The Shelby American (Winter 2021)

Turner started there detailing cars and eventually began assisting with Mustang restorations. His son Tommy took over the business when Lennie retired. Turner asked the senior Gard- ner, who he considered a surrogate fa- ther and mentor, to handle the seats and he also fit the headliner, using NOS material. Lennie is almost 80 and has forgotten more about interiors than most people in the business know. While we are passing around at- taboys, Turner wants to thank Jason Billups, Jim Cowles, John Brown, Dan Case, Jeff Speegle, Bob Perkins, Howard Pardee, Drew Pojedinec, Bob Gaines, Marcus Anghel and Kris Hague. A project like this gets a lot of help; one person can’t do it alone. The knockdown car was unique and drew large crowds to its display at the MCACN. No one had seen anything like it before. It was finished to Divi- sion 1 level and was complete – run- ning and driving. None of the original holes or Shelby American welding was altered in any way and that did not de- tract from the presentation of the car. Those minor details were easily over- looked by everyone other than true GT350 nit-pickers. While there were no plans to have the car judged at the MCACN, when the opportunity pre- sented itself the car was judged. It won a Gold award in the Pinnacle Class (the same as SAAC Division 1/Premiere). Plans were to take the car from knockdown to GT350, just as was done in 1964 at Shelby American in Venice, and show the finished car at the SAAC convention, MCA Grand National and Mid America meet in Tulsa and then at the MCACN in November. The con- version from knockdown to GT350 would probably take about three days – about the same as it took to complete a GT350 at Shelby American in late 1964 and 1965. Chuck Cantwell was scheduled to be there as well as any other Shelby American employees that could be rounded up. Before than could happen, however, the Covid pandemic blan- keted the country and everything fell apart. All of the events were cancelled, so the car was converted from knock- down to GT350 between August 31 and September 2 in Jason Billups’ shop. Within three days the car was completed as a GT350. A film crew captured the “conver- sion” on video and is working on a “siz- zle reel” promo video to use to pitch sponsors for a full-length documentary on the car. Professional photographer Al Rogers was also on hand to capture the conversion on film. The finished car was unveiled at the Indiana SAAC’s “Fall Classic” – origi- nally the Spring Fling which had been postponed from May to October due to the pandemic. The event was held at the French Lick Casino and Resort in French Lick, Indiana during the first weekend in October of 2020 and was hugely successful. The car show was held indoors in a large, carpeted exhi- bition hall. Titan Lifts provided a pair of four-post lifts for judging the twenty concours entries. 5S003 won the Heritage Elite Gold award and also won the LeMans award (similar to a SAAC Premiere award) and the Judges’ Choice award. A clean sweep. The SHELBY AMERICAN Hard to decide which we like more – the steel wheels or the Shelby/Cragars for the cover. Winter 2021 41