For the 1967 model year, Shelby introduced the GT500 version of its modified Ford Mustang as an even more potent model above the existing GT350. Production totaled around 2,050 examples for that year, making these first-year cars fairly rare and quite collectible. You never know where you might unearth a treasure, though, because this barn find turns up in Nebraska after sitting in this spot since the early 1980s.
The car discovered its new owner, rather than the other way around. A buddy was at a car show in a clone of a 1967 Shelby GT350 convertible. Two brothers at the event told this guy that they had a '67 GT500 in their barn, and that news warranted a serious look at the machine.
A group of Shebly experts gathered to check out the car, including a restorer and a Mustang Club of America judge. Plus, they brought along books cataloging each Shelby car so that they knew what to look for. It was originally red with a black interior. The first buyer was in Omaha, NE.
They requested the current owners leave everything on the car. When the experts get there, it becomes like an archeological excavation. Pieces of the Shelby are inside the cabin and others are upstairs in the barn.
Eventually, a story seems to unfold. This Shelby was apparently used for drag racing at some point. The fenders were damaged and replaced. Also, there was a hit to the front end. The brothers' family member bought the car to restore it, but that never happened.
The numbers on the front end confirm this is a true Shelby GT500 and some of the miscellaneous pieces in the barn belong to the car. However, the engine, transmission, and rear end are all gone.
The car is good enough for the host of this video, and he buys the GT500 to restore it. When the work is done, he wants to give the brothers a chance to drive the Shelby, since they never had an opportunity to when they owned the vehicle.
Where the '67 Sheby GT350 used a 289-cubic-inch (4.736-liter) V8, the GT500 had a big-block 428-cubic-inch (7.014-liter) powerplant. It also had two Holley four-barrel carburetors. This setup gave them a factory rating of 355 horsepower (265 kilowatts) and 420 pound-feet (569 Newton-meters) of torque.
