The Cars Behind the Man Shelby American gained recogni-
Shelby.
The name is legendary, whether it refers to Carroll Shelby or his automotive creations.
There is no shortage of automotive legends, but Ol’ Shel has that “aw shucks” Texas charm and charisma that just make his stories — some of which are even true — that much better: WWII pilot; Texas oil-field laborer and chicken farmer; dump truck business owner; fierce competitor who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a bad ticker and pills under his tongue; relentless businessman with big ideas and a knack for promotion. Even at 90 years old, Shelby is still making history with that mischievous smile and twinkle in his eye.
PHOTO: CARROLL SHELBY LICENSING
tion from the moment the first Cobra hit the street in 1962. The original Cobra/Ford GT/Shelby Mustang period spanned just over eight years and was packed with countless racing accomplishments, including the World Manufacturer’s Championship and a 1-2-3 finish at Le Mans. You name it and Shelby won it.
After his retirement from racing in 1961, Shelby started the Carroll Shelby School of High Performance Driving at Riverside International Raceway in California. But teach- ing aspiring race drivers was not Shelby’s dream. Building his own car was.
Shelby decided the best path was to combine a proven chassis with a powerful and reliable American V-8, just like the Cad-Allard J2 he raced and the American “specials” he encountered afterward. Shelby knew the recipe; he just needed the two key ingredients — a car and an engine, plus a little Texas charm.
While Shelby originally hoped to use Chevrolet’s small-block V-8, GM management thought otherwise. Similarly, one of Shelby’s early ideas for a chassis met a dead end when BMC showed little interest in selling Austin-Healey rolling chassis.
But all was not lost. Shelby’s contact at Ford, Dave Evans, assured him that their new lightweight 221-cid V-8 engine had been extensively tested and had room left for more displacement and power. But the real kicker was that Ford appeared to be a willing partner. Perhaps it’s because Shelby told them he already had a world-class chassis lined up. In his head, anyway.
A Snake is Born
AC Cars in England had just lost Bristol as the engine supplier of choice for their Ace sports car. Although a reasonably sound sports car, the Ace was already eight years old and outdated in comparison to new British cars like the 150-mph Jaguar E-Type. Shelby, with Ford already on board, immediately entered into negotiations with AC and was off and running. Ford shipped a few engines to AC, which modified the Ace to accept the new engine, and also made numerous Shelby-specified tweaks.
The first “AC Ace Cobra” mule, later numbered CSX 2000, was shipped to Shelby in Los Angeles without an engine. Upon arrival on February 2, 1962, CSX 2000 was sent to Dean Moon’s shop in Santa Fe Springs, where a crew of Califor- nia hot rodders reportedly installed Ford engine XHP-260-1, now 260
cid,
The 289 Cobra, 427 Cobra and GT350 Mustang are all great drivers’ cars.
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