SFM5006 50th Anniversary of ownership

[CharlesTurner]

Thanks for sharing, congrats!

[FL SAAC Team Leader]

Thanks for sharing your experience and congratulations!

[terlingua11]

Love the snow tires on the black steel wheels..... Gangsta! 

[chris NOS]

50 YEARS !!! that's a lot ! congratulations ! keep on riding !

[camp upshur]

Very very cool Bill. Great presentation.
Boy, has the context of 65 ownership and utilization of these cars changed over the years!
-Steve A  (I'm three years behind you)

[Special Ed]

Very kool and great story Bill but did u have any idea back in 71 how rare any shelbys were as no books or shelby clubs were around to get info back in 1971 that i know of anyway. I always told Bill how lucky he was for a car guy to be living BETWEEN hershey and carlisle and have all them parts and cars in his home town area delivered to those big great swap meets especially back in the 70s 80s early 90s before the internet and ebay came along. If i lived in Bills area i would have been broke all the time instead of just some of the time like i am now anyway. All the rest of us car guys had to make big trips with lots of driving and fuel, beer and motel expenses to go to carlisle and hershey and Bill only had to drive 10 miles east or west to go to the big swap meets and sleep in his home bed every night and if he needed to travel the airport and 8 major roads going all directions connect within a few miles of his house and PA is in the heart of most major car related events across the USA. Congrats Bill as u were born in the right place at the right time and a great car guy!!

[Bill Collins]

Congratulations Bill!  And here you are in SFM5 006 at Hershey in 1977.  Cool sunglasses.

Thank you everyone for your kind comments. I had forgotten about that SAAC-2 photo! Thanks for including it.

Seeing this photo prompts recollection of another facet of my 006 experience.  Pennsylvania had a regulation in the 1970's forbidding modifications to exhaust systems from factory spec. They strongly enforced it, especially against young drivers with cars equipped with Thrush side pipes, Cherry Bomb mufflers, etc, which were very popular at the time.

So 006's side exit pipes attracted constant law enforcement attention. The first year I owned it I was stopped over 30 times. It got to be kind of a game - I carried a copy of the '65 GT350 owner's manual in the glove box. The manual has a diagram highlighting the equipment that made the Mustang into a GT350. Whenever I was stopped, I would show the manual to the officer and politely explain how the exhaust was factory installed and as much as I agreed it was loud, I couldn't legally change it under the law.

I was into wearing those reflective sunglasses at the time, partly because of these police encounters. Being a young smarta--, it was offputting for them not to be able to see my eyes, thereby providing some psychological balance to the situation. The only drawback was my then girlfriend hated them!

Pennsylvania eventually relented on the exhaust law, I believe following some legislative action by SEMA.

Love the snow tires on the black steel wheels..... Gangsta! 

And here you can see why I needed those snow tires!

[Rocket]

I've owned 6S550 since August of 1967. Lots of fun with it. Maybe one of these days I'll get around to writing a story about it. Ron

[Special Ed]

 Bill its a good thing your white shelby had them blue stripes so U could find your car in them snow storms. Another PA only law back then U couldnt order louvers on your car but dont know if that was so cops could see in back seat area for troublemakers wearing reflective sunglasses haha or fog or why PA didnt allow louvers as besides looking good on fastbacks they kept the interior 40 % cooler keeping direct sunlight off rear seat passengers so they dont get a red neck HaHa and i would think also helped keep some snow and ice off rear glass so u could see out better in the winter storms ya think.

[NC TRACKRAT]

Congrats, Bill.  You're one of the reasons I got "bitten by the Snake".  You've always been very kind to share your knowledge and enthusiasm for the marque.

[mtdubvee]

Awesome story. Congrats Bill!

[Shelby_r_b]

Congrats, Bill! And, many thanks for sharing the pictures - love it!

[mark p]

Happy "Golden Anniversary" to you and 006.
Great story, thanks for posting 
I 100% agree on pretty much every comment above, and feel lucky to have seen 006 in-person a few times and enjoyed chatting with you (and your hospitality).
Best Wishes for many more years of "experience" with your cars.
Mark

[greekz]

Congratulations and a great story.  Wishing you many more years of ownership and fun.

Greek

[69mach351w]

Thank you for sharing such a great story... I love this kind of stuff especially all of the old pictures.

+1. Could listen to stories like this all day