1968 Shelby Mustang GT350, GT500 and GT500KR. Greg Kolasa
Car Tech®
CarTech®, Inc.
838 Lake Street South
Forest Lake, MN 55025
Phone: 651-277-1200 or 800-551-4754
Fax: 651-277-1203
© 2017 by Greg Kolasa
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Edit by Bob Wilson
Layout by Connie DeFlorin
ISBN 978-1-61325-381-6
Item No. CT615
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kolasa, Greg, author.
Title: 1968 Shelby GT350, GT500 & GT500 KR: in detail / Greg Kolasa.
Description: Forest Lake, MN: CarTech, [2017]
Identifiers: LCCN 2016010603
Subjects: LCSH: Shelby automobile. | Cobra automobile. | Mustang automobile.
| Shelby, Carroll, 1923-2012.
Classification: LCC TL215.S48 .K65 2017 | DDC 629.222/2--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016010603
Written, edited, and designed in the U.S.A.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Front Cover: The 1968 Shelby model year was notable for five, three-car groups of big- and small-block fastbacks done in special colors. One of those fastback trios was painted a bright orange color that, just a year later, made it into Ford’s new-car brochures as Calypso Coral; Mercury called it Competition Orange. (Photo Courtesy Pete Disher)
Frontispiece:
The 1968 model year saw the return to two headlights. An introductory press release described the new illumination scheme: “In addition to the new front end styling, single 71/4-inch double-filament sealed-beam lights have been fitted and are complemented by separately circuited rectangular driving lights mounted inside the oval grill [sic] opening.”
Title Page:
Perhaps the biggest news for 1968 was the availability of both the GT350 and GT500 in the Model 76 (convertible) body style, complementing the existing Model 63 fastback. Tried experimentally a couple of years earlier, the ragtop Shelby proved to be very popular. Nearly 3 out of every 10 ’68 cars built had soft tops.
Contents Page:
The second time’s a charm. Tried in 1965 as an unsuccessful styling experiment for the ’66 Shelby, fitting ’65 T-Bird taillights worked better on the ’68 Shelby (which had a rear panel designed especially to accept the ’Bird lamps). A silver tail panel and chrome “S-H-E-L-B-Y” lettering added visual interest to the too-simple ’67 Shelby transom. (Photo Courtesy LegendaryMotorCar.com)
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Peace, Prosperity and Performance
From “Secretary’s Car” to Sports Car