“...the first 1968 Shelby”

[Coralsnake]

Does anyone have any information on the first 1968 built?

I am wondering how many 1967s got the conversion to 1968 status?

😉

[shelbydoug]

 

[Bob Gaines]

. Yes it made you think.  For instance the 68 brochure car could be looked at as the first 68 looking Shelby built in one way of thinking and it is a 67 GT500 convertible and not a 68 . I don't know of how many 67 Shelby fastbacks were fitted or re fitted with 68 fiberglass but there were some. 

[shelbydoug]

. Yes it made you think.  For instance the 68 brochure car could be looked at as the first 68 looking Shelby built in one way of thinking and it is a 67 GT500 convertible and not a 68 . I don't know of how many 67 Shelby fastbacks were fitted or re fitted with 68 fiberglass but there were some.

I don't think that is what Pete meant. I think he is wondering if any 67s got renumbered as 68 REGULAR PRODUCTION cars?

The engineering cars are pretty much known.


I would think that the answer would have to be no. Consider the numbering change in 68.

[Coralsnake]

I am looking for other 1967s that kept their VINs and became 1968s (changed appearances by the factory for whatever reason)

Like the red convertible or lil Red.

[557]

Any known of besides those 2?

[67411F--0100-ENG.]

I am looking for other 1967s that kept their VINs and became 1968s.

Like the red convertible or lil Red.

Hello Pete,

0100 was reconfigured as a '68, and it also received '69 Cougar XR7 leather front seats prior to being sold to Courtesy Ford.

Thanks,
Eric

[67st102]

Hi Pete - there were 2 additional vehicles that I am aware of that received 1968 fiberglass.  Those cars are 1967 GT500 #100, and the 1967 GT500 prototype V738-2.  I have an email from Fred Goodell jr stating V738-2 was used as a 1968 fiberglass fit test car at the Ionia Shelby engineering garage.  This car was then painted custom metal flake gold by Sonny Fee just prior to being donated by Shelby American to the Michigan Training unit prison.  I am including a newspaper photo of the donation on 12-30-1968 and a photo of the car in the MTU prison body shop in 1987.  What is also interesting about all of this is that these 4 vehicles were the first four 1967 GT500s made.  First V738-2 in September 1966 and then the other three - 100, 131, and 139 three months later in December 1966.  All four of these GT500s were at the French Lick Shelby show this past October for a historic reunion. 

On another note - I was told by an Ionia AO Smith employee who was the shop foreman that the first 1968 Shelby was a gold gt350 - (that ended up being the Paris show car).  That is what he told me - and had a photo above his fireplace of him and 3 other AO Smith employees behind the car inside of AO Smith as "proof".  For what it is worth.

Lowell

[honker]

Here's something I have in my files, this might have been on forum 1 ? Maybe off Coralsnake's great site ?

There are conflicting dates here, the colour pic says "'67 Paris Salon" yet the second b&w image with French text, and the grab

from I think a book, says "'68 Paris Salon" ? Same wall behind with circular openings.

Maybe our friend Szabo in Germany has more, he seems good at digging up information.

Mike

[Richstang]

I am looking for other 1967s that kept their VINs and became 1968s.

Like the red convertible or lil Red.

I'm sure you can look all of this following information up in the documentation/letters that were uncovered many years back...

I recall the only two cars to initially receive the '68 fiberglass styling (VanAkin letter) and also retained the '67 Shelby VIN were the #00139 Red convertible and the #00463 Lime Gold fastback / AC test car. The fastback was later repainted painted Acapulco Blue with the added '68 fiberglass. We know both were used in period '68 magazine advertisements. We saw #00463 and #00139 in '68 guise, displayed at SAAC 38 in CA back in 2013. I don't believe the hardtop #00131 Lil Red, aka Big Red with dual Paxton superchargers, had a Shelby American Inc. VIN plate when recently found. (No holes found on the inner fenders)

If #00100 was configured with '68 styling it was likely done, along with #00131 Little Red sometime in 1969 to help sell them off (to look like newer models). The paper trail suggests they were both used as engineering cars, documented in an old Shelby American issue. A January 1969 inventory list had #00100 listed as an 'emissions' engineering car, noting it having '67 Mag Star rims.

I've never heard anyone (forgot about the 'Serendipity' Shelby American article talking about V-738-2 being used as a '68 Fiberglass fitment car before. (that is interesting)
Still, it does not have a '67 Shelby VIN. As we've been told it was a '67 test mule with no Ford VIN either.

I'm not aware of any other '67 used for the '68 styling.

[BGlover67]

Interestingly, 1967 car 003 also received "the '68 update" by it's first owner.  It didn't receive a full set of '68 fiberglass, but instead it had a Frankenstein approach to updating performed by someone who worked at Ford.  The current owner believes the car is a long lost 1968 prototype because of this, but unless some unique documentation shows up, it seems it was just a case of new car envy.  I'm sure many production cars over the years received styling updates by their owners to make their neighbors and friends think they owned a car that was newer than it actually was.   


https://imageshack.com/a/F7ol/1

[FL SAAC]

                                    0139

[67411F--0100-ENG.]

"First V738-2 in September 1966 and then the other three - 100, 131, and 139 three months later in December 1966.  All four of these GT500s were at the French Lick Shelby show this past October for a historic reunion."

Alright, time to air some grievances.  Pete, I apologize to you up front for this being on a thread that you started. 

1. V738-2 was made 2 months before 0100, not three.  The SAI completion date (12/07/66) in the registry is not accurate.  That date is a moved to finished inventory accounting date and is not 0100's actual SAI completion date.  0100's SAI completion date is presently unknown, but I have researched and provided adequate photographic evidence that supports 0100 having a SAI completion date in November, and that it could possibly be as early as November 10th.
2. As supported by the official event t-shirt and poster, the Indiana SAAC Fall Classic featured a three car reunion, not four.  The owners of 0100, 0131, and 0139 conferred back and forth for more than two years juggling schedules and priorities trying to arrange a public reunion of these three true sister cars.  Indiana SAAC was instrumental in making this happen by specifically inviting the three cars and making them the headliners of the 2021 Fall Classic.
3. You just had to interject your car into mix even though it was not invited, and you did this without the courtesy/decency of contacting the owners of the other three cars.  You also tried to keep things under the radar by entering your car as a '67 Mustang so as not to draw any attention until it was too late for anyone to object without ruining the public reunion of the three sister cars.
4. The four car photo that you posted, and any others that are out there, were taken after the show and without the blessing/consent of the owners or representatives of 0100, 0131, and 0139.  How late on Friday night, or early on Saturday morning were you and your buddies sneaking around to move your car and take photos when the other car's owners were not present?

Eric   

[67411F--0100-ENG.]

I am looking for other 1967s that kept their VINs and became 1968s.

Like the red convertible or lil Red.

I'm sure you can look all of this following information up in the documentation/letters that were uncovered many years back...

I recall the only two cars to initially receive the '68 fiberglass styling (VanAkin letter) and also retained the '67 Shelby VIN were the #00139 Red convertible and the #00463 Lime Gold fastback / AC test car. The fastback was later repainted painted Acapulco Blue with the added '68 fiberglass. We know both were used in period '68 magazine advertisements. We saw #00463 and #00139 in '68 guise, displayed at SAAC 38 in CA back in 2013. I don't believe the hardtop #00131 Lil Red, aka Big Red with dual Paxton superchargers, had a Shelby American Inc. VIN plate when recently found. (No holes found on the inner fenders)

If #00100 was configured with '68 styling it was likely done, along with #00131 Little Red sometime in 1969 to help sell them off (to look like newer models). The paper trail suggests they were both used as engineering cars, documented in an old Shelby American issue. A January 1969 inventory list had #00100 listed as an 'emissions' engineering car, noting it having '67 Mag Star rims.

Rich,

The guy that owned 0100 from 1974-1977 told me years ago the car was configured as a '68 and had the '69 Cougar seats in it when he bought it.  Jason Billups has also told me that when they were doing the interviews with Walter Nelson for the 0131 restoration and documentary; Nelson stated that some of the used '67 engineering cars had been updated with '68 fiberglass and that he had installed Cougar interior parts in some of them before they were sold to Courtesy Ford.

Eric

[Coralsnake]

I am just wondering why you guys didn't invite the other 1967 Shelby that was built with  1968 fiberglass?

Maybe I will save that for the next website update...