Godsey added, "There are a lot of good ideas from the street-rod market you can incorporate into these '60s vehicles." Ken took a '67 fastback and "out-Shelby-ized" the original in terms of hot looks, similar to what Unique Performance did with the Eleanor GT500E. If enthusiasts are worried about supplies of early Mustangs drying up from the relatively few cars Unique Performance converts, they should be horrified at the thought of large numbers of street-rod enthusiasts moving into the Mustang camp. Apparently, this is already happening.
Extrapolating what we're seeing today with Shelby clones, it seems only a matter of time before we start seeing clones-with bigger and bolder looks and hotter engines-in the other series of hot Mustangs, including the Boss 302, Boss 429, Cobra Jet Mach 1, GT, and so on. Of course, we've already seen some of these cars. For example, lots of people take a Mach 1 and install bigger wheels and tires or slam it down to the ground, add a cool steering wheel, and so forth. They usually leave the 428 Cobra Jets stock and do the mods to a 351 Windsor Mach 1.
In the world of Boss clones, it makes sense not to start with an original Boss. Instead, cloners start with a '69-'70 fastback and build up from there. We've seen Boss 302 clones, but no Boss 429 clones yet. Shelbys are the rage now, especially the '67 GT500s, which got mass-market attention due to the movie exposure.
The $280,000 Shelby, which was a real Shelby but modified, was an anomaly, according to Vogt and "those among us with restoration shops who talk back and forth regularly." Funny thing is, before the weekend was over at the big auctions in Arizona, we had another Shelby anomaly. Drew Alcazar, owner and president of Russo & Steele, was just a kid when we met him in Albuquerque in 1986 to photograph his fully restored '69 428 Cobra Jet Mach 1. Russo & Steele sold a '66 Shelby GT350 fastback for a world-record $260,000. It was "6S001," described in the Shelby World Registry as "used as a prototype for the '66 model with a Pony interior."
Did lightning strike twice? Prices like these get major attention in the hobby. Maybe you wanted to buy a year ago and put it off. Or you sold last year and want back into a car. Vogt has such customers. "It's like an amusement-park ride. If you get off and sell your car, it's hard to get back on at a later date."
Maybe that's why the most recent Snakebite, a slick bulletin sent out to Shelby American Automobile Club members, had only one Shelby for sale: a '68 GT500 convertible for $80,000. There were no Cobras, referring to the aluminum-bodied 289 and 427 exotics. "Usually there's a dozen or so Shelbys for sale," Meyer said in a monotone, unable to hide his boredom at the lack of cars.
Meanwhile, at the SAAC convention this year, a dealer brought four '67 GT500s. Vogt checked them out. "A fellow named Mershon, a big dealer out of Ohio mainly known for dealing in Corvettes, brought four '67 Shelbys to the Shelby convention two weeks ago. They started at $120,000 and went to $150,000. I believe all four of those cars sold." Vogt warned against comparing such restored gems with unrestored cars. "It costs $50,000 to $100,000 to restore one of these cars. So a car that's been restored, and restored correctly, pulls a lot more value than a car sitting there in pieces."
As hot as the market seems, the year started off slowly for dealers. George Waydo owns K.A.R. in Columbus, Ohio, where he specializes in clean, rust-free Mustangs. First-generation models, original or restomod, are the staples of his business. George explained, "Actually, during the first part of this year, the business was kind of slow, but as we hit May it seemed to explode overnight."