We all share that fear of our project car meeting an untimely demise, and I can only imagine the sting the owner of this 1966 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 felt when it was heavily damaged both front and rear. I suspect this was a heavy rear-end impact that pushed the Shelby into another obstruction, and both the owner and the insurance company relinquished the title to the tow yard it ended up at. The seller knows little about its history other than it will turn over but won’t stay running due to a punctured gas tank. Find it here on eBay with bidding at $4,500 and no reserve.
Wow – that was a big, big hit. Can you imagine seeing whatever the source of impact was, be it another or a guardrail, hurtling towards you in the rear view mirror? I can’t imagine a jersey barrier making a dent like this, and whatever vehicle did hit it was low enough to not bend the trunk lid. With the rear panel completely compressed and the gas tank knocked loose, it seems likely that the frame was also substantially tweaked. Look at how the whole body appears to sit at an angle.
The engine bay remains impressively clean, and it appears the front end impact was not significant enough to cause any major damage. What do you do here – salvage the mechanical components for insertion into another car, or cut off the rear clip and start welding? Shelbys are still considered quite special, and it remains a dream for many to own the genuine article. Given the comparatively mild front end damage, could you justify trying to rebuild this body?
The interior furthers the case for potential restoration, as it, too, remains in excellent condition. The automatic is a bummer but may make the case that this Shelby lived a gentler existence than one with three pedals (in thinking about the Hertz examples, probably not.) What would you do: is the numbers-matching provenance enough of a justification to try and weld on a new rear section, or should it all be transplanted into an accident-free shell? And is it even a real Shelby?
Leave a Reply