Car of the Day: 1967 Shelby GT500

Submitted by Kirk Pedersen on Wed, 2009-11-25 08:59

Recently brought back by Ford for its new retro-styled Mustang, the 1967 Shelby GT500 was the second generation of Carroll Shelby’s association with Ford which produced the finest GT500s to date. Both original and retro are available in SHIFT when you download the new Team Racing Pack.

Shelby’s first crack at making first-generation Mustangs his own – the GT350, which remained in production, with the GT500 as the star attraction - was successful, but the cars suffered from poor road manners, as he turned the pleasant, fun-to-drive Mustang into a snarling, pavement-tearing beast, making them difficult to drive for almost anyone who hadn't been to racing school.

Learning his lesson from the first go-around, Shelby aimed to make his new GTs more drivable for regular motorists, without losing the snarling beast qualities that made the first generation such a gas.

Shelby started with a 1967 Fastback Mustang GT. First, he removed all the metal body panels, replacing them with lightweight fiberglass. The fiberglass panels included an elongated nose to make big-block power possible, functional hood scoops to cool the big-block, four air intakes along the body and a spoiler that molded perfectly to the tail of the car.

The interior was a higher quality, with the same materials that came standard on a Mustang GT, including a rear seat, which was removed for the original GT350 as well as racing harnesses, which were factory installed on the first model. Air conditioning, power steering, an 8000-rpm tachometer, 140-mph speedometer and a padded roll bar were also standard.

While the GT350 was fitted with a 289-ci V8 that punched out about 306 horsepower, the GT500 had considerably more guts and go, with a 428-ci ‘Police Interceptor’ V8 which was usually reserved for much larger Fords, such as the full-size Galaxie or Thunderbird. It went like hell, with conservative estimates at the time putting its horsepower rating at 355, but if you drove one, you’d swear it had more.

Shelby gave the 428 a kick in the butt by adding the cast-aluminum intake manifold from Ford’s famous 427 racing engine, two four-barrel Holley carburetors and other small tweaks. The suspension was a modified Mustang GT system, which went well with its front-disc brakes.

While many GT500s from this era sport racing stripes, this was not a factory-installed item, it was up to individual dealers to apply them. Depending on state laws, some GT500s had their high-beam headlights moved to opposite sides of the grille, rather than both being in the center.

For folks interested in automotive recycling, the ’67 GT500 used the same sequential rear turn signal lamps as the Mercury Cougar.

When compared to its brother, the GT350, Shelby’s GT500 was a far superior car, and only cost $200 more, coming in at $4,100. Today, you’d be lucky to buy the rusted-out shell of a GT500 for that much, but you can drive it in SHIFT and maybe bring back some memories from the time when cubic inches dominated the streets.