I’ve enjoyed reading about other people’s non-Cougar cars and projects, so I thought I’d include mine.
Although I dearly love my Cougars, my first automotive crush was on Shelby Mustangs. Unfortunately, they’ve always been out of reach.
However, while recuperating from a motorcycle wreck that almost cost me my life, I finally decided that this was an itch I had to scratch. After much searching for the “right” Shelby, I finally found it. Originally sold in Virginia, the original owner parked it (inside, fortunately) in the mid-eighties. He decided to have it restored in 2014. Unfortunately, he died a year later. To make it presentable to sell, the family had the cosmetic aspects of the restoration finished, but a lot of mechanical issues- sloppy steering, wiring problems, various incorrect parts and so forth- were unaddressed. A gentleman in Pennsylvania bought it, but soon discovered that it was going to be more of a project than he wanted, and put it up for sale. We were able to reach an agreement on price that reflected the work the car needed, and since I’m much more comfortable doing mechanical repairs than paint & interior, it was just the sort of thing I was looking for.
I brought it home to Arkansas in January, and have been working on it as time permits. Its not done yet, although I’ve fixed enough that I now trust it on the road. Anyway, here are a few pics:
The '69’s weren’t the fire-breathing track cars the early Shelbys had been, but man are they pretty:
Optioned just the way I’d have done it in '69. 428, 4-speed, 3.50:1 Traction-Lok and no A/C.
This is an older pic. Caution Fan decal has since been removed and a few other incorrect details have been addressed.
There’s probably a Ford fan out there that wouldn’t like to own a Shelby but I’m certianly not one of them and I as well wanted one so bad when I was young…
Stunning car, thanks for sharing, grats to you…ENJOY!
Very sweet and congratulations on your purchase. Your story is very similar to mine. My dad bought a mustang new in 68, sold it in 72. Bought another 68 fastback in 77. While looking for mustang parts, came home with our first Cougar, 68 big block car. My brother and I both drove that Cougar as our first car. Then many Cougars were bought and parted out to restore the 68, and the the two Eliminators were also bought. I always loved 67 Shelbys and one day I decided that I needed one. I worked hard and saved, and in 97 bought my Shelby. I enjoy my GT350 and it puts a big smile on my face every time I take it out and hope you enjoy yours just as much!
Thanks for sharing, that is a beautiful car. I didn’t know we could show our other car passions on the Classic Cougar site. Is this frowned upon? If not I have something to share.
Beautiful car! I remember going to look at a similar one in the Seattle area back in the early 90’s. Gulfstream Aqua, GT500, it had been traded in for an RV. I loved the color, but couldn’t reconcile the work it needed vs the price they were asking.
If I’d had my wits about me I would have realized I could look up your car in my copy of the SAAC Registry.
It appears your Shelby was purchased on June 23, 1969 by I. Robert White of Woodbridge VA and that at it’s 6,000 mile service it had a noise in the steering column and the transmission was hard to get into reverse.
This sub forum is called Cougar Owners other Fords and Mercurys. If you have something that fits the description, this is the place to post it. My sense of the group here is that they are pretty interested in anything with a blue oval on it. If it is front wheel drive and has a massive wing on the back and a fart can exhaust, well… not so much.
Gulfstream is definitely the best 69/70 Shelby color (maybe Grabber Orange). Good thing you took that fan sticker off, you won’t get the 1000 noodle lashing.
Thanks Phillip. The Coralsnake site is a real treasure trove of information.
I have the original Koons Ford sales receipt for the car. I sent a copy to the site owner to add to his collection of Shelby dealership paperwork.
Interestingly, it is dated 7/3/69. So I wonder where the 6/23/69 sales date listed by SAAC comes from?
^^^ That original invoice is awesome! Stuff like that is invaluable.
SAAC gets their info from original factory service records. Mistakes do happen and they update the info all the time so the different sale dates could be human error or maybe there is some reason for the two dates?
I’m sure Pete Disher (coralsnake) really appreciated you sending him a copy.
![IMG_1151[1].JPG](https://forum.classiccougarcommunity.com/uploads/db3333/original/2X/4/43f9ce7980b10b5283b52ea76a4ccf2e6d9b9e33.jpeg)
