1968 Shelby Mustang GT350, GT500 and GT500KR. Greg Kolasa

      

       Car Tech®

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      © 2017 by Greg Kolasa

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      All trademarks, trade names, model names and numbers, and other product designations referred to herein are the property of their respective owners and are used solely for identification purposes. This work is a publication of CarTech, Inc., and has not been licensed, approved, sponsored, or endorsed by any other person or entity. The Publisher is not associated with any product, service, or vendor mentioned in this book, and does not endorse the products or services of any vendor mentioned in this book.

      Edit by Bob Wilson

      Layout by Connie DeFlorin

      ISBN 978-1-61325-381-6

      Item No. CT615

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Kolasa, Greg, author.

      Title: 1968 Shelby GT350, GT500 & GT500 KR: in detail / Greg Kolasa.

      Description: Forest Lake, MN: CarTech, [2017]

      Identifiers: LCCN 2016010603

      Subjects: LCSH: Shelby automobile. | Cobra automobile. | Mustang automobile.

      | Shelby, Carroll, 1923-2012.

      Classification: LCC TL215.S48 .K65 2017 | DDC 629.222/2--dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016010603

      Written, edited, and designed in the U.S.A.

      10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      Front Cover: The 1968 Shelby model year was notable for five, three-car groups of big- and small-block fastbacks done in special colors. One of those fastback trios was painted a bright orange color that, just a year later, made it into Ford’s new-car brochures as Calypso Coral; Mercury called it Competition Orange. (Photo Courtesy Pete Disher)

       Frontispiece:

      The 1968 model year saw the return to two headlights. An introductory press release described the new illumination scheme: “In addition to the new front end styling, single 7¹/4-inch double-filament sealed-beam lights have been fitted and are complemented by separately circuited rectangular driving lights mounted inside the oval grill [sic] opening.”

       Title Page:

      Perhaps the biggest news for 1968 was the availability of both the GT350 and GT500 in the Model 76 (convertible) body style, complementing the existing Model 63 fastback. Tried experimentally a couple of years earlier, the ragtop Shelby proved to be very popular. Nearly 3 out of every 10 ’68 cars built had soft tops.

       Contents Page:

      The second time’s a charm. Tried in 1965 as an unsuccessful styling experiment for the ’66 Shelby, fitting ’65 T-Bird taillights worked better on the ’68 Shelby (which had a rear panel designed especially to accept the ’Bird lamps). A silver tail panel and chrome “S-H-E-L-B-Y” lettering added visual interest to the too-simple ’67 Shelby transom. (Photo Courtesy LegendaryMotorCar.com)

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      TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: Understanding Carroll Shelby’s Mustangs

Peace, Prosperity and Performance

Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday

Declaration Denied

From “Secretary’s Car” to Sports Car

GT350s for Road and Track

A Sedan Racer No Longer

The Process Explained

Special Orders

Chapter 2: Evolution (into less revolutionary)