The third annual Tribute & Car Show was held yesterday in Gardena, California at Carroll's headquarters facility (his old Goodyear racing tire distributorship) on Figueroa Street.
Turnout for the event was spectacluar, and the entire property was packed with all sorts of Shelby automobiles from old and historic to new Shelbys, including the all-new Ford G.T. 350. So get ready, grab a cup of coffee and a napkin because there's lots of photos to see (and perhaps drool over).
The featured cars for the event were G.T. 350s, celebrating 50 years of disturbing the peace! All early Cobras and Shelbys were treated to an indoor setting. There were twenty early Shelbys: five '65s and 15 '66s.
A herd of '66 Shelby G.T. 350s...
SFM6S2060 was representin' at the show...
Five '65 G.T. 350's were also in-the-house...
These two new 'sisters' made an appearance, along with the same Shelby American team members (aka, "Venice Crew") who built the original early R-models. These two special cars are a re-incarnation of the 60's R-models, with updates and refinements that the team now had the necessary time to create. This past February 14th , these two cars and the Venice crew debuted at Willow Springs Raceway for the 50-year anniversary celebration of the '65 G.T. 350 R-Model's first win at Green Valley Raceway in Texas, Ken Miles driving.
And speaking of new, Ford's new 2016 G.T. 350 also made an appearance:
There were other very nice early Shelby's in attendance, too:
Carroll's experimental Green Hornet...
And, who knew, there were some really nice Shelby Tributes at the Carroll Shelby Tribute as well!
A few more early Shelby photos, and Le Mans stripes...
Sights and sounds...
Carroll's first MG racecar
In the real SnakePit
That's Anthony's gen-yew-wine Comp Cobra in red. When I shot this photo, every Shelby & Cobra was revving the engines...it was ear-splittingly deafening!! But that's what it's like to be inside a pit of Snakes!
That's Aaron Shelby sitting there in Carroll's MG. He's Carroll's grandson.
Joe N's sensational '67 G.T. 500
And then, just wandering about the Shelby property....
Michael's GT40.
A Bundle of Snakes.
Fresh Webers.
Superformance Daytona Cobra Coupe
More Webers.
Superformance Daytona
Along the back lot and a pair of Ford GTs.
John's exceptionally nice '66 Shelby Tribute
But wait! There's a lot more than just cars...
Part of Tribute Show was to announce to the world that the Carroll Shelby Foundation will build and finish the remaining 43 427 SC Cobras. And on display in the newly-named PitStop 'chamber' in the Carroll Shelby museum was the very first of this batch:
A fresh 427 SC chassis.
On hand to participate in the 427 SC Cobra announcement was none other than Pete Brock, godfather Daytona Cobra Coupe and the G.T. 350, among many other accomplishments.
And, I'm certain that Carroll was also here in spirit...
But even that's not all!
Tribute attendees were also treated to an in-depth presentation on numerous Shelby American "shenanigans" from the Sixties because a number of Team members were also present to provide background.
The presentation was led by Randy Richardson (blue shirt on the left), who did an amazing job, along with the team members filling in the background information.
The first Cobra at Dean Moon's shop in Santa Fe Springs, California.
Allen Grant on the left...
Daytona Cobra Coupe.
1965 and Shelby American wins the Manufacturer's Championship, outrunning Ferrari at their own game.
The first R-Model, 5R002. Note the reversed hood scoop!
Testing at Willow Springs.
Pete Brock workin' on (and refining) the R-Model racing apron.
Rear duct-work for the rear drum brakes.
Front duct-work for the front disc brakes.
This is the Shelby American crew, from left to right: Randy Richardson, Bernie Kretzschmar, Allen Grant, Duane Carling, Ted Sutton, Pete Brock, and Jim Marietta. This is the group that re-invented, breathed new life into, and built the two special R-Models, #98i & #98.
And still more:
I might mention that the Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation also donated $25,000 to a special children's charity, the Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA).
Another charitable initiative was on hand: The Warrior Cobra Drive and Team. Beginning in June, they're headed cross-country to the East Coast (Camp Pendleton, California to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina) to raise funds for the Special Operations Warrior Fund & the Semper Fi Fund. Learn more at http://www.gofundme.com/warriorcobradrive
...and in closing:
SFM6S2060
