The Complete Book of Shelby Automobiles: Cobras, Mustangs, and Super Snakes » (First)

Shelby American gained almost instant recognition from the moment the first Cobra hit the street. The entire original Cobra/Ford GT/Shelby Mustang period spanned just over eight years, eight years filled with countless racing accomplishments, the World Manufacturer’s Championship, a 1-2-3 finish at LeMans, you name it and Shelby won it. The underdog did it, and to this day we are still rooting for him. And deservedly so.

The stories and accomplishments are legendary, but none more so than what can only be described as the magic this company and its cars possess to this day. It was the perfect storm. Shelby found the right ingredients, the right talent, the right sponsors, the right drivers, and enough unbridled enthusiasm to take what some had called “a bunch of junk” out into the world and not come home until there wasn’t a challenge they didn’t win. Call it what you will - dumb luck, stubbornness, or just being in the right place at the right time, nobody can deny that we will never see the likes of anything like Shelby ever again.

The Complete Book of Shelby is just that - a complete listing of Shelby automobiles. It is the story of every car ever touched by that Shelby magic. From Cobras to Mustangs, race cars to street cars, AC Cars to Toyota, it is your ticket to knowing a little more about every vehicle that Shelby "messed with" as the big Texan would say. Like anybody else, and any other manufacturer, Shelby had its ups and downs. There were great cars and cars we’d rather forget. But the story is indeed one of legend, and larger than life. The tale and the cars transcend traditional boundaries. It doesn’t matter if youare a Chevy person or a European car enthusiast, a drag racer or a road racer, into NASCAR or sports cars, or even if you're not even really a "car person" there is something about Shelby that appeals to us all. It is an American success story. And not one of us can ever deny we always respect the underdog who beat all the odds to come out on top. That, in a nutshell, is the story of Shelby American. And every one of the cars that follows has that DNA in it. Grab a copy of the Complete Book of Shelby, fasten your lap belt, and enjoy the ride.

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A lavishly illustrated tour of Shelby American's forty-plus years of making the most iconic performance cars in U.S. automotive history, with extensive details, specs, and spectacular photographs.

Contents

Introduction: The Chicken Farmer Decides to Build a Race Car

Section I: First Bite: The Shelby Cobras and Other Early Projects

Part 1: 260/289 Cobras

Chapter 1: Leaf-Spring Cobra Street Cars

Chapter 2: Leaf-Spring Cobra Competition Cars Roadsters

Chapter 3: Cobra Daytona Coupes: As Good As It Gets?

Chapter 4: Small-Block “Dragonsnake” Drag Racers and Slalom Snake: Snakes for Straight Lines and Parking Lots

Chapter 5: 1963–1964 Shelby “King Cobra” Cooper Monacos

Part 2: 427 Cobras

Chapter 6: 427 Cobra Street Cars

Chapter 7: 427 Cobra Competition Cars

Chapter 8: 427 Cobra S/C and S/C Completion Cars

Chapter 9: 427 “Dragonsnake” Drag Racer

Chapter 10: 427 Daytona Super Coupe

Chapter 11: The Other Super Snakes: The Twin-Paxton Supercharged 427 Cobras

Part 3: Other Shelby Projects

Chapter 12: 1964–1967 Sunbeam Tiger: The Red-Headed Stepchild

Chapter 13: 1968 Shelby Toyota 2000GT SCCA Program: Tokyo Drift

Section II: Shelby Fords

Part 4: Seeing a Man about a Horse: The Mustang Years

Chapter 14: 1965 GT350: The Texan Gives the Pony Some Teeth

Chapter 15: 1965 GT350 Factory Competition Models (R Models)

Chapter 16: 1965–1966 GT350 Factory Drag Cars

Chapter 17: 1966 GT350

Chapter 18: 1967 GT350 and GT500

Chapter 19: 1968 Shelby GT350 and GT500

Chapter 20: 1969–1970 Shelby GT350 and GT500

Chapter 21: 1967–1971 Shelby de Mexico

Part 5: On to Beat Ferrari

Chapter 22: The Ford GT40

Section III: Shelby andLee Iacocca’s Excellent Adventure

Part 6: The Shelby Dodges

Chapter 23: 1983–1987 Dodge Shelby Charger

Chapter 24: 1984–1986 Dodge Omni GLH

Chapter 25: 1986 Shelby Omni GLHS and 1987 Shelby GLHS Charger

Chapter 26: 1987 Shelby Lancer

Chapter 27: 1987–1989 Shelby Shadow CSX, CSX-T, and CSX-VNT

Chapter 28: 1989 Shelby Dodge Dakota

Part 7: Other Shelby Mopar Projects

Chapter 29: The Dodge Viper’s Shelby Connection

Chapter 30: Another Race Car for the Masses: 1989 Shelby Can-Am–Spec Racer

Section IV: New Millennium Shelbys

Part 8: Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile, He Just Stole the Engine

Chapter 31: 1999 Shelby Series 1

Part 9: What’s Old Is New Again: The Continuation Shelby Cobras

Chapter 32: CSX7000 and CSX8000 289 Continuation Cobras

Chapter 33: CSX1000 and CSX4000 427 Continuation Cobras

Section V: 1965 All Over Again

Part 10: Back to Ford

Chapter 34: 2004 Ford Shelby Cobra Concept Car and 2005 Shelby GR-1 Concept Car

Chapter 35: 2005–2006 Ford GT Supercar

Chapter 36: 2006–2007 Mustang Shelby GT-Hertz and 2007–2009 Mustang Shelby GT

Chapter 37: 2007–2009 Mustang Shelby GT500, GT500 KR, and GT500 Super Snake