How many times have you been surprised by a field find? I have seen a few interesting field finds in my time, but never anything as significant as this 1969 Mustang Shelby GTt350. Having three owners in its short lifespan, this Shelby was wrecked in 1973 with only 68,076 miles. After the collision, the car was put out to pasture, and the engine was pulled and stored in a nearby barn. After 45 years of outdoor exposure, this Shelby is definitely an ambitious project but seems too complete to simply part. With several days remaining in the auction, this forgotten Shelby has been bid up to $20,100. Take a look at it here on eBay out of Bellevue, Ohio.
The engine compartment shows some of the carnage of the front end collision, and whoever bravely takes on the task of reviving this Shelby has their work cut out for themselves. Looking closely you can see that the shock tower bar is bent indicating that the passenger shock tower moved during the collision. A frame puller and a lot of patience could possibly pull some of this chaos back in line. Although the engine compartment is vacant, the original numbers matching 351 is included with the car. I don’t know that I hold much hope for the engine as there is rot in the sheet metal oil pan indicating that moisture collected in the oil pan, or that the engine was left in standing water.
The interior is mostly there and is in about as good of condition as you would expect from a car that spent 45 years outdoors. I would think a car of this caliber would be better suited for restoration, but as a “parts car” I don’t see much from the interior point of view that is all that exciting. The factory carpet is in place making me curious about the condition of the floors.
Although the front end has been worked over pretty hard, it is a shame the remainder of the body is rusty. Rot is visible in several places, and the driver side quarter has been bumped at some point in time. Quarters, rockers, and probably floors would be needed to make the body worthwhile, without even talking about trying to work out the front end damage. Although the original engine is with the car, there are still quite a few items missing, and a tremendous amount of work needed to make headway with this Shelby. A lottery ticket, a good body man, and a winning bid could have you and this forgotten Shelby on the roads once again. What do you think this Shelby project will sell for?
Buy a new Dynacorn body in white ($15 to $20K) and start cleaning and transferring parts. That would be the cheapest way to do this.
I suspect that is what will occur here. This is a VIN and data tag sale. Great to see the serial numbers live on (sarcasm)!
Cheapest but not the correct way to restore it.
Not one single piece of metal usable on that car.
I think this falls into the “labor of love” category if it’s going to be restored. I hope someone has a lot of love to give.
The labor of love will consist of the painstaking and loving removal of the VIN and data plates, vigorous exercise of the fingers entering in credit card numbers on the Dynacorn and Mustangs Unlimited websites, and a lot of money transferred to a restoration shop to slap everything together. Ain’t our hobby great?
MAYBE……………….a Parts Car!!!!
I Think it more likely falls into the “Where’s The Old Car Cemetery” category !!! This creature is WAAAAAY beyond a Basket Case!!!!!!!!
This Piecer is not even worthy of a Scrap Metal yard!!!
This is one of those cars that just doesn’t make sense to me. How could anyone let a Shelby sit out and rust away. I understand some people wouldn’t understand the value of some lesser known cars, but even a person that knows nothing about cars should’ve heard of a SHELBY. It’s like throwing a fist full of dollars in the yard, and saying: I’ll pick those up someday.
Not to mention they had the forethought to store the engine inside (even though apparently they didn’t do a very good job of that). Seems they would have rolled it into the barn too.
In 1973 is was just a cool used car that took a pretty hard hit to the front end. The mileage indicates it was driven year round, so it might have already started to rust. This was the year the first gas crisis hit, many muscle cars didn’t survive, especially those with prior issues. It wasn’t until the mid-80’s that muscle cars started to appreciate in value, this car would have been parted out, or crushed if it hadn’t been placed in the owners field.
Steve R
Yeah, all cars at some space in their existence are just an “old car”. If they have the misfortune of being crashed at or near that point, bad things can happen. Like what happened to this poor car. But, than again, this is the kind of treatment that makes survivors worth more.
While that’s true about 1973 Steve, by let’s say 1990 (almost 30 years ago) people were already collecting Shelby’s. You’d think by that time, or even the mid 90’s, the light bulb in the owner’s brain would turn on and they’d realize that maybe it’d be a good idea to put this into some type of better storage. That would have save 25+ years of rotting out in that field.
GasHole, even though it is hard for any of us here on the board to understand, there are people that think about other things besides cars. Life does get in the way sometimes.
If the guy thought it was a total loss, he might not have cared it was back there.
I mean looking at it, who would think, unless you have watched the auctions and maybe some recent car shows, that would be a fixable car or that it had any value at all?
Parted Out????? What parts would Rust Replace?
What was a totaled Shelby worth in ‘73? Not much. Just parts!
This car NOTwrecked was worth maybe $5K in 1985, probably less. GF’s dad had a 67 Shelby GT500 Restored 428 Dual Quad 4 Speed and it was a $5K car in 1984. He sold it in 1989 for $22K. In 1973, with the gas crisis, my guess is about $900. My father in law had a used car lot here in Chicago in the early 70’s and he could not give the big block muscle cars away. Gave people $500 for them and sold them for $900. Still hates himself to this day for not putting many into a barn for the future….sad part….is he actually though to do that and did not act on it. Bummer!!
NO ONE wanted a Gas Hog in the early 70’s when the gas crisis hit us!!!!!!
A Fistful of Dollars, one of Clint Eastwood’s finest!
For A Few Dollars More…
You could find a better Shelby project. :)
As was “The Good, The Bad And the Ugly” which might fit the description here!
OMG. I’ve been looking at that car since I was a kid. It sat on State Rte 101 between Clyde and Castalia. It’s not a “barn find” really. Everyone in the entire area knows it’s there. It’s kind of a big joke around here. Crazy nut will NOT sell and let’s it rot. Made him feel special I guess. After while nobody cared anymore because it was now junk. Whoever buys it, have fun. We’ll try not to laugh at you too.
I would buy if I had money. Shameful.
I live in Fremont,and was surprised to see such a car was in Bellevue,
Ive only lived here 20 years,but I can imagine how many people attempted to buy this car before.Problem is, people in our area would rather pay $500.00
for a rusted out carcass of a car,than $2500.00 for a vehicle that doesn’t need floors and quarters…. I don’t understand..!!We had a nice 67 cougar,brought with us from Ca.,had people offer 5-8 hundred dollars for it,and it ran and drove!,it did not need floor pans or quarter panels or anything like that.We finally sold it for $2grand,should have got a bit more,but atleast someone could see it’s potential, and was willing to pay a fair price for it.
Crazyhawk can you give an approximate location number wise using the map attached here? Thanks
We’ll, I admit when I’m wrong. He was actually really smart to keep it and nobody is laughing. That car is going for big dollars. More power to whoever the seller is.
Someone with more dollars than cents will undoubtedly buy this one then wonder why it costs so much to get it back on the road and in turn let it die a slow death.
Shelby’s are great cars but stick a fork in this one, it’s done as it sits IMO.
Reminds me of the Shelby stash in Arecibo, PR years ago. Anybody know what happened to all of those cars?
This is insanity!!! Sorry this guy is nuts. I have owned Shelbys for years. I would never think of doing this to a Shelby!!!
Who can afford to do that to a Shelby? Not me.
Still worth restoring! I would do it.
When it was wrecked It was a 4 year old used sports car that was on it’s 3rd owner. That Shelby did NOT have an easy life; those are 68k hard driven miles. My guess is that the 351 was likely trash.That, combined with the serious accident damage, made the repair costs greater than the value of the car, same as it is now. Salvage what you can for a [ahem!] “Tribute Car” and send the rest to the crusher
Yep! It is a shame some people had no respect for cars!
Everyone may have known about it but I bet they never offered what the car was worth, especially when it was in better shape, probably got tired of the low offers and people trying to steal it for a song and a dance, anyways looks like someone still cares and He’s gonna get maybe what he wants, and get the last laugh…….
Wrong. Lots of great offers. I think he wanted to die with the car. It’s moved now, so he may have and it’s a relative with it now
I bet he didn’t get any offers like its bid up to now……..
Whoever has it knows what they are doing. $$$. Wish I would have been smart enough to hold onto stuff. Even the stuff that was in bad shape.
In todays market a # 1 rotisserie restored GT 350 fastback may be worth $95k tops. Considering this car after it has been restored with nothing original (Dynacorn body) and someone transplanting VIN’s….$20,100 is too much already!
I’ve done a few cars and nothing as bad as this one. Buyers want to see good documentation of before, during & after. Try showing them this one before then a Dynacorn body!
It is said that a fool and his money are soon parted. Two fools in this case. The fool who let this car deteriorate to this condition as he will never get what he could have; and the fool who pays anything for this worthless pile of scrap.
Right on!
At over 20 grand look who has A Fistful of Dollars now
Would have been a lot more dollars, had it been properly stored.
THAT’S for sure!!!!!!!!
Sad day in Shelbyville.
The person who is willing to pay 20 large for this car is not the “well, I’ll buy it, put it on jack stands, go to Ace Hardware, buy some sandpaper, and git ‘er dun…” it is the person who sees the potential in getting his or her hands on a real Shelby, and bringing it back to life, for either profit or love of the hobby…
That’s just it—the amount of work and money required to get this shell restored is more than they could ever see in selling it, so it would have to be for love.
I hear the owner was offered a fair price foe this Shelby, but he couldn’t break a $10 spot for change.
ELB–Restoring this car would not be a “labor of love” but rather the manifestation of a psychiatric disorder.
I don’t think Rawlings got where he is today restoring cars in the condition of this piece of junk.
I say take it to the nearest Landfill
Yeah, it’s gonna stay right there. Way to much work.
When I was in junior high I was out hunting one day and found our neighbors 69 Mach 1 in the woods, I had seen him drive by while I waited for the bus many mornings, well here was the car sitting out in the woods. It has some new front end damage, hood, grill and front bumper. I went back out there a couple days later with a battery and the car fired right up. I bought the car for 200.00! I bought the parts needed to fix it up and drove it till just before I got my license and sold it. I am spoiled on my restorations, hence forth I wouldn’t touch this one if it were given to me!
Personally I think it’s a lost cause! If I were to take on a car like this I would also seek out a donor car to cut the front off of, then with careful aligning and bracing I’d weld and fish plate the two car halfs back together. Then I’d media blast the whole shell and assess what further metal would need to be puchased. This could be done in a residential garage because I know if I was involved in such a project that I could do it. The problem here is that the buy in is way to high to make it practical. As for the motor I’d make sure it turns over than send it off to a rebuilder. There are still skilled DIY guys out there the problem is how many of them would want to bother with this mess, unless of course your the kind of guy that likes a serious challenge. If you are this at least is a highly desired car that would be easy to sell afterwards. JMO.
There used to be an old saying (groan) ” Jack up the radiator car and run a new car under it, then get a radiator cap”. It would apply nicely to this car. But keep the VIN plates, and perhaps the original block. No worries, we can make it a numbers matching car with just a few off-the-shelf parts.
This is where a fool and his money will soon part. I think that car is beyond saving at a reasonable price.
Well, a few years ago I found a really cool “field find” – a 1965 Griffith 200 that had sat outside since 1969 and when the owner produced a title, I bought it!!
All it needs is a good Dermatologist by the looks of it.
I would say a Urologist FIRST!~!!!!
Did Shelby actually have any input in these later mustangs? Seems to me he was fed up with the whole project by then and walked. Ford had plenty of “hot” mustangs in ’69 of their own and power wise these were nothing different then what you could get in a Mach 1, just a different look.
These have been valuable for quite a while, before the whole muscle car revival thing took off really there was a lot of collector interest in mustangs. I’m surprised no one tried to steal it.
Mr Shelby was not involved with the 1969s. I believe that he was done with the program by the end of the 1967 model year.
A wonderful conversation piece personally I would love to see it chewed up by a metal shredder into little green pieces and then deliver to a smelter to make into metal paint cans.
Now THERE’S a thought Hoss!!!!!
!999 HOSS- Really smart comment and good for the hobby. What makes you so special?
They should have everything at your local AutoZone in stock to put this baby back together and back on the road……………
Does that include some Turtle Wax to shine up that NICE RUST???? +
It’s not being word police, it’s you being racist.
Jbones–yes looks like the same car–good eye.
The big money is brought by well taken care of original cars.
If anybody got whiff they were buying this car after the restoration, I am sure they would back out.
You would always have to question the quality of the work on a car like this.
Did any of you see the roof on this one?
Car is junk . In 1973 when wrecked it was junk. It is a Shelby so it still has value somehow.
Over 20k seems crazy when a nice 351 Shelby is 100k . I’m sure 50k would go a long ways but still would have a phony shelby
I guess I see a WHOLE lot of people doing full blown restoration on 65-68 Mustang coupes which is just as crazy, so why not. It’s up to almost $25k now.
The owner that let it sit definitely needed to be hard slapped.
I once found the front half of a 69 gt500 sitting in the woods in a small town in Alabama. It was complete with the dash c6 auto 428cj and all the front end fiberglass. It was cut at the a pillar and right behind the transmission along the floor
Jarad,someone stole it and clipped the back end for a wreck they were repairing. Used to do those in body shops years ago. Really easier than you would think.
Wow…..so many comments on a car from our area…!! It is amazing to see how much people…are willing to pay for a rusted out Shelby..,🤔😂….it is still a way better deal than any 356 Porsche project I have seen on here…. recently…..and may be alot of fun when done,..😎…..plus the name Shelby
Alone made it somewhat special.?…so sad…..so sad..🤔😎
I’m gonna go out on a limb here. Been an eBay junkie for years. The bids on this are happening too frequently and methodically. The bidders are also “private”, not that you can see their identity any longer, anyway. I am willing to bet the bidders running this up are shills. I don’t think it will actually sell. Unless there is a real dummy out there. There is nothing here other than a VIN. Also, who’s kidding whom? The engine was obviously not stored indoors. I’ve never seen an oil pan rust out before. That old Windsor is junk, except for maybe the valve covers and intake, which won’t wont even clean up nice. Just junk.
If you think about it, 68K in 4 years is a TON of miles, especially back at that time….almost 20k miles a year? That’s unheard of for the time. This poor girl was ridden long and ridden hard.
Seen cars like this my whole life, I’m 47, I drive by a 57 Chevy Bel Air v-8 on occasion, same spot, in view of the road, since 1996. 67 Fairlane 390/4sp GT floorpan touching the ground. Four SS Impala’s two 63 , a 62 and a 64 in a hog pen one of the 63’s was a 409 car, my dad street raced the guy back in the late 60’s. I’m a FORDMAN & that makes my blood boil.
There is no good to be found in that twisted pile of rust.
I really believe this car has a good chance of restoration. I’ve seen some real magic with Mopar muscle cars and most were as bad or even worse. How bad do you want to a own a legit Shelby?
I would be embarrassed to even take this Rust Bucket piecer to the recycle center & even the crusher!
Guys, DO NOT, under any circumstance, rebody a vehicle. While it is easy to splice in a dash vin and even get the proper rivets if that’s want is needed it is ILLEGAL and if caught you will go to jail. There are vin numbers in places you don’t know about (package trays, cowls, core supports are well known) and if they are not there if a Highway Patrol in inspection is ever done you are in big trouble. a guy I know had a Blue 67 SS Chevelle, it was built from five cars and the body vin numbers told the tale. His dad bought it and then sold it to him. They owned it a total of ten years. He went to jail for a week until his innocence was proven. The car sat in the local wrecking yard for 20 years as it could not be sold before it was finally scrapped.