SAAC was founded in 1975. It has approximately 5,000 members in the U.S. and another 500 around the world. When it comes to Cobras and Shelbys, if we don't know it, it's probably not worth knowing, While SAAC has continually evolved over the past 32 years, its basic reason for existence has not changed. The club is dedicated to the preservation, care, history and enjoyment of the World Championship Cars built by Carroll Shelby. The difference is that some of the definitions we originally operated under have changed. These changes happened very gradually, and that's where evolution enters the picture.

"Preservation" is our first goal. When we came up with that some 32 years ago, the cars were in danger of becoming just so many used cars. We realized that they needed to be preserved, first by finding sources for replacement parts so they could continue to be driven. Don't forget that in 1975, a 65 GT350 was only 10 years old and 70 Shelbys were only five years old. Almost all of these cars were daily drivers back then; a "classic car" was a Duesenberg, a Packard or a Cord. Things on our cars were beginning to wear out and most replacement parts were still available from any Ford dealer's parts department. But we knew this wouldn't last forever. Manufacturers are required by law to offer replacement parts for ten years; after that things that don't sell go obsolete. As the years went by, "preservation" acquired a different meaning. Cars were now being restored and there was a keen interest in accuracy. You can see the evolution of the concept of preservation right there.