About a $30K muscle car.

First of all, do some homework on studying VIN, RPO and transmission codes, rear end, paint, interior codes, etc – you don’t want to over pay for a car that is a clone. There’s a saying “numbers are correct” – this means your muscle car is still original and the same that came from factory and it will always be much more valuable than the one that has its drivetrain components mismatched. There is information available that shows the serial numbers of engine, transmission and other parts [the engine being the most important one].

Have enough money

If you’re trying to buy a muscle car that will need some [or a lot] of extra investment, be sure you’ll be able to get those missing or damaged parts – not only affording, but finding them as well.  Spend some time with equipment catalogs, replacement body panel catalogs, OEM and NOS sources ["original equipment manufacturer" and "new old stock"]. One of ways to start restoring your car may be getting a damaged but decent muscle car with matching numbers and use it as a donor car – it may have its body panels seriously damaged while all the powertrain parts will hopefully  be good enough to re-use. Mostly this way is cheaper than buying separate parts from different sources.

Watch for trouble

If you’re looking for the restored muscle car, be sure to check some trouble spots – the trunk under the carpet, previous accident marks under the car, leaking spots in the engine bay [a certain number of small oil leaks is almost guaranteed]. Check the suspension at each corner, the color of the oil inside the filler cap. If your potential muscle car has burning oil [blue smoke], loose manual or slow automatic gear change it may get expensive to fix. It is wise to hire a professional for this inspection – you may save a lot of money. He can evaluate the level of restoration and car’s value or even possible future investment into it.

Behave wisely

Don’t treat a classic or muscle car the way you might treat any other car. Even though it has simple mechanical and electrical features there are a lot of places that need oiling and greasing. Also remember to ask what maintenance has been carried out by the previous owner.
After you buy your muscle car, go to classic car insurance agencies. your muscle car has value that most agencies don’t want to take into account – choose wisely.

 

Mustang club of Spain provided photos of Mustang prototypes that Ford had already developed before the Intermeccanica wagon showed up in 1966. According to these prototype photos Ford developed not only the idea of Mustang wagon [1966], but sedan [1963] and even a 2-seater [1964]. Gary Witzenburg [“Mustang: The Complete History of America’s Pioneer Ponycar”] stated that Mustang concept reached fiberglass stage only and was rejected [obviously]. Sedan version would appeal to the parents of kids who bought 2-door ‘Stangs, but Witzenburg didn’t had much to comment about this version. 2-seater is logically explained to be cancelled because of its competition with Thunderbird.

There were some photos of Shelby GT350 Station Wagon submitted too, but Jeff Pearce from Utah, the man that is involved in Mustangs for 30 years, claims Ford never built Mustang wagons, so Shelby couldn’t do that either. Jeff built that red wagon in 1978 and still owns it.

 

The only wagon Mustang built for sure is the one made by Intermeccanica back in 1965. They built it for advertiser Barney Clark. That wagon was exposed in some books and “Car and Driver” magazine’s 1966 cover.

 

It is natural that Ford may want to build a 4-door sedan in order to compete with Dodge’s Charger and Chrysler’s 300C. Some say, that 2007 Interceptor concept was a serious intention [based on rear wheel drive Mustang platform], but still there’s no serious competitor for Charger and 300C from Ford…

 

There are quite a few speculations of how Mustang sedan and wagon could look like, but luckily Mustang remains pure-blooded 2-door coupe:

 

1965-1966

The first GTs were Shelby modified K-Code 289 cubic [4.7 liter] V8 Fastbacks that had their power increased from 271 HP up to 306 HP. Shelby ordered 252 units of 1965 Fastbacks for his conversion into 1966 Shelby GT350. The project itself began in August of 1964 and in September the first Shelby GT350s were born. The public unveil was done on January 27 of 1965. Shelby GT350 also featured Hooly carburetor, Cobra valve covers, special Cobra hi-rise intake manifold, 4-speed manual transmission, side exhaust pipes, Wimbledon white body color with 2 stripes and no back seats, because of SCCA’s requirements [2-door coupes only]. All in all, there were 562 Shelby GT350 street legal and 37 GT360R units built in 1965. The Shelby GT350R were built for races only.
The 1966 production had 2378 GT250s built where 4 of them were special order convertibes for Shelby himself. Some say, there were 6 of these convertibles, but on 4 correct VINs are discovered.
Shelby struck a deal with the Hertz Corporation in 1965 in order to build a special line of 1001 GT350H V8s for “rent a racer” program, which helped Shelby to expose Shelby Mustangs across the country.

1967-1968

In 1967 Mustang Gt350 carried over with 289 cubic aluminum Cobra V8. Regular Mustangs could get 320 HP power by installing 4-barrel carburetor. Of course, Shelby went further and the new Shelby GT500 model was built in 1967 too. It was equipped with reworked 428 cubic [7 liter] Police Interceptor engine with cast-aluminum intake manifold [from Ford's 427] and twin Hooley 4-barrel carburetors to get 355 HP. GT500 had a 4-speed manual or 3-speed automatic transmission, power steering and air conditioning. The body had new nose, functional hood scoop, side body air intakes.
The 1968 Shelby GT500KR [King of the Road] had 428 cubic Cobra Jet V8 engine and developed suspiciously low 335 HP.

1969-1970

Shelby terminated the agreement with Ford in 1969, but he still had a little bit of his impact in 69-70 GT model range. Actually, the 1970 GTs were 1969 Shelby leftovers and that is why 1970 GTs were still Shelbys. The GT350 and GT 500 got quite a big facelift change. 1969-1970 Shelby GT350 got a 351 cubic [5. liter] V8 engine, while the GT500 got its 428 cubic [7 liter] V8 muscle. Transmission choice was the same: 3-speed automatic or 4-speed manual.

2006-2008

After Ford revived the 5th generation Mustang, Shelby created a special edition 2006 Shelby GT-H which was the offspring of the original 1966 Shelby GT350H “rent and race” muscle car. Only about 500 units were built. Those were equipped with 320 HP 4.6 liter GT V8 engine, 90 mm cold air intake kit, X-pipe, performance suspension, 5-speed automatic transmission, etc. The convertible Shelby GT-H was offered to rent in 2007.


There was one more special edition of 100 units unveiled in 2008 – the Barrett-Jackson Shelby GT. The Shelby pony delivers 319 HP from a Ford Racing V8 and is equipped with 5-speed manual gearbox that has Hurst short-throw shifter or a 5-speed automatic. The cars have special tuned dampers, unique sway bars inside and 18 inch alloys, Shelby Cobra hood scoop, Lemans stripes and fully black interior.

The 2006 Shelby GT500 uses 5.4 liter supercharged V8 and develops 500 HP. It also features 6-speed Tremec manual transmission, has some suspension tuning done and rides on 18-inch wheels. These cars were build in collaboration of SVT and Carroll Shelby for 3 years only, but there were about 30.000 units built.

The King of the Road model was unveiled back in 2007, in NY auto show. The Anniversary 2008 Shelby GT500KR has the same engine as GT500, but due to functional cold air intake and unique calibration this 32 valve 5.4 liter supercharged V8 engine develops as much as 540 HP [40 HP more than GT500]. The KR Mustang features carbon fiber hood with functional scoops and vents, unique carbon fiber splitter , functional brake cooling ducts, SVT-tuned suspension, some more parts from Ford Racing.
Since 2007, the Terlingua Team offers a special package for the V6 Mustangs, that includes “serious performance enhancements and striking visual cues”. The package will, of course, include the Shelby serial number…

If You already have GT500 and still feel unsatisfied, You may sent it to Shelby’s Special Performance Plant in Las Vegas and have it rebuilt into Super Snake. This rebuilt SS features some special badging, new Alcoa wheels, ram-air SS hood, stripes, splitters, 6-piston Bear brakes and many other performance features including the 5.4 Liter Kenne Bell twin-screw supercharged engine that develops 605 or 725 HP [no warranty for this one].

2010-2011

Along with the 2010 Mustang facelift came the new GT500. It had the same 5.4 liter engine but the power was increased up to 540 HP by adding cold air intake [similar to KR's]. SVT retuned the suspension a bit by adding 19 inch wheels.
The 2011 Shelby GT500 will get an engine update – it’ll be the new 5.4 aluminum V8 that is 102 pounds lighter, and more powerful – 550 HP. The car stance is lowered by 11/8 millimeters in front/rear. The steerig is assisted by new electric system, external design includes SVT performance package, 19/20 inch front/rear wheels, optional glass roof, etc.

Due to 45th Anniversary in 2011 the legendary 1965 Shelby GT350 special Mustang edition was unveiled by Shelby. 5.0 liter small block V8 will be fitted with Ford’s Racing [FR] supercharger to gain 500 HP, FR suspension, 6-speed manual transmission,  Borla exhaust, 6 piston Baer brakes, 19 inch Cragar wheels, front splitter, functional hood scoop, redesigned tail lights, new dashboard for interior, etc.

Frankly, it looks like Shelby started to loose its “sought after” feature by modifying “simple” Mustangs into Shelby ones in their Shelby Mod Shops and listing them in Shelby registry as pure-blooded. We do expect that only the real production Shelbys will maintain and even increase their historical and financial value in the future.

We introduce You the Top 10 list of muscle cars that have risen their value the most since year 2000. The original list was made for CNNMoney.com by Phil Skinner [collector car market editor at "Kelley Blue Book"], but we edited and rearranged the Top 10 by the value change in percent factor. The original Skinner’s listing is shown in brackets:

1. 1971 Plymouth “Hemi” ‘Cuda convertible [1.]

Because of an extra price tag and larger insurance rates only a few hundred of them were made during 1970-1971. They say only about a dozen of these convertible ‘Cudas had Hemi engines and none of them had the same trim, color or transmission package.
Price tag in 2000: $49.000
Today: around $2.000.000
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2. 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS-454/LS-6 convertible [4.]

Chevelles with LS-6 package, 4-speed transmission, Rally wheels and factory 8-track player are the most valuable ones.
Price tag in 2000: $28.000
Today: around $369.000
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3. 1964 Shelby Cobra 289 roadster [5.]

Even though these Cobras aren’t pure American cars, their are desired among collectors. One of 289s was sold for $1,6 million back in 2006 while the one of the kind Super Snake topped $5 million in 2007.
Price tag in 2000: $175.000
Today: around $330.000-$1.600.000
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4. 1969 Pontiac GTO “Judge” convertible [9.]

The Ram Air III equipped 400 cubic V8 boosted GTO’s power up to 366 HP. The Judge also had several luxury interior packages.
Price tag in 2000: $36.000
Today: around $205.000
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5. 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28/SS coupe [3.]

Despite Corvette’s luck and popularity, Camaros were the no doubt the second most popular Chevrolet nameplate. The Z-28 package included 302 small block V8 [290 HP] and Muncie “4-on-the-floor” transmission.
Price tag in 2000: $18.000
Today: around $91.000
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6. 1969 Dodge Charger R/T-440 hardtop [2.]

Since the very begining Charger was one of the most favorite cars. Appearances in “The Bullit” movie or “Dukes of Hazzard” TV series helped it find the way to muscle car enthusiasts’ hearts. The 1969 R/T package with big block 440 cubic V8 that develops 375 HP is highly wanted among collectors. If the engine is Hemi V8 the price tag may increase even up to 4 times.
Price tag in 2000: $39.000
Today: around $170.000
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7. 1970 Oldsmobile 442/W-30 hardtop [10.]

442 stands for 4 barrel, 4-speed and dual exhaust. In 1970 the 442 had its power increased up to 365 HP and was given an option name – “W-30″.
Price tag in 2000: $21.000
Today: around $85.000
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8. 1968 Shelby GT 500KR convertible [6.]

These value tripping King of the Road GT 500 KR convertibles with 428 cubic V8s developed the advertised 360 HP.
Price tag in 2000: $64.000
Today: around $190.000
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9. 1970 Plymouth Superbird-440 hardtop [7.]

Some say its ugly some say its gorgeous.  The original aim of the body design was to get accepted into Nascar races. Superbird was based on the popular muscle car – the Roadrunner.  It was equipped with Magnum 440 cubic V8 [375 HP] and had to upgrade choices: “Six-Pack” [three 2-barrel carbs instead of stock 4-barrel] or the 425 HP 426 cubic Hemi V8 engine. Hemi equipped Superbird is the most valuable muscle car between these two options.
Price tag in 2000: $67.000
Today: around $107.000
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10. 1969 Ford Torino-Talladega hardtop [8.]

Talladega design was influence by the same reason as 440 Superbird – the Nascar races qualification.  Torino Talladega had unique front end design, grille and bumper, heavy duty suspensions and 428 Cobra Jet V8 under the hood.
Price tag in 2000: $24.000
Today: around $37.000