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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
Member Is Offline
Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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Paula,
Por Favor, put away that huge paint brush and treat each reply separately, if you would...
I know nothing of his social conduct except his dealings with myself. He was indeed a "larger than life" character, in many, many respects. To some
folks myself included "some" of his behavior (reports I read about) was unacceptable.
But in many respects he was a genius. A cranky genius. Eccentric, abrasive, a competitor par excelánce.
And he did not bullchit when talking face to face about what he could and could not do. He could set up Weber carburetors like no other person on the
face of the planet. He bragged that he could and would. And then he backed it up. One hundred and ten freakin' percent.
As I really get serious about turning into a old fart. I am far less tolerant of people who B.S. their way through life. In tourist Mexico I have met
more Vietnam era helicopter door gunners (who could not somehow remember how to disassemble and reassemble a 7.62mm M60), retired CIA spooks, CEO's of
various corporations, and retired astronauts). Around the year 2003, in Puerto Vallarta, I happened to screw up and merely mention that I had lived in
Tecate, California for several years. One loudmouth at the table who had happened to be telling the most outrageous of tales, cried forth "That's
impossible. I'm calling you on this! I've been through Tecate, and there's nothing there!". I excused myself and walked away from the table.
Shelby may have had his negative points but the sonofab-tch performed and backed up what he said.
Yeah, it's a guy thing.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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bufeo
Senior Nomad
Posts: 793
Registered: 11-16-2003
Location: Santa Fe New Mexico
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DavidE
Bufeo, have you ever seen or know about cobras with a SOHC 427? I saw a white one near Clearlake Highlands in 1970. I was (and am) still astonished.
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Yes, those motors were absolute brutes. Talk about muscle-car in that AC! Wow! One, two, three in the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hr. in the GT40s prepped by
Shelby (although I think Holman-Moody did the third-place car) and they were a joy to listen to down the Mulsanne Straight. The fourth-place (Porsche)
was several laps down.
Having that happen would be analagous to having the Dakar Minis come over and sweep the podium in the Baja Mil. (Doubt that's going to happen though.
 )
During the time I owned the 289 I had a reason to call Shelby-American with a question. This was prior to the move to Nevada. A person answered the
phone; I explained my need; she said, "Just a moment."
There was silence (maybe Musac, I don't remember that part because...) then a voice came on, "This is Carroll."
I was stunned into stuttering, "Well, you see, I've got this 289...Is this really Carroll Shelby"?
Anyway, there's lots more to that story. Won't bore you with it here.
I loved the 289. It was as quick and nimble as a polo pony but I don't think it held a candle to the 427s or the street-version 428s.
Allen R
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
Member Is Offline
Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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I have never had the heart to relate this story to anyone:
In 1966, the Ford dealership in Concord, CA. had a parts manager by the name of Simpson. Earl Jones Ford, and Rett White Ford in Walnut Creek turned
out to be sponsors in my brief career as an AHRA drag racer.
I purchased a new cosmoline coated Paxton supercharger, complete 312 cylinder head set, camshaft, and pistons for the 312 engine for the sum of
ninety-nine dollars cash. All for the 1957 Thunderbird.
In 19970, my landlord a young man himself, had visibly drooled over these parts stacked in my garage. One day after returning from visiting my folks
at Lake Tahoe, I found everything gone. The only entrance to the garage was through the house or opening the garage door. Of course the landlord had a
copy of the house keys for security purposes. He denied everything. My house door had a Schlage industrial 6-pin tumbler dead bolt and the garage door
had eighth inch stainless sister plating around the American Lock manganese steel padlock. The windows in the whole house had oak one-by-ones jammed
into the slider railings.
Such I guess is my fortune or lack of it...
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3752
Registered: 9-8-2003
Location: Arizona....."Free at last from crumbling Cali
Member Is Offline
Mood: muy amable
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And all on a borrowed heart
He got a heart transplant in 1990
Made 22 years on the swap.
Sort of like dropping a 427 into the slot where a 305 had been.
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bufeo
Senior Nomad
Posts: 793
Registered: 11-16-2003
Location: Santa Fe New Mexico
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by thebajarunner
He got a heart transplant in 1990
Made 22 years on the swap.
Sort of like dropping a 427 into the slot where a 305 had been. |
That would have been really "Boss"!
Allen R
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Mexray
Super Nomad
Posts: 1016
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: California Delta
Member Is Offline
Mood: Baja Time
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The passing of a special guy from a by-gone era - when there was no substitution for Cubic Inches when it came to building a hot rod...
We bought a 'new' Lime Green 1968 GT500KR, rag-top Shelby Mustang from the SF Auto Auction in early 1969 - the car was a Ford District car, and never
been licensed, 1,700 miles on the 'clock' - Price, $3000...
We had a ball with that car, even put a portable hitch and towed a small pop-up trailer for a wild vacation - nobody passed us on the road that trip!
Our KR had a specially valved automatic, and you could punch it going 50, it would down shift clear down to 'low' if you weren't careful for ONE WILD
RIDE!...got it sideways more than once, just screwing around...
One New Years, we decided to go up to Tahoe for a long weekend, and decided to stay at Shelby's Motel in Stateline (he owned the Ford Dealer there at
that time)...
Our luck was holding, and Shelby was in town for some skiing/business. We met him during a lull, I suppose, as he spent about an hour with my wife
& me, telling tales he'd probably told to others a 1000 times, but with that Texas speak like we were old buddies....
He put up with us dragging him out to the parking lot to take a couple of pictures standing in front of our GT500KR - wish I'd had the forethought to
have him sign inside the hood or something...He told me that the 428 was the best motor they'd ever put in the Mustangs...
He had been out of the Shelby Mustang business by the time the 68's came out - he said he'd sold it back to Ford...He was spending most of his time
down on this 'little' (mega acreage) ranch in Texas when we met him...
His motel was all decked out in the small lobby area with lots of his old racing pictures, as well as some Cobra stuff - it was a great, cozy place
with only about a dozen rooms - probably his way of having a Tahoe place to stay that might have returned a few bucks as well!
A great guy that will be missed by many in his racing circles...
I still buy his Shelby Chili seasoning for my home made chili - made my last batch just last Thursday - Karma, perhaps...
RIP old friend...Sure wish we hadn't sold the GT500KR back in 1976!!!!!!!
[Edited on 5-15-2012 by Mexray]
According to my clock...anytime is \'BAJA TIME\' & as Jimmy Buffett says,
\"It doesn\'t use numbers or moving hands It always just says now...\"
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acadist
Super Nomad
Posts: 1125
Registered: 3-31-2007
Location: Spanaway,WA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Waiting for the Sun
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What a cool bunch of stories! The Cobra always was and always will be my dream car, just the damn powerball won't cooperate. RIP Carroll
Dave
I moved to CO and they made me buy a little rod to make it feel like a real fish
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