1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 » Unique Performance

Unique Performance On Hot Rod TV

Cameron — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 09:53:45 +0000

I can’t believe I haven’t seen this before. It appears to be an old episode of Hot Rod TV featuring the now shamed former company Unique Performance.

It’s weird watching this video obviously from happier times and knowing how it all ended with title washing, prison labour and the likes.

The video features interviews with the major players like Doug Hasty, Carroll Shelby, Chip Foose and various other former Unique Performance employees. The footage from inside the company I have never seen before. It’s well worth watching.

Yet Another Rosen Systems Auction Offloads Unique Performance Shells

Cameron — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:05:28 +0000

We all remember the first and second Unique Performance auctions with the aim of recouping the some $1.37m dollars owed to the IRS. Well it seems they still had some of Unique’s shells to part with and managed to auction them off this past week.

Of the three shells they had two with signs of rust and one of which looked like a rust bucket. Though the one good one seemed to have been painted and in really good condition and sold for $US12,500. Which is actually a great deal compared to a knew Dynacorn body. Here’s a good summary from 67fastbackshell on the Eleanor forums.

“I guess that is a pretty good deal when you compare it to a dynacorn shell for 16,000. Granted, the car will probably need to be resprayed once the doors, trunklid, and upper nose are fit, but still you are starting out ahead with a 800.00 set of fenders, 400 worth of scoops, 100 taillamp panel, a 500 lower nose, a 150 nose bracket, 200 worth of decklid endcaps, 400 worth of rear flares, a 800.00 hood and not to mention that the body work has been finished-minus doors, upper nose, and decklid of course. Then you have to add in the metal upgrades-tubbed wheel wells, side exhuast cut outs, heater hose tubing in passenger shock tower, reinforcements added to the shock towers, cut outs in cowl, cowl vent holes welded shut, roll bar, etc. Im pretty sure you would have to pay about 20,000 to get a shell into the condition.”

All three were sold without VIN numbers and a bill of sale only. Head over to Rosen Systems to take a look.

[Source]

Shelby Authorized “continuation” Cars For Unique Performance Customers

Cameron — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 09:01:40 +0000

We’ve all heard the story of Unique Performance, the once unstoppable company pumping out some magnificent, official, Eleanor vehicles to cashed up customers. Their downfall consumed most of the stories about vintage mustangs of 2008 which included the police investigations into fraud, the use of prisoners to build their cars, the auctioning off of all assets and of course the hundreds of customers who lost thousands of dollars.

However news this week out of Carroll Shelby Licensing is sure to bring some joy to those customers who lost out. In short Shelby has agreed to a new licensing agreement with two auto shops in Texas so that the series of continuation GT500SE and GT350SR cars can be completed. Each finished vehicle will get an official serial number from Shelby along with inclusion into the Shelby Worldwide Registry. While the offer is being made royalty free, customers will still be required to pay for the completion of the cars.

PRESS RELEASE:

Carroll Shelby Licensing Grants License to Complete Shelby Cars for Unique Motorcars Former Customers

LOS ANGELES, Mar 10, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Carroll Shelby Licensing Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International Inc. (Pink Sheets: CSBI), has entered into license agreements with Kustom Classics of Fort Worth and Riley Performance Motorcars of Valley View, Texas, to allow completion of the continuation Shelby GT500SE and GT350SR cars contracted for by the former customers of Unique Performance and Unique Motorcars. Each completed car will receive an official Shelby continuation serial number and inclusion into the Shelby Worldwide Registry. Unique Performance/Motorcars filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in Texas Federal court in 2007.

Though the completion of these cars will be at the owner’s expense, Carroll Shelby Licensing will extend this license royalty free, in an attempt to ease the financial pain of Unique Performance’s failure to deliver their customer’s cars as contracted. In spite of Unique Performance’s failure to deliver their customer’s cars as contracted, customers who want to complete their Shelby vehicle through one of the two North Texas shops can contact either shop for details.

“Carroll Shelby Licensing struck this agreement on behalf of customers who contracted and paid Unique Performance for continuation Shelby cars but did not receive them,” said Carroll Shelby Licensing president John Luft. “Many of them asked us for permission to complete the build of their Shelby. We found two qualified and experienced shops that can finish the cars to Shelby specifications. This offer is being made royalty free from Carroll Shelby Licensing to help Unique’s customers who truly want a Shelby to fulfill that dream.”

The two shops will build vehicles to Shelby specs for customers that paid Unique Performance for Shelby continuation cars; no new vehicles can be built and sold under this agreement. The shops can locate a donor vehicle or convert a customer owned one. A build of materials and inspection by Shelby Automobiles and Carroll Shelby Licensing representatives is part of the program, but customers must assume the cost to build the cars. Individuals who paid Unique Performance a deposit for a Shelby car can contact either shop for details and requirements. Kustom Classics can be reached at (817) 492-4441 ( www.kustomclassics.com) and Riley Performance Motorcars is at (214) 587-5323 and www.rileyrpm.com.

About Carroll Shelby Licensing

Automotive manufacturer and entrepreneur Carroll Shelby is one of the most famous and successful high performance visionaries in the world. In 1998, he founded Carroll Shelby Licensing Inc., which is the exclusive holder of trademarks and vehicle design rights for some of the most famous muscle cars and high-performance vehicles. CSL also holds trademark rights for Shelby-branded apparel, accessories and collectibles. For more information about the company or licensing opportunities, call (310) 914-1843 or visit www.shelbylicensing.com.

[Source]

Own A Unique Performance Mustang? Need It Fixed? Look No Further!

Cameron — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:21:24 +0000

If you bought an Eleanor Mustang from Unique Performance, do you sometimes want to give it back? Well you can’t so if you were one of the lucky ones (or unlucky ones) to come out of the whole Unique Performance saga with a car you may have found that the engine overheats or doesn’t make the power it should, or the suspension components don’t work quite right or the car have some other quality issue.

Well a company out of Azle specialises in righting the wrongs that Unique Performance has done with your precious investment. Revved Auto Concepts is owned and run by Sean Sawyer who with two other coleauges worked at Unique Performance shortly before it folded and are devoting a portion of their business to fixing or rebuilding the cars.

“We are probably the leading experts on how to make the [Unique] cars right,” said Mr. Sawyer, 33, who grew up in Hawaii and was a senior master tech at a Ford dealership before getting into building specialty cars.

A look at their website gives the impression that they use their Unique ties to concentrate a large portion of their business to fixing the Eleanors they previously worked hard on.

“By the time, Unique went under, we had solved a lot of the problems with the Super Snakes,” he said.

Their site details the upgrades and fixes that are common with the Unique Performance cars which include Suspension & Steering Upgrades, Engine control, Fuel system, electrical system, Clutch Upgrades.

The page hides nothing, detailing with pictures the errors and problems the Unique Performance cars had.

It’s good to see these guys are giving something back especially when they worked for a company that took so much away from it’s clients.

[Source]
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Denice Halicki Wins Dispute With Carroll Shelby Over ‘Eleanor’ Name

Cameron — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:18:28 +0000

It’s been a long anticipated result but now Denice Halicki can breathe a sigh of relief after being handed victory in her appeal to the Ninth Court in the dispute with Carroll Shelby over the names ‘Eleanor’ and ‘Gone In 60 Seconds’.

“In this ruling, the Ninth Circuit reversed the District Court’s dismissal of Ms. Halicki’s case, ruling that she did have standing rights to pursue her copyright and trademark claims against Carroll Shelby and the defendants. The Ninth Circuit also provided guidance to the District Court on remand as to the copyrightability of the “Eleanor” car character and the ownership of the “Eleanor” and “Gone in 60 Seconds” trademarks.” You can see the Court’s published opinion HERE

The complaint arose when Carroll Shelby entered into a business relationship with Doug Hasty and Unique Performance. Ms. Halicki alleged the defendants knowingly and deliberately sought to capitalise on and exploit “Eleanor’s” fame from the movie, even though the defendants had no association with, participation in, or connection with the creation or development of the movie or “Eleanor.”

The ‘Eleanor’ name and ‘Gone In 60 Seconds’ were the brainchild of Halicki’s late husband, H.B. “Toby” Halicki, where “Eleanor” got her first starring role in the original 1974 “Gone in 60 Seconds.”

Denice Halicki has recently joined forces with Classic Recreations LLC, allowing use of the ‘Eleanor’ and Gone In 60 Seconds’ names in building the only official recreations of the movie car from the 2000 blockbuster.

[Source]
[Classic Recreations]

Unique Performance: Hasty To Give His Side Of The Story Soon!

Cameron — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:22:57 +0000

Historically on this blog I have covered the negative aspect of what has happened to Unique Performance. Most of my posts have been based off media reports and personal accounts which I have trusted without a doubt. But as we all know there are two sides to every story and the Unique Performance story is one I would love to get the other side of.

Fortunately for us we may just get that chance. Unbeknown to most people in the Mustang community, Douglas Hasty himself has been posting on the highly respected Customfastbackca or Eleanor forums.

Now we cannot confirm 100% that the online identity is in fact Mr Hasty himself but such things as his phone number left in the posts have been verified by people who know Hasty.

Hasty, first commented in a thread that was originally discussing the shells sold at the Unique Performance auction. The discussion touched on many points but seemed to settle on discussions of where most of the money Unique Performance took for customers ended up.

Replying to one disgruntled forum member Hasty, under the online handle of ‘UMCARS’, gave a small insight into his side of the story.

“I would be happy to talk with you or your attorney anytime to fill in the details why Unique is closed. I have been investigated and can say that at no time has funds been transfered into any accounts for my benefit. There is a reason why Unique is closed that will come out shortly, however until then the likes of 67 Super Snake will continue to keep things stirred up. Call me anytime 972-877-XXXX Doug H.”

Since this comment we have all been eagerly anticipating Douglas’ side of the story and it seems it won’t be too long. This morning Hasty replied again, this time answering some questions that have been raised and reiterating the point that his side of the story is coming soon.

“Super Snakey,
My offer still stands. If you have a local attorney I would be happy to sit down with them and discuss. There’s nothing to fabricate, the facts are what they are.

67 SuperSnake,
I’m not blaming you for stirring things up. The media did a very good job of that, however moving money over to my mother, paying off house’s, that new to me……

…..For the record that seems to get buried, Unique had 125 employee’s and approx. 25 inmates that were skilled in their trade. The story will be out soon why Unique closed, it had nothing to do with the information that’s in the media and blog’s. I’ll post as soon as I can.

Have a great day.

Douglas”

I’ve contacted Mr Hasty for comment but am yet to receive anything back. In the meantime all we can do is wait for his side of the story. I’m sure it will be worth the read.

[Soruce]

eBay Find: OCC Unique Performance Eleanor Chopper

Cameron — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:21:11 +0000

We all know that just about all of Unique Performances‘ assets were auctioned off not once but twice but what ever happened to that custom chopper that the guys at Orange County Choppers put together for Hasty and the gang?

Wonder no more because the once coverted custom chopper is now for sale on Ebay for a cool Buy It Now price of $300,000 but wait you also get a tape of the episode it was featured on! Bargain.

Here’s the auction description. “The tank looks like the head of a cobra with fangs below the handlebars and airbrushed snake scales. Lecarra fabricated the handlebars, which feature wood inlay like the original Shelby’s steering wheel. Rowe performance wheels are machined to resemble the Shelby’s PSE wheels. The mirror uses the GT 500E logo and the Super Snake logo stands proudly across the bottom of the bike. Shelby GT 500E logos adorn the chopper in many key spots. Carroll Shelby’s signature and the Shelby GT 500E logo are embroidered into the custom leather seat. The engine is supercharged just like the Shelby GT 500E Super Snake, producing an amazing 131HP. This one of a kind Shelby Chopper is being offered from a private collection with an appraisal of 1.2 million.”

[Source]

Unique Performance Second Round Auction Catalogue Online

Cameron — Mon, 26 May 2008 10:18:48 +0000

The second Unique Performance auction held by Rosen Systems which I posted about last week has finally had it’s catalogue uploaded to the website. Among the 401 items going under the hammer on June 24th are quite a number of body shells in various states of completion. Some 39 shells in fact.

Now I’m not sure if these items are left overs from the original auction or are just extra lots that weren’t included in the first round. Whatever the case it provides some would be restorers with a heap of possible bargains and what I’ve noticed with this auction is there appears to be a lot more fiber body parts to build your Eleanor.

Check out some of the lots.

A Second Unique Performance Bankruptcy Auction?

Cameron — Sun, 11 May 2008 09:54:44 +0000

The Unique Performance auction that took place in March raised just over one million dollars to pay off IRS debts but this was no where near enough to compensate the unfortunate customers who had lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. At the time I commented on how the money generated from the auction was no where near enough. But there may be hope yet for those who have lost out with a possible second auction in the works.

It appears that not everything was sold at the Unique Performance auction and now the Rosen Systems website has been updated with a second Unique Performance auction with “Approximately 40-Mustang Fastback Shells, Body Parts, Tools, Lifts” up for auction for “Bankruptcy Case No. 07-35628-HDH-7″

The date of this auction is slated for June 24th, 2008 at 10:00 AM and is online only. The website is a little bare at the moment and no catalogue has been released. Check out Rosen Systems website for more information. More info to come.

[Source]

Unique Performance Federal Felony Update

Cameron — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 06:00:31 +0000

It seems the guys over at Jalopnik may have a man on the inside, someone who can comment on the Unique Performance federal felony charges we reported on a few weeks back. The reason why we think these charges were dropped points to the 25 odd state felony charges that still remain and Jalopnik’s source gives a little truth to the claim.

From what we have heard from the Dallas County D.A. they would much prefer to have Doug in a nasty state prison somewhere in west Texas in the 100+ degree sun than in some Federal country club where he can get visits from his girlfriend. Plus Governor Perry would surely prefer to have him under his control since he was made to look like an ass on TV by Stephanie Lucerio asking him why they were having his prisoners cutting VIN plates off cars inside the prison.

Jalopnik says the “source on this is someone with ties to the company. We’re going to keep his or her name to ourselves because of issues with Doug Hasty, the owner of Unique Performance, allegedly hassling people who talk to the media.”

Props to Jalopnik for dishing the dirt.

[Soruce]