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The SHELBY AMERICAN
252 Fall 2015
I was now reduced to practically beg-
ging him to sell me the car but he was
unbending on his policy of selling
parts only. Like the previous time, I
left the junkyard frustrated and
upset.
During my next trip to Tucson I
returned to the junkyard one last
time. It felt like I was visiting an old
friend in a nursing home. I looked
around but couldn’t find the car any-
where. My old friend had passed away
in my absence.
I guess the final disposition of
5S480 will never be known. It’s hard
to believe it could have been anything
other than scrapped. If a freshly re-
stored car shows up bearing this serial
number I’m sure the only “original”
parts that would ever have seen the
inside of Shelby American’s LAX fac-
tory would be tiny portions, like the
passenger side inner front fender
panel carrying the Shelby serial num-
ber. Whenever I think of this car I feel
both sad and disappointed because I
was not able to rescue it. No one likes
to see a car like this simply disappear.
I left the junkyard completely
frustrated and upset because I was so
close and yet so far away from rescu-
ing a piece of history. That junkyard
was like a magnet to me. On a subse-
quent trip to Tucson I went back, with
high hopes of striking a deal and tak-
ing ownership of the Shelby. There it
was, in exactly the same place as it
was the last time I had seen it. It had
since lost many of its remaining origi-
nal parts; the trunk lid, quick-ratio
steering box and rear glass were gone.
Once again I ran into a stone wall.
I was not going to get the car out
of there in one piece. I considered the
fact that the car might have been
stolen, so I checked with the Arizona
State Police. They had nothing on it.
Then I inquired if the junkyard was al-
lowed to sell entire cars. They said it
was. I had given this predicament a lot
of thought prior to my next visit to the
junkyard and I had formed a plan. I
suggested to the owner that I would
post a bond, releasing him and the
junkyard from any future liability. He
immediately rejected this proposal.