The guys over at Hot Rod Magazine posted an awe-inspiring story this week we could all only dream about. Rich Barnes was towing home a nice rare 1968 Ford Mustang Shelby GT. 350 find home after finding it chained to a carport in Compton. Only to have the car on the trailer attract attention for all the right reasons.
The 68 Shelby G.T. 350 fastback with chassis 8T02J149293-01092 was parked and chained to the carport. Image: Muscle Car Review
After delivering a Ford Bronco to a customer Rich thought it would be a fun idea to go on a bit of a road trip in the hopes of tracking down a Mustang he saw in an obscure advertisement. He had spoken with the owner once before. He was reluctant to part with the rare car though Rich took a chance and went on the drive anyway. Rich didn’t realise the nature of Compton and it’s surrounding areas “I didn’t think anything of it until I started driving into the area and saw how depressed and trashed it was.” This would explain why the car was found chained to the car port.
Upon talking to the owner he found out the fastback had the original 302 J-code small-block under the hood, backed by a four-speed and a 9-inch rearend. Somebody had flared the fenders too. They also dropped the suspension and beefed up the stock brakes. It was one of 223 Hertz rental cars. The Wimbledon White Shelby had a little race history. The body was California rust-free. A deal was done and Rich parted with $8,200 and drove off with a nice 1968 Shelby GT350.
The car was complete and did not take much to start and run.
Now here’s were it gets interesting. While filling up with GAS somewhere outside Reno a bearded gentleman in his 70’s commented that he had one just like it but “it’s a GT500!”. The guy seemed genuine though was reluctant to take Rich to see it despite wanting to sell it.
Once Rich returned home he was straight on the phone and organised to go straight over as soon as possible. Upon inspecting the gentleman’s property Rich, to his amazement, did found the red Shelby GT500 in a shipping container. “We rolled it out and cleared things off, and it really looked like hell,” Rich remembers. “But underneath, the body was in really good shape with little or no rust. He showed me extra blocks, cranks, heads, trannys, and all these other parts that went with the car.”
I’m afraid that’s where the story ends with no mention from Rich if he was able to walk away with yet another rare find.
To read the full story head on over to Hot Rod Magazine. Highly recommended!
Photos and story courtesy of Muscle Car Review
Our friends over at HotRod.com have posted a great little story about a truly awesome barn find. Something we all wish we’d come across. A 1967 Shelby GT500.
The car, which belongs to Scott Drake’s Paul Kerner was recently displayed ‘as is’ at the Mustang 50th anniversary show in Las Vegas.
The car was purchased in 1997 as a true barn find. “A coworker found the car. He said it was coming out the next day in the local Recycler, so if I wanted the car, I had to buy it now.” So then and there the car was purchased for $14,000. Yes, you read that right.
The car has sat in his garage for quite some time and he admits it’s something he’s just “never got around to”.
Though what is interesting about the car is in 2003 a rep for Kylie Minogue got in touch wanting to buy it for $100,000 for her father Ron. Paul, in no hurry to sell, wanted $110k and so the deal didn’t happen.
Funnily enough only a six years later news hit that Ron Minogue got duped out of a fake 1968 GT500
So today the car still remains as it was found all those years ago. Head on over to HotRod.com for the full story and pictures.
Finding a Mustang hidden in a barn is something we can all dream about. But finding a genuine Shelby GT500 convertible is another story. As is this case. But before you go reaching for your wallet take a close look. This Shelby has seen better days.
The photos tell the story. Unfortunately this car is full of rust and would be a long road to bring it back to its former glory. The floors appear to have been rusted right through and just about everything else on the car needs attention. This would make quite an expensive and lengthy restoration for the lucky person who manages to purchase it.
The vehicle is a documented 428 Cobra Jet engine with a 4-speed manual transmission and is 1 of 408 convertibles, 1of 153 engine with manual trans and 1 of 197 with lime gold paint according the the Marti Report.
At the time of writing it is currently going for $50,100 with a little over 4 days remaining. Head on over to Ebay to have a look. Good luck to the lucky bidder!
This magnificent example of an original Shelby with a documented and special history is a rare sight these days. This 1966 Shelby GT350 once owned by car enthusiast George Hodges who sadly passed away from lymphoma cancer on Dec. 8th 1993.
The car managed to win the new survivor class at the 1993 SAAC national convention where Carroll Shelby himself was on hand to congratulate George. The car only has 53,700 miles on it and seems to have all original parts.
The seller claims the car has been well looked after and even
For the last 20ish years the car has been kept in a barn [a nice one] in S. Carolina. She was taken out for the typical Sunday drive and has always been maintained in turn key fashion.
Head on over to eBay to check out the full write up but make sure your pockets are deep as this example is priced at a nice $250,000.
This great 1970 Mustang Boss 302 currently on eBay was purchased new in 1970. It was originally Lime Green Metallic with Ivy Green interior. Early on it was converted into a racing vehicle and was competitively raced and until 1976. From there it was sold off and stored in a barn for 15 years.
This is a former race car that was road raced and drag raced in the 70s. It does not have any affiliation with Holman & Moody. Documentation did exist at one time but I did not get any when I bought the car. The original parts that were removed from this car are also gone; sold off years ago before anyone knew future parts values. What is included (but not shown and from a 69 fastback) is a complete IP, wiring harness, front bucket seats, and rear seats and trim to be able to return the car back to stock and make it streetable.
It’s quite a unique find and is currently up for auction on eBay. At the time of writing it was without bids still at the $30,000 starting price.
This is probably the coolest barn find story we’ve ever come across. A genuine 1967 Shelby GT350 that, instead of being restored from the ground up, has not been touched cosmetically. However all the insides, running gear and everything you cannot see have been replaced with new parts to ensure she runs and drives perfectly. The result? A beautiful period car, that is brand new underneath. A car that can lay claim to the old Ricky-racers of times past.
The project can best be described by the guys at Classic Motorsport.
The continuous needling—along with a few beers—led us to form a half-assed plan: How about we leave the outside just the way it is? Some may call it rust and grime, others may call it patina, but we’ll completely fix all the mechanics underneath it and make the car safe and fun to drive.
Everyone at the office loved that idea, and after a few more beers we somehow decided we’d try to get the necessary work done in six weeks. Then, we’d take the newly resurrected Shelby—instead of our Tiger project car—on this year’s Going To The Sun Rally in Montana.
What could possibly go wrong? It’s just a complete chassis restoration on a nearly 50-year-old car that we’ve only owned for a week and driven a total of 8 miles.
Dubbed the ‘Terlingua Terror’ as a tribute to Jerry Titus’s Trans-Am winning Shelby notchback as well as a nod to the fact that the Texas 1000 rally route often includes the Terlingua area of Texas, the car had every mechanical part under the hood and on the chassis restored or replaced with an new one from NPD. The car wasn’t originally fitted with a limited-slip differential so the guys added one in as well as removing the non-original 289 engine and replacing it with a Ford Racing 500 horsepower, 363 cubic-inch engine.
Vintage vinyl graphics were added to the car to increase that ‘used’ look which in our opinion makes the car. The concept of having an ‘original’ untouched car cosmetically has never even occurred to us here. But it has now genuinely thrown a spanner in the works. Anyone have a cheap barn find we can buy?
Mustang Monthly have a great in-depth write up about it by the owner of the car, Tim Suddard. And also check out Classic Motorsports project page which details every step of the project from start to finish. We’ve literally been reading these four hours!
Photos courtesy of Mustangs Monthly and Classic Motorsports Magazine
We like to keep things vintage around here at 67mustangblog. We’re not sure why? Maybe it’s just because we love the vintage Mustang so much. So when we post about a 1970 Boss it’s probably the last in years of Mustangs we will post about. But what a car to post about. The 1970 Boss 302. This car was apparently garaged by it’s original owner for 25 years and is now being offered by the new owner on eBay.
The new seller has replaced the carpet but claims the car is still quite original with 70,000 on the clock. The seller adds “I rebuilt the brakes (pads, new calipers and silicon fluid), added fresh oil, full tune, new gas tank/sender, installed new black carpet, found four decent Ford 15X7 magnums and installed good tires.”
It’s claimed she runs and drives well and all in all is in good shape for something that has been idle for 25 years. You can check out the full description here.
[eBay] via [Barnfinds]
It must be the year of the barn find. They seem to be showing up everywhere. This example, from in Canton, Georgia, has been stored in a garage for many years though looks in quite good shape. The C-Code car comes with the original 289 with Holley 4bbl, Automatic Transmission, Power Steering, Manual Drum Brakes (New Master Cylinder), Good Battery. The seller states the car “runs, drives and stops” which is great for a car that is 47 years old and has been parked for a great number of those.
The interior appears to be all original and also looks in great shape. There does appear to be minimal rust though overall the car looks quite solid. Though we imagine there would be a lot of work needed to be done on this one. Truth is we love a a good barn find and they don’t get much better than a Mustang Barn Find.
If you’re after a project car or just want to have a close look. Check it out here on eBay
