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1968 Shelby Mustang GT350, GT500 and GT500 KR
$21.95 WASItem# CARTECH-CT572
Weight: 1.5 lbs.
Publisher: CarTech Inc. / SA Design
Softcover: 96 pages, 130 color photos
Dimensions: 8.2 x 9.0 x 0.3 inches
FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS $200+
This volume of CarTech's Muscle Cars In Detail series covers the 1968 Shelby GT350, GT500, and GT500 KR. In 1968, Ford sought to take over much of the process of producing Shelby Mustangs and increased that production dramatically to meet anticipated sales demand, so it was a bit of a transition year. In an effort to appeal to muscle car fans rather than race fans, the cars were losing their edgy race car feel and were becoming more high-end performance road cars with a long list of performance and comfort options including 428 Cobra Jet engines, automatic transmissions, and air conditioning. They may have no longer been sports cars, but they were now fantastic muscle cars.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1:
Understanding Carroll Shelby’s Mustangs
Peace, Prosperity and Performance
Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday
Declaration Denied
From “Secretary’s Car” to Sports Car
GT350s for Road and Track
A Sedan Racer No Longer
The Process Explained
Special Orders
Chapter 2:
Evolution (into less revolutionary)
Selling Out Means Selling More
Style over Substance, by Design
Chapter 3:
Planning the Most Prolific Shelby Yet
Top Down, Popularity Up
Appearance Was Paramount
But Performance Still Mattered
The “Shelby Cobra” Lives On (sort of)
Change of Venue
A Perfect Storm
A. O. Smith
The Vision Becomes Reality
Production Begins . . . Slowly
“Ding In Roof”
It’s the Economy, Stupid
Chapter 4:
The 1968 Shelby Cobra in Detail: The Same . . . But Different
Keeping It Simple(r)
Cookie-Cutter Consistency
Roger Miller, the Cobra Jet and the King of the Road
The Snake is Quicker than the Bowtie
Gold (non) Standard
More Color Curiosities
A Reduced Rent-a-Racer Revival
More Appropriate for the Masses
Chapter 5:
A Shelby Cobra Hardtop (sort of)
Camaro, Firebird and Javelin Made it Happen
CS (but not for Carroll Shelby)
Built for California, in California
Chapter 6:
Legacy and Legend
Explaining (or trying to) the Unexplainable
Affordability Begets Unaffordability
The Price Pyramid
Extraordinary within the Mundane
The Numbers Game
Trust . . . But Verify
Shelby’s Mustang, Redefined
Appendix A:
Comparative 1968 Shelby Cobra Performance Data
Appendix B:
1968 Shelby Production Numbers, Colors and Prices d
Appendix C:
1968 Shelby Numerology: VIN Codes and Tags