Annual Shelby Tribute Show Honored 50 Years Of Shelby Performance

The fourth annual Carroll Shelby tribute and car show took place last May 21, 2016 at the Shelby facility in Gardena, California. The event celebrated Carroll Shelby’s life and legacy by showcasing numerous types of Shelby and Ford cars.

This included examples of late-model and vintage GT350s and GT500s, as well as all three (’66, ’06, and ’16) Shelby GT350H and GT-H (Hertz) models. There were also a good selection of other late-model and vintage Mustangs on hand as well as several ’05-’06 Ford GTs. A tribute to Shelby’s fun-loving lifestyle included a Terlingua-inspired chili bar as well as the availability of Shelby craft beer.

In addition to paying tribute to Carroll, the event also was a life-celebration of sorts for Shelby’s nine-year-old great grandson, Lloyd Randall Shelby who recently and unexpectedly passed away. The foundation made a special presentation in his honor as Lloyd was a huge fan of both his great grandfather and the cars that bear the Shelby name.

“We were deeply saddened by the loss of Carroll’s great grandson Lloyd Shelby,” said Jenni Shreeves, Executive Director, Carroll Shelby Foundation. “It was truly a tragedy. As a double organ transplant recipient, Carroll founded the charity to help children who needed a transplant. Lloyd’s parents donated their son’s organs in an effort to help others. I know that Carroll would have appreciated their decision. The Shelby family has also chosen to celebrate the lives of both Lloyd and Carroll by helping the Foundation support young people in the race for life.”

Attendees were able to check out some of the rarest Shelby and Ford cars from the past five decades. Shelby American displayed its latest lineup of cars including the all-new Shelby Terlingua and Shelby Super Snake. Carroll Shelby’s Store was also open with its line of merchandise for enthusiasts. Car owners at the show and across the globe were also invited to join the “Rev Your Engine” salute to uniquely honor the life and legacy of Carroll Shelby, which occurred the afternoon of the show.

All in all, it was a really cool event and we’re glad we attended to see all the amazing Shelby Mustangs, Cobras and other Fords that were on display by their lucky owners. We are certainly looking forward to going again next year.

There were several new GT350s on hand at the show, such as the three shown above. The 5.2-liter V-8 in these latest versions of the GT350 has a flat-plane crank and makes 526 horsepower.

George Garcia’s 2011 GT500 is equipped with a Kenne-Bell supercharger.

Ted Deluca brought his 2008 Shelby GT to the show. Finished in Vista Blue, these cars were produced on the S197 (’05-’14) platform in 2007-08. They followed the 2006 Shelby GT-H Hertz rental car that was the foundation for the ’07-’08 Shelby GTs.

The S197 Shelby GT slotted between the Mustang GT and Shelby GT500 in terms of price and performance. It’s basically a retail-sale version of the Hertz rental Shelby GT-H, except a manual transmission was available. The above Grabber Orange ’08 GT-C (California) owned by Paul Gemellaro is equipped with 2007 GT500 wheels.

The S197 GT500 Super Snakes were built post title. This means they were bought new as standard GT500s, then upgraded to Super Snake specs by Shelby after the owners had taken delivery. The Grabber Orange example shown above owned by Enis Yeneriz is an ’07 and has the optional Kenne-Bell supercharger that results in more than 725 horsepower.

Another ’08 Shelby GT, this one is onwed by Kenji Bonds.

Looking back from a historical perspective, the 2013-14 GT500s will go down as pretty much the pinnacle of S197 Mustang performance. With a 5.8-liter supercharged four-valve modular engine making 662 horsepower, they still remain today as highest-output S197 Mustang produced from an OE (original equipment) standpoint. Drew Ibarra’s ’13 GT500 is a prime example of this high-watermark in late-model Mustang/Shelby performance.

Peter Brunetzky’s ’08 Shelby GT has been updated with Shelby 20-inch wheels and a Kenne-Bell supercharger atop its three-valve 4.6.

While many S197 GT500s are set up to go around corners, this particular one (below) is designed for a straight line as evident by its wheel-and-tire combination. Its 17-inch Race Star wheels up front are fitted with skinny 205/55R17 tires, while the rear 15-inch Race Stars have 275/60R15 Nitto drag radials. It’s a very cool look and was the only car like it at the Shelby tribute show.

Nick Adelizi’s ’07 Shelby GT-C (below) is a rare bird in its own right as one of only 202 Californias built and, allegedly, the only one equipped from Shelby with a Kenne-Bell supercharger. It’s also documented in the Shelby registry.

As is with many GT500 Super Snakes, both cars in this pair above are equipped with a Kenne-Bell supercharger. The white car also has a nice selection of signatures on it, one being Bob Bondurant among the many others.

The S550 Super Snakes are not labeled with the GT500 nomenclature. They are still built post-title and also still every bit the S197 versions, though, with 670 horsepower from a Ford Performance supercharger or 750 via a Whipple or Kenne-Bell blower.

If you are lucky enough to soon own or already own an S550 Shelby GT350R such as this Ford Public Affairs press car shown above, then we probably won’t be the first to tell you to be careful with its 19-inch carbon-fiber wheels. At about 3400 (front) to 4000 (rear) bucks each, curb shoting one isn’t an advisable course of action. And be sure you keep the wheel locks on them, too, lest your R-model S550 Shelby is left sitting on cinder blocks minus its nearly $15,000 set of wheels.

Several of our car buddies belong to the Los Angeles Shelby American Automobile Club (LASAAC). They are a great bunch of guys with a freewheeling club meeting every month and cool club events year round. Rather than just stand around at car shows with time-out dolls all around, LASAAC actually has events where you go and drive your Mustang, Shelby or any other Ford-powered car. This includes such gigs as open-track days at Willow Springs Raceway as well as club ride-and-drives on light traffic days like New Years Day and Super Bowl Sunday. We also like the club because they welcome club members to bring out other cars that aren’t Fords, like all that GM and Mopar stuff. A past club president even had a C6 Corvette for a time, before he recovered from hitting his head and trading it in for a 2012 Boss 302.

We have sort of taken the liberty of calling ’79-’04 Fox and SN-95s “middle-aged Mustangs.” And the three here were about the only ones in attendance at the Shelby tribute show. They include from left to right, a ’98 Cobra, an ’03 Mach 1 and a ’93 Cobra. If you’re going to have only one Fox-body Mustang at a show, then it might as well be one of the best ones of all. And to us, that would be a Teal ’93 Cobra.

Our friend Kirby Baldwin owns this Wimbledon White ’69 Mach 1 (left). It’s a factory M-code car, which means it’s a one-year-only 351W with a four-barrel carb. In 1970, the M-code four-barrel 351s were all Clevelands, so that is why the ’69 351W four-barrel isn’t a common sighting in the orbit of ’69-’70 Mustangs. More cool vintage Mustangs were on hand at the Shelby show in the form of these three early fastbacks. They include this silver ’66, the red ’69 Mach 1, and Kirby’s white ’69 Mach 1 (far right).

Photo gallery

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About the author

Miles Cook

Miles Cook began his automotive writing career at SEMA, then spent a year at Turbo & Hi-Tech Performance covering the ’90s import scene. He then worked for Car Craft magazine, where he became the de-facto Ford guy on the staff. Next, he went to Mustang Monthly where all Mustangs were the mainstay. Miles is well versed in vintage and late model Mustangs as well as GM, Ford, and Mopar musclecars. His expansive background ensures that Miles is right at home writing for Power Automedia.
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