Carroll Shelby, many thanks to you for a 26 year journey that culminated in building a replica of one of the most recognized vehicles of the 20th century.
I didn't start out thinking of any of Mr. Shelby's creations. It wasn't until I was ready to go to college that I needed a car to drive in and purchased my brothers 1965 Mustang. That same year, a friend of mine asked me if I was going to try and convert it to a "Cobra". I had no clue what he was referring to. He then invited me along to a car show. I was in awe of what a GT350 looked like in full race trim (back in 1977 I believe). I was hooked into the Shelby magic from that point on. Oddly, since I owned a Mustang, I actually thought the 427S/C cars in the show were just relics and I guess back then, kit cars were not very plentiful yet. I figured these would simply remain vintage race cars, never to be seen in the hands of the everyday Joe and hey, how much could their street verions be worth anyway! I basically ignored them not knowing what my future would hold.
About a year later, I spent everything I had to try to make my Mustang a race car. Sure, it looked like crap with a black primer hood, unpainted front GT350 air dam, some BFG CompTA's on some American Racing "Star" rims. But it was a blast on the autocross! Around 1985, I got rid of the car due to needing a more reliable and gas friendly vehicle. For about 12 years, I completely forgot about my brief encounter with the Shelby magic. Then in 1997, I was ready to buy a new car and on the magazine rack was a few Kit Car magazines. My eye caught the lines of a 427 S/C. I was thinking "there are a LOT of companies making these things" and with modern 90's cars looking pretty much all the same, the Cobra lines were more powerful and sensual than what I remembered the first time I saw the real things in that show back in 1977 but the big surprise was how inexpensive it was to get into one of these kits or a Superformance, relative to the now over $100K CSX's.
I spent the next 8 years methodically thinking of a way to get this vehcile and the more I explored, the more I realized I wanted to build one myself.
Today, I can proudly say that I am now a "driver" of a car that was inspired by one of the most famous automotive icons of our time. I just can't get enough of driving this beast around the neighborhood and giving rides to those that have become comatose in their sedate, politically correct, and uninspiring vehicles. You want to talk about a "wake up call", this car does it like nothing else I've driven or rode in.
Some people love Carrol Shelby, some people completely despise him. But nobody can argue that he built one helluva kick-ass car in 1965.
And all he wanted to do was just build race cars... I think he did a pretty good job.
P.S.: my youngest daughter is Shelby. I thought you'd enjoy knowning this.