Our featured automobile is the legendary 1967 Shelby Ford Mustang GT 500. The 67 Shelby GT 500 is a truly iconic classic car. The Shelby Ford Mustangs remain the most famous special variant of the original pony car.
Carroll Shelby and the Ford Mustang
Carroll Shelby, one of America’s best known automotive designer, race car driver and businessman made many contributions to the performance car industry. Carroll Shelby raced successfully in the U.S., Europe and Latin America. Many might have heard of Carroll Shelby’s Cobra which is what he was best known for. What Shelby accomplished with the Ford Mustang model is legendary.
Ford Motor Company wanted Carroll Shelby to do with it’s new Mustang pony car what he had done with the Cobra. That is add power and performance to a sporty appearing popular vehicle. Carroll Shelby’s most famous AC cars were the 1962 and 1963 AC Cobras. In the U.S. the car was sold as the Ford/Shelby AC Cobra. The vehicle only weighed 2,100 lbs and had a 260 horsepower engine connected to a four speed transmission.
Shelby accepted the offer from Ford and began work on the Mustang in the summer of 1964. By early 1965 a new car was created. This was the Shelby Mustang GT 350. It didn’t take long for Shelby’s creation to be noticed. Shelby’s racing car version, the Shelby GT 350R had won an SCCA race against racing models like the Chevy Corvette, Production totals for the Shelby Mustang GT 350 street versions totaled 500.
The New 1067 Shelby GT 500
Prior to the introduction of the 1967 Shelby GT 500 there were other Shelby Mustangs. The Shelby Mustang GT350 appeared for the 1965 model year with a 306 HP engine. Shelby built a street version and a race version. In actuality, the street version differed only slightly from the race model by having a normal steel front bumper, but without a roll bar.
The engine of the 67 GT 500 was topped with two Holley four-barrel carburetors on a mid-rise aluminum intake manifold. The 67 GT 500 was given a longer fiberglass hood, new front and rear fascias along with a pair of high beam headlights inset into the grille.
1967 Shelby Ford Mustang GT 500 Specifications
The 1967 Shelby GT 500 was equipped with a larger engine than the GT 350’s 289 cubic inch V-8. The Shelby Mustang GT 500 was built with a 428 cubic inch big block V-8 putting out 355 HP. This particular engine was named the “Police Interceptor”. Some claimed the car’s top speed reached 180 MPH. Others report a top speed of 130 MPH. The speedometer display however indicated a top speed of 140. There was another engine option for the 1967 GT 500 which was a 427 cubic inch V-8 without the Shelby modifications.
Transmissions were a four speed manual and a three speed automatic.
Brakes were front disc and rear drums.
Dimensions included a 108.0 inch wheelbase, 190.0 inch overall outside length, 71.9 inch width and 50.6 inch height. Weight came in at 3,450 lbs.
Reference material for this article includes..Shelby Mustang: The Total Performance Pony Car by Colin Comer..Inside Shelby American : Wrenching and Racing With Carroll Shelby in the 1960’s by John Morton..Collectible Cars by the Editors of Consumer Guide.
The 1967 Shelby GT 500 Collector Car
The Ford Mustang found it’s permanent place in American performance car history and the credit for this is given to Carroll Shelby. The 1967 Shelby GT 500 is one of the top muscle cars of all time. The GT 500 was a big step up from the GT 350 and it defined what a muscle car should be in both appearance and performance. Today these examples are quite rare as it’s reported that only 2,050 1967 GT 500’s were produced.
Current auction prices or the 1967 Shelby GT 500 can range from $200,000 up to seven figures for the 67 Shelby Super Snake.
(Article and photos copyright Auto Museum Online)