Personnel Department- 

Vincent Liska, Board of Directors, 1968-1969-1970 Shelby Registrar.

Vincent Liska saved his pay while he was in the Army in the mid-60s. He kept $20 a month for pocket money and had the rest sent home to his bank. After he got out and turned 21 in January of 1968, he had a hefty down payment for his first Shelby, a Highland Green 1968 GT500 with a 4-speed. He financed the rest and recalls that his payments were $69 a month.

A year later his Shelby was caught in a flash flood and was submerged to the dashboard. After it was drained and dried out it began having electrical problems, so he traded it in on a maroon ’69 GT500 fastback 4-speed drag-pack car. He ordered it in January of 1969, it was delivered a month later, and he still owns it today.

In 1979 Vincent bought another maroon ’69 Shelby, a GT350 convertible. He had been driving his Shelby for ten years and had not heard about any Shelby clubs. But someone told him about a Shelby get-together in Downingtown, PA at the end of June in 1979 and not knowing anything else, he hopped in the ragtop and drove a couple of hours from his home in central New Jersey to just outside of Philadelphia. He was amazed at seeing all of the Shelbys and Cobras in one place so instead of going back home that night, he slept in the back of the Shelby. He has been to every convention since that one—but it was the only time he slept in a car.


A year later he bought a Midnight Blue ’67 GT500 #1048. And a year after that he had a fourth car, a white ’67 GT350, #011. He can’t bring himself to sell any of them.


The conventions turned out to be very enjoyable for Vincent but he wanted to do more than just be a spectator. He kept busy at the open track’s Technical Inspection, assisting Jeff Burgy, SAAC’s Head of Tech. He also did whatever else he could and gained a reputation as being someone who could be counted on to get things done without supervision or double-checking. In 1986 he stepped into the slot of 1969-1970 Registrar when Jim Cowles was no longer able to devote the time that was required due to his expanding restoration business. Vin took to it like a duck to water.


In 1991 he was elected to the club’s Board of Directors. When Doug Waschenko decided to retire as the 1968 Registrar in 2000, Vincent stepped forward to take over that registry. His contribution to the body of knowledge the club has collected is incalculable. What does he like most about the club? “No question—it’s the people. I’ve never made more or better friends in my whole life than the people I’ve met at SAAC conventions. They really are like a big family reunion and I can’t wait for each one.”



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