sure if that was because of the car, or
because Bonnie was wearing an Amer-
ican flag halter top under her um-
brella. But what the hey, maybe people
were feeling patriotic).
It was the first time that I had
driven the car on the highway in thirty
years. “Nervous” doesn’t even begin to
describe how I felt. It was also the first
time that we realized the enthusiasm
people share and the true value of our
car.We even had one guy follow us and
offer a blank check for the car. We
heard many comments along the line
of, “
I used to have a Shelby, but I sold
it to buy furniture or put a deposit on
a house
.” It rained for the whole trip
back to Maryland, but it truly looked
like the “Blue” car was smiling in the
rear view mirror.
In 2004, we entered the Shelby in
a Halloween Contest on Kent Island.
We decked it out as a P51 Mustang. It
had a working propeller, flaps and
rudder. It had vintage WWII mark-
ings, decals, and insignias. We took
first place. It just goes to show what
happens when you give mechanics too
much time and too much beer.
In the spring of that same year, we
were invited to the “Wings & Wheels”
show at the Kent Island Airport. How-
ever, they didn’t ask for the Shelby.
They wanted the “P51” to set up on the
tarmac with the vintage planes.
Someone actually asked us if we flew
it there! We made a poster of it and
sent it to Mr. Shelby to sign. He
thought it was hilarious and wrote
“
Beautiful! Off we go into the Wild
Blue Yonder.
”
In 2015 and 2016 we were honored
with an invitation from the National
Capital Region Mustang Club to dis-
play our Shelby in the Washington
D.C. Auto Show at the DC Convention
Center, as a part of their “Fifty Years
of Mustang” display. After many years
of local shows, parades, rallies, cruise-
ins, high school reunions, parade laps
and a dozen SAAC conventions, “Mus-
tang Sally” never gets old. Although
the future remains untold, one thing
we can be sure of is that we will be rid-
ing our “Painted Pony” as long as we
have “Horsepower.”
The SHELBY AMERICAN
Fall 2016 31