THE SHELBY MUSTANG STORY PART 4

The 1968 Shelby Cobras

By Biff Hitzeman

Little was changed in the stock '68 Mustangs, over the '67. Changes were occurring though in the Shelby/Ford marriage. Each of Shelby's models were distinctive, and so were the '68 Shelby Cobras. The word Mustang is found no where on the '68. The cars were called Shelby Cobras because Ford wanted the name Cobra in the public eye. (Ford owned it now and planned to use it again. I understand the Cobra replicas offered through Ford can't be called Cobras still.) A coiled snake was placed on the side behind the tire. 428 CJ was included with a coiled Cobra on the GT 500KRs. A new nose piece formed a wide grill opening with two large Marchal, and later Lucas, fog lights. The hood was again made of fiberglass. It was designed so that the scoop covered the entire hood. Split in the center, the scoop ran across the front of the hood. Functional louvers were cut in the back of the hood. The letters spelling out SHELBY were placed across the nose piece and the rear spoiler.

The interior of the 1968 Shelby's was deluxe Mustang. Now offered in many choices of colors. Wood grain inserts were on the doors, dash and custom console. The console included two Stewart Warner oil & amp gauges. A padded roll bar with a interia reel shoulder harness was a standard option. The convertible model had a fatter roll bar with two clips said to be used to tie down a surf board. California, you know.

.....Biff

(The rest of this article was lost over the years or in the conversion from an old WordStar file from many years ago. When I find the rest of this article it will be here. DPB)

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