hardtop, but badged them as “Packard Esquires” to avoid angering Studebaker-Packard!
Some had titles marked “Esquire”, some were listed as 2-door hardtops.
Dubois also made two 4-door Caribbean style sedans,one using the stock Packard Patrician, but kitted out as a Caribbean. The other car was a rare Packard Executive sedan. The Executive was marked as an Esquire, and was painted yellow with a white stripe. This car still exists today.
The Patrician sedan, painted white, with a light blue stripe and dark blue bottom, along with a 100% 3-tone matching leather interior [but not a Caribbean interior] was ordered new by a Mr. Lawson In nearby Lanham, MD. Mr. Lawson said that he bought a new Packard sedan every year, and when he heard rumors that Packard was ending production, he ordered the most expensive Packard sedan he could find, and DuBoise was happy to build it for him! The original invoice listed the car as around $7,500.
In August 1972 I bought that special one-off car from Mr Lawson [for $100!], complete with a Maryland title that was marked Packard Caribbean 4-door sedan! It had done only about 15,000 miles. 4 weeks later, having been drafted, I entered the Army, and put the car into storage in a friend’s barn. 9 months later on the 3rd of May 1973, the barn was struck by lightning, and all I have today is the original title, and a couple of Polaroid photos of the car before it burned.
The Packard was one of 6 very rare cars destroyed in the fire, but that’s another story.]
While I’m sorry you lost such an incredible piece of history, Bill, it’s a fascinating history lesson. Thank you for taking the time to share it and giving us an insight as to why, to this day, we still have to struggle in our understanding of the DMV titling processes with older cars!
Oh my goodness, Bill. This story is another reason I think you and I must have crossed paths at one point. Having grown up in Alexandria Virginia with a dad who was a big early Ford fan and Packard fan…we were all the time spotting treasures in people’s garages and in the classified ads of the Washington Post, Alexandria Gazette, etc. The prime period for our scouting would have been between 1969-1978. Is there a registry for all the faux Packard Caribbean’s that came from the Dubois caper?
Little Cars,
The Packard Club does track Esquires, and George Hamlin has written a fine article on them for the club. I do have to add that the total number of Dubois specials is now believed to be around 20 or 21 cars.
We may very well have run into each other over the years, I used to go to the Apple Blossom show every year, usually in a Packard, Also still attend the Rockville Car show every year. Back then I was deep into Packards, Studebakers, and big Chryslers & Imperials, as well as quirky foreign cars like Tatra.
To my best high school Spanish I think Horacio said “I write to you from Argentina… You that are in the land of the fabulous Mustang, please, try to restore and do show off this beautiful example of the Shelby Mustang. Regards. Horacio.”
You guys are killing me with the Google Translate. I love this site.
It has a K code distributor in it. Dual point, no vacuum advance.
There’s some right shonky welding on those bonnet pin mounts…
This is a sheep in wolf’s clothing!
…..and it’s gone.
and only about half hour away too
If it was a real Shelby….you think it would by advertised somewhere besides falsebook sorry I mean Facebook
Just went through Columbus Sunday on the way home from the Street Rod Nats in Louisville. Over 13,000 cars this year for the 50th anniversary!
Just Ask Kevin Marti???
I may be mistaken but the dash looks like a standard Mustang dash, Shelby”s by 67 we’re upmarket. Also, while consoles can be removed, didn’t all Shelby’s have a console by 67? I would be very leary of this car . If anyone is interested they should go see the car and do a full inspection and marti report . Don’t buy it online, just my opinion
Let me ask this. If it was real do you think it’s worth $65k in its current condition with what you see presented?
Hi Mark. Not worth the coin to me. There are some very nice cool cars out there for $10,000 bucks. If I had room I would buy 6 for 10 K each. Nice drivers also. Sure, I like Mustangs, this just seems insane to me. Take care, Mike.
What Kieth said……and someone showed up with cash that must have talked it right out of the sellars hands.
And for those that might have seen a flipped over big block muscle car in a wrecking yard like me in 1975 – yes they were parted out back in the day.
rustang
Hey Gang, I’m the one that bought the car (67 Shelby GT 350) and appreciate everyone’s comments. Some things you wouldn’t have been able to tell from the posting. It came with a Marti report and the Shelby tag which had fallen off. All the Shelby numbers matched and it’s been verified with SAAC. Haven’t taken the fenders off yet to verify the Ford #’s but it seems highly unlikely those wouldn’t match up after everything else does. Restoration starting soon.
Thanks for the update! Please let us know how things go.
Hey Gang. I’m the one that bought this car and appreciate all the commentary. What you wouldn’t have known from the information above is that it did come with a Marti report and the Shelby Tag which had fallen off. All Shelby numbers match and have been verified with SAAC. As I’m sure you all know, these cars have 2 sets of numbers. Shelby VIN numbers and Ford VIN numbers and both are on the Marti reports. Shelby numbers can be seen without doing too much. Ford VIN numbers are located under the fenders. Haven’t taken fenders off yet to verify Ford #’s but restoration starting soon and that will get done. Probably not a reasonable ask of the seller to allow me to take the fenders off to verify Ford #’s, when all others match. Still trying to connect with the previous owners (2-3) so I can’t yet answer your carb or steering wheel questions. It was definitely a gamble, but I did try to de-risk it up front by verifying everything I mentioned above.
You shouldn’t have to remove the fenders to see the Ford VIN. On the drivers side in front of the shock tower there is a notch in the fender where the VIN is stamped into the front apron. You can see the notch in the last picture above. The Shelby tag would be riveted over it. It’s hard to tell if there are rivet holes in that picture. The VIN is also stamped on the apron on both sides between the shock tower and the windshield, these are visible after the fenders are removed.
Actually you’re mistaken…
67 Shelby’s did not have Ford numbers on the back aprons.
The Ford VIN is stamped on the aprons in multiple locations, Shelby or not. Like I said no need to remove the fender, the Shelby tag was riveted over the Ford VIN at the notch. It should show a K in the 5th position.
67 shelby’s had their Ford numbers on both front aprons
Not the rear aprons.
That’s right, on the aprons under the fenders.
Ford vins were on two places on a 67 Shelby.
The front aprons on both sides.
You normally can’t see the number without moving the tag on one side and the fender on the passenger side.
If either those aprons have been replaced over 50 years you have a headache.
Three places, two on the drivers side one under the fender and one under the Shelby tag.
Even if this isn’t a real Shelby, it can be turned into a real Shelby by companies licensed by Shelby American to build Shelby Mustangs.