1968 SHELBY GT 500 COBRA MUSTANG RULED THE ROAD.

Sharrie and Georgia
with the Shelby 1978

I had owned my Shelby GT 500 for 11 wonderful years after my dad gave it to me for my 24th Birthday, but when someone in Laguna Beach offered to buy it, my husband Gene and cousin Chuck convinced me to sell it for $4,000.   

I called my dad and told him about the offer and he said, "Honey, since the car is rusting out at the beach, it's not worth putting any money into it so go ahead and try to get something out of it." 

Years later,  he said, he regretted his decision at the time, because it was now worth $50,000, even in the shape I sold it. I still kick myself for listening to Gene, Chuck and my Dad because it was best car I ever drove. 

Gene's mother gave me her 1969, competition orange and white Camaro for my Birthday, but it was a sad compensation for my Shelby GT500..... with the extra-big  engine, chrome wire wheels, whitewall tires, rag top and the Cobra emblem. The Shelby was a real muscle car and would remain top in it's class forever. 

Every time I saw my Shelby cruising around Laguna Beach, I felt someone kicked me in the stomach, but it was even more painful when it was shipped off to Hawaii and I never saw it again. The Shelby represented an era for me that was over. I was now in a new phase of my life and driving a hot rod wasn't practical anymore. Or so I convinced myself evermore.

Carroll Shelby at Barrett Jackson in Las Vegas, 09.