Posted on Aug 18, 2018
'Little Red' 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 found after 50 years, could be worth millions
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Seek and ye shall find. Eventually.
A legendary Ford Mustang that many thought was destroyed 50 years ago has been discovered rotting away in a Texas field. And it could be worth millions.
By Gary Gastelu | Fox News
Affectionately called Little Red, the 1967 model was an experimental car that Ford loaned to Carrol Shelby to use as a test bed for the development of performance parts. Little Red and a later car, unofficially known as the Green Hornet, were the only two Shelby GT 500 notchback coupes of their era, each sporting a snazzy vinyl roof.
Shelby’s crew tinkered with the cars, trying out different body parts, engines and transmissions. Little Red was primarily configured with a supercharged 428 V8 and 3-speed automatic transmission, while the Green Hornet was fitted with a prototype independent rear suspension that never made it into production, but remains on the car today.
Little Red made an appearance at a Ford preview event in Los Angeles, where it inspired the creation of the first California Special Mustang, which aped its styling, if not performance. Shelby eventually sent the cars back to Ford for a date with the crusher, as was standard practice for prototype cars, but they both stood it up.
The Green Hornet showed up at a Ford employee auction in 1971 and was resold several times until it ended up in the garage of Barrett-Jackson Auction House CEO, Craig Jackson, about 15 years ago. Little Red just disappeared.
A half-century of failed attempts to find it seemed to back up the prevailing view that it had been crushed. But like any good mystery, all that was missing was the right key to unlock it. Then Jackson got his hands on it.
Jackson and classic car specialist Jason Billups were doing research on the Green Hornet recently and found an inventory sheet from Ford listing its VIN along with those of some other cars. It dawned on Billups that everyone who’d been looking through records for Little Red were using its Shelby-issued serial number, rather than the original Ford VIN, which they now had.
And just like that, they found it. It was registered in Texas, where they connected with its current owner this past February — and the rest of its story unfolded.
Jackson told Fox News that Little Red, naturally-aspirated again, was sent to Courtesy Ford in Littleton, Colo., where a wounded Vietnam vet decided to treat himself, not knowing the car he was about to buy was any more special than the other Shelbys on the lot. After driving it for a couple of years he then sold to a man who lived in Wyoming at the time.
The second owner later moved to Texas and had it put away in a storage container that got broken into, the thief taking a few parts from the car, which was no longer in running condition.
After that, he brought it to his cousin’s house in Weatherford, Texas, and left it in his yard among a bunch of other old cars, where it was sitting when Jackson and his team arrived.
Along with Billups, he’d brought along renowned Mustang expert Kevin Marti to authenticate the find. Marti last year confirmed that a Mustang shell that had been sitting in a Mexican junkyard for years was one of the stunt cars used in the Steve McQueen film “Bullitt.”
This one wasn’t in much better shape. The engine and transmission are out, the front fenders and hood are missing, and you’d never give it a second look if not for the Shelby badge on the roof pillar.
The owner told Jackson he had a hunch that it might be Little Red about 25 years ago, but when he reached out to the folks at Shelby, they gave him the crusher story. Confident that it was the real deal, Jackson said the owner sold it to him for a fair price and was glad to be a part of what’s to come.
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Jackson wants to bring it back to life in as close to its ideal condition as possible. Of course, he’s not really really sure what that is, since it morphed many times while Ford and Shelby were working with it. So he’s launching a website to document the work and crowdsource information from anyone who has any.
“If your dad worked for Ford or Shelby, talk to them. Or look in your closet and see if you have any old pictures of it. Anything might help,” he said.
One hint he already has is the presence of two fuel pumps, which supports a rumor that it was twin-supercharged at one time.
As for the rest, the work will likely be a yearslong project that Marti thinks will rewrite Mustang history.
Jackson didn't say what he planned to do with it when its done, but he did put Green Hornet up for auction in 2013 and the bidding got as high as $1.9 million, which wasn't enough to meet its reserve.
Don't expect him to offer a discount for the pair.
http://www.foxnews.com/auto/2018/08/17/little-red-1967-ford-mustang-shelby-gt500-found-after-50-years-could-be-worth-millio
A legendary Ford Mustang that many thought was destroyed 50 years ago has been discovered rotting away in a Texas field. And it could be worth millions.
By Gary Gastelu | Fox News
Affectionately called Little Red, the 1967 model was an experimental car that Ford loaned to Carrol Shelby to use as a test bed for the development of performance parts. Little Red and a later car, unofficially known as the Green Hornet, were the only two Shelby GT 500 notchback coupes of their era, each sporting a snazzy vinyl roof.
Shelby’s crew tinkered with the cars, trying out different body parts, engines and transmissions. Little Red was primarily configured with a supercharged 428 V8 and 3-speed automatic transmission, while the Green Hornet was fitted with a prototype independent rear suspension that never made it into production, but remains on the car today.
Little Red made an appearance at a Ford preview event in Los Angeles, where it inspired the creation of the first California Special Mustang, which aped its styling, if not performance. Shelby eventually sent the cars back to Ford for a date with the crusher, as was standard practice for prototype cars, but they both stood it up.
The Green Hornet showed up at a Ford employee auction in 1971 and was resold several times until it ended up in the garage of Barrett-Jackson Auction House CEO, Craig Jackson, about 15 years ago. Little Red just disappeared.
A half-century of failed attempts to find it seemed to back up the prevailing view that it had been crushed. But like any good mystery, all that was missing was the right key to unlock it. Then Jackson got his hands on it.
Jackson and classic car specialist Jason Billups were doing research on the Green Hornet recently and found an inventory sheet from Ford listing its VIN along with those of some other cars. It dawned on Billups that everyone who’d been looking through records for Little Red were using its Shelby-issued serial number, rather than the original Ford VIN, which they now had.
And just like that, they found it. It was registered in Texas, where they connected with its current owner this past February — and the rest of its story unfolded.
Jackson told Fox News that Little Red, naturally-aspirated again, was sent to Courtesy Ford in Littleton, Colo., where a wounded Vietnam vet decided to treat himself, not knowing the car he was about to buy was any more special than the other Shelbys on the lot. After driving it for a couple of years he then sold to a man who lived in Wyoming at the time.
The second owner later moved to Texas and had it put away in a storage container that got broken into, the thief taking a few parts from the car, which was no longer in running condition.
After that, he brought it to his cousin’s house in Weatherford, Texas, and left it in his yard among a bunch of other old cars, where it was sitting when Jackson and his team arrived.
Along with Billups, he’d brought along renowned Mustang expert Kevin Marti to authenticate the find. Marti last year confirmed that a Mustang shell that had been sitting in a Mexican junkyard for years was one of the stunt cars used in the Steve McQueen film “Bullitt.”
This one wasn’t in much better shape. The engine and transmission are out, the front fenders and hood are missing, and you’d never give it a second look if not for the Shelby badge on the roof pillar.
The owner told Jackson he had a hunch that it might be Little Red about 25 years ago, but when he reached out to the folks at Shelby, they gave him the crusher story. Confident that it was the real deal, Jackson said the owner sold it to him for a fair price and was glad to be a part of what’s to come.
FOLLOW FOX NEWS AUTOS ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE
Jackson wants to bring it back to life in as close to its ideal condition as possible. Of course, he’s not really really sure what that is, since it morphed many times while Ford and Shelby were working with it. So he’s launching a website to document the work and crowdsource information from anyone who has any.
“If your dad worked for Ford or Shelby, talk to them. Or look in your closet and see if you have any old pictures of it. Anything might help,” he said.
One hint he already has is the presence of two fuel pumps, which supports a rumor that it was twin-supercharged at one time.
As for the rest, the work will likely be a yearslong project that Marti thinks will rewrite Mustang history.
Jackson didn't say what he planned to do with it when its done, but he did put Green Hornet up for auction in 2013 and the bidding got as high as $1.9 million, which wasn't enough to meet its reserve.
Don't expect him to offer a discount for the pair.
http://www.foxnews.com/auto/2018/08/17/little-red-1967-ford-mustang-shelby-gt500-found-after-50-years-could-be-worth-millio
Automotive
Classic Cars
Muscle Cars
American History
Ford Motor Company
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 9
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SGT John " Mac " McConnell
Just the beginning of what more will be discovered about Lil ' Red. Good morning brother.
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John.... Wow, what a find! I Graduated High school in 1965, and I always loved the Mustang, but never to this day ever owned or driven one!
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CWO3 Dennis M.
SGT (Join to see) - Very nice, very nice indeed! Both my 283 1957 Chevy's are all stock, except I do have the exact wheel's that you pictured. The SS Cragar mags. My favorite wheel for sure. The above oil filter you mention was used up untill the 1956 Chevy. In 57 they built the 283 and gave it the normal filter under the engine, but it still was a canister filter. We now have a conversion for that to the filters of today that screw in directly. As for your 700 double pumper Holly, I had that exact carb on my 1971 454cid Corvette with a super hot Mallory ignition system. Too bad about the pics, I would have loved to see them. What happened to the car?
Sorry for the lousy centering on this photo. I took this photo at the Antique Car show at Stowe VT a couple of years ago, I had my back turned to him as he came into the show and he was moving pretty fast and heard the rumble, and swung around fast and snapped this photo real fast, no time to center it, but thought you might enjoy seeing this one. I looked all over the show field for it again, but never saw it again to get a good shot!
Sorry for the lousy centering on this photo. I took this photo at the Antique Car show at Stowe VT a couple of years ago, I had my back turned to him as he came into the show and he was moving pretty fast and heard the rumble, and swung around fast and snapped this photo real fast, no time to center it, but thought you might enjoy seeing this one. I looked all over the show field for it again, but never saw it again to get a good shot!
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SGT (Join to see)
CWO3 Dennis M. - Very nice 55 indeed, I really like the SS Cragar mags and I also like the Centerline mags on my 70 Monte Carlo, I had 10" on the back and 6" on the front with Goodyear eagles, the front tires it was some narrow ones.
I put a 396 big block that I got out of a old Chevy station wagon that one of the AF airman left abandoned on our dirt road, they usually did that when they left the island.
I took that 396 and overhauled it, also I took the turbo 400 trans too.
I was lucky that 396 had pop-up pistons with closed chambered heads. I changed the cam to Isky with the lifters, also I changed the cam bearings too. Put a all steel timing gear, brass freeze plugs. Edelbrock intake with a Holly 750 doubly pumper and a 1" spacer. I put a Chevy Electronic Ignition Distributor, and changed the module to Excel. In the Turbo 400 trans I put a B&M Automatic Transmission Shift Kit. Before the carb I put a cool can on the fuel line, and used ice in it, lol, also a 14" chrome air filter that was 3" high, remember in those days everyone had one.
Before I put the engine in, I painted the engine with VHT paint, the block was red, the heads were blue with white stars on it, everyone liked it. I wished I had kept the picture of the engine, I got the idea from a Hotrod magazine. I had 3" Purple Horny headers that I had to modified by the starter, it just kept over heating the starter, no muffler rap in those days, Purple Horny glass packs.
The cam was so radical, at the stop light it would vibrate the other car, Lol, the duration was 300+.
When I stomped on it, the rear tires would smoke so bad it would blow up the tires. Hahahaha
I painted it, "Lipstick Red", and had a personal license plate that read, "LIPS", that plate was already on the car when I bought it.
On the hood I had my cousin an artist airbrushed paint, the face of Jesus with the background of a hill with the three cross, and on the top of the painting it read, "The Savior". I did that because all the other cars had pictures of Demons and Devils on there cars, and I would harass those cars on the roads, Lol
Later I sold that car to a cousin of mine that wrecked it in the first week, I sold it because I was building my 70 two door Nova. And that's another story, I'll tell you one day.
I put a 396 big block that I got out of a old Chevy station wagon that one of the AF airman left abandoned on our dirt road, they usually did that when they left the island.
I took that 396 and overhauled it, also I took the turbo 400 trans too.
I was lucky that 396 had pop-up pistons with closed chambered heads. I changed the cam to Isky with the lifters, also I changed the cam bearings too. Put a all steel timing gear, brass freeze plugs. Edelbrock intake with a Holly 750 doubly pumper and a 1" spacer. I put a Chevy Electronic Ignition Distributor, and changed the module to Excel. In the Turbo 400 trans I put a B&M Automatic Transmission Shift Kit. Before the carb I put a cool can on the fuel line, and used ice in it, lol, also a 14" chrome air filter that was 3" high, remember in those days everyone had one.
Before I put the engine in, I painted the engine with VHT paint, the block was red, the heads were blue with white stars on it, everyone liked it. I wished I had kept the picture of the engine, I got the idea from a Hotrod magazine. I had 3" Purple Horny headers that I had to modified by the starter, it just kept over heating the starter, no muffler rap in those days, Purple Horny glass packs.
The cam was so radical, at the stop light it would vibrate the other car, Lol, the duration was 300+.
When I stomped on it, the rear tires would smoke so bad it would blow up the tires. Hahahaha
I painted it, "Lipstick Red", and had a personal license plate that read, "LIPS", that plate was already on the car when I bought it.
On the hood I had my cousin an artist airbrushed paint, the face of Jesus with the background of a hill with the three cross, and on the top of the painting it read, "The Savior". I did that because all the other cars had pictures of Demons and Devils on there cars, and I would harass those cars on the roads, Lol
Later I sold that car to a cousin of mine that wrecked it in the first week, I sold it because I was building my 70 two door Nova. And that's another story, I'll tell you one day.
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SGT (Join to see)
CWO3 Dennis M. - What happened to the 55 Chevy, in the 80's, a Navy Vietnam Vet (Walter Cherry) who drove a taxi, that I met by pulling him over every time I saw him on the road, because he was just an AH to cops.
He and his best friend a Army SF Vietnam Vet (Pat Sullivan), both spoke Japanese very well and had so many complaints for ripping off tourists, and my assignment was at the beach tourists area.
I pulled them over so much they began to respect me, and both became good friends of mine, and still today are good friends. Both married Japanese women, Cherry married into a Yakuza family. Pat got into a shooting range and managing it for tourists with a Yakuza family, he married a Japanese business woman, and now does real estate. Lol
Cherry on the other hand, change from taxi and worked at a Japanese busing company as a auto painter before he got married.
He asked me one day to buy the 55, in exchange for a 69 Lincoln Town car with $1000, he painted it and did all the mechanical work on it, and we traded. Why I traded for a Town Car, was because a good friend who taught me how to auto body and paint cars took me on a ride with a Lincoln Town Car that he wanted to buy, ever since that day I fell in love the Lincoln Town Car. That car got me married to my second wife, it was like a couch in the back seat, you could stretch from door to door. Lol
Cherry got married and his job with his married Yakuza family was to over see the Yakuza families properties and guns that was under his name, also, when the Yakuza family members took a vacation on Guam he would take them out on a boat so they could practice shooting. He used to ask me to teach the Japaneses how to shoot, and everyday I would get paid $100. But I was a good cop and, I told him I wouldn't do it for any amount.
Years went by and Cherry lived off his Yakuza's family money, he told me one day that he had taken apart the 55 to restore it or something like that, but left it apart for years. This year when I met Pat he told me that Cherry was in poor health and was unable to walk or get up from bed and crippled. He said Cherry still had the 55 taken apart and that's it, the car sits in Cherry's garage.
He and his best friend a Army SF Vietnam Vet (Pat Sullivan), both spoke Japanese very well and had so many complaints for ripping off tourists, and my assignment was at the beach tourists area.
I pulled them over so much they began to respect me, and both became good friends of mine, and still today are good friends. Both married Japanese women, Cherry married into a Yakuza family. Pat got into a shooting range and managing it for tourists with a Yakuza family, he married a Japanese business woman, and now does real estate. Lol
Cherry on the other hand, change from taxi and worked at a Japanese busing company as a auto painter before he got married.
He asked me one day to buy the 55, in exchange for a 69 Lincoln Town car with $1000, he painted it and did all the mechanical work on it, and we traded. Why I traded for a Town Car, was because a good friend who taught me how to auto body and paint cars took me on a ride with a Lincoln Town Car that he wanted to buy, ever since that day I fell in love the Lincoln Town Car. That car got me married to my second wife, it was like a couch in the back seat, you could stretch from door to door. Lol
Cherry got married and his job with his married Yakuza family was to over see the Yakuza families properties and guns that was under his name, also, when the Yakuza family members took a vacation on Guam he would take them out on a boat so they could practice shooting. He used to ask me to teach the Japaneses how to shoot, and everyday I would get paid $100. But I was a good cop and, I told him I wouldn't do it for any amount.
Years went by and Cherry lived off his Yakuza's family money, he told me one day that he had taken apart the 55 to restore it or something like that, but left it apart for years. This year when I met Pat he told me that Cherry was in poor health and was unable to walk or get up from bed and crippled. He said Cherry still had the 55 taken apart and that's it, the car sits in Cherry's garage.
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If it could only tell it's story, the only experience I had with a Hy-Po Mustang was 1971 riding in my friend's 70 Mach-I, blue with black stripes, I wish he had kept it.
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