Shelby GT-500 KR Convertible - 1968

[B]Shelby GT-500 KR Convertible - 1968[/B]

Ever since the inception of the Cobra, Ford has always had a good relationship with Carol Shelby. In 1961 he set made a deal with AC Cars from England to sell the Ford powered Cobra with his new company, Shelby American.

In 1965, Shebly American debuted the Shelby GT Mustang. It was stripped down version of the production car which had many performance modifications. Competing in the SCCA Production Group B class, the race spec Shebly Mustang 350-R took many victories.

The 1968 Shelby Mustang represents the evolution of Mustang from both Shebly and Ford. In 1967 Ford redesigned the Mustang to allow both big and small engines. By 1968 the 428 Police Interceptor FE big-block was on the option list. These Production R-code Mustangs featured front Super Cobra Jet Engines, disc brakes and a functional ram-air scoop which served as a good basis for the Shelby Mustang 500 KR.

Shelby's Mustang offered many improvements for a customer demanding a 'King of the Road' Cobra. A redesigned front end, hood and rear end, accommodating 1967 Cougar tail lights, were manufactured out of fiber glass. While the fiberglass helped reduce the weight of these components, the 1967 body style was much larger and heavier than preceding models. As an example of how good Shebly-Ford relationship was, the car send to Shebly did not have hoods, or front ends.

Interior appointments were very similar to the deluxe interiors delivered by Ford. Shebly only installed a functional roll bar and a wood-rimmed steering wheel.

The most important changes were found under the hood. The engine had a dual plate intake manifold to support a 735cfm Holley carburetor, stronger connecting rods, dished pistons and a new crankshaft. These components, along with a highly ported head rose the standard horsepower to 335hp.

Only 318 1967-68 500 KR convertibles were made.

Too bad I'm not a millionaire.....lovely car

heres a pic of the 68 KR convertable my dad used to have. he had this AND the 70 gt500 at the same time but sold the 68 shortly before i was born. i'm so mad. i wish we still had both! but at least the 70 is still around and worth almost as much...

Nice car indeed... except for the steering wheel...

thats american cars from the 60s for ya

In early 1968 Bob Tasca of Tasca Ford put 427 heads on the 428 and called it the Cobra Jet and Ford bought the idea and half-way through the 68 model year applied it to the new GT500's and called it the "King of the Road special" , before then the 428 was called the Police interceptor. KR's were made only in the later half of 1968 and the Tik wood steering wheels were dropped for 1968 and later models.

My dad used to have an automatic Candyapple Red Convertable with Saddle interior (not tan) and a white top. It had the Kelsey Hayes mags intsead of the optional Shelby 10 Spokes they only made 1 or 2 in that combo, and some idiot decided to paint it bright yellow before he bought it. He sold it to buy our house before I was born though.