Shelby, Cobra, Mustang, Ford, and Ford Power Meet 2010, May 2nd, 2010

Sunday’s sultry weather did not deter Mustang owners and fanatics from getting their fill at the Shelby, Cobra, Mustang, Ford, and Ford Power Meet 2010 held at Mustangs Unlimited in Manchester, CT. The Shelby American Automobile Club of New England joined forces with the hosts to stage the well-attended event. Cars from across the New England area and New York ensured that this was a ‘must see’ show.

Mustangs spanned decades, from 1964 to present-day models. Keeping it all in the family, a New Hampshire husband and wife drove their impressive 2009 black Shelby GT and silver GT500KR to the show. A 1978 four-cylinder Mustang was a rarity, while an interesting flat black ‘60s Mustang was a work in progress showing a lot of potential for the future. As usual at Mustang gatherings, the license plates showed that Mustang owners have great imagination. Standouts were HEM-HUN (Hemi Hunter), SNK-BTE, MYSHLBY and SHLBYKR.

Mustang enthusiasts will find a large slice of Ford Heaven at four more in-house car shows at Mustangs Unlimited. The next show will be the Spring Round-Up 2010 on June 13th (rain date June 20th). This will be sponsored by the Mustang Car Club of New England and will be an all-Mustang show.

There will be a Shelby & High Performance Ford Show sponsored by the Shelby American Automobile Club, with the dates to be announced.

Another show of interest will be the19th Annual M-E-L/FOMOCO Car Meet and BBQ for Mercury, Edsel, Lincoln, Galaxie, Torino, Falcon, and pre-1979 Mustang cars. This will be held on July 18th and is sponsored by the Connecticut Cougar Club.

Rounding out the show year will be Power Show 2010 on September 12th (rain date September 19th). Once again this event will be sponsored by the Mustang Car Club of New England and is another all-Mustang show.

Cruisin's Star Car

After some deliberation, and a stroll around the parking lot to take in all of the cars, a gray 1967 GT500 Super Snake was not to be missed and tagged the Star Car. Massachusetts resident Charlie has owned the car for three years, getting it from Phoenix, AZ. The previous owner was a personal friend of Carroll Shelby, who rebuilt the GT500 in 2006.

The dashboard is signed by Shelby, while a visor bears Jack Roush’s signature. The three original 1967 Super Snakes were all destroyed, so this car is truly one-of-a-kind.

Under the hood sits an authentic Carroll Shelby Enterprises 427ci, 725bhp aluminum motor fed by dual quad carbs. Lurking in the trunk is an ominous nitrous oxide bottle. When asked how much power the bottle added Charlie replied that he had no idea, and with 725 bhp already he was not even tempted to find out!

The transmission is a TKO 600 five speed. This feeds the power to a Strange rear axle that houses 3:91 gears that spin Halibrand wheels. The suspension is by MAER and it utilizes Bilstein shock absorbers. The Mustang’s massive power is bought to a halt by BAER disc brakes all round.