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The SHELBY AMERICAN
Fall 2016
KEEPING THE HOBBY ALIVE.
3 pages.
Automobile hobbyists aren’t born,
they are made. And it takes generations. Young kids can share their parents’ in-
terest in and appreciation of cars if they become part of the “team.” Bill Devlin
explains how it works in his garage, and it makes you wonder why we’re not see-
ing more of this. Maybe it’s out there but we just don’t see it. Whatever the case,
it’s something everyone with one of these cars needs to think about or else they
will all become just rusting sheetmetal before anyone realizes it.
THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF THE LONG LOST TRANSMISSION.
3 pages.
Strange, but true: imagine buying a ‘66 GT350 in 1982 and discovering
that the original transmission had been removed by a previous owner ten years
before. You convince yourself that it is long gone when you comb the swap meets
for a replacement. You find one and then, ten years later, you discover that the
car originally had an aluminum case and cast iron tailshaft. And you discover a
friend has an aluminum case. No,wait. it’s THE aluminum case from your car.
THE LAST TRIP TO CHARLOTTE.
11 pages.
We revisit SAAC-26. It was our
last of four visits to Charlotte. The track is awe-inspiring, not only because of its
physical presence but probably because we see it so often on televised NASCAR
races. It’s kind of neat to see those cars blasting around the track and thinking,
“
Yeah, I’ve driven there
.” But we have to admit, after three previous visits it was
getting a little old. As much as members from the area would like SAAC to come
back again and again, there are other tracks in other locations.
THE CHECKERED FLAG.
11 pages.
More bright lights go out. We should be
used to this by now, because anyone who was actively involved in cars or racing
in the 1950s and 1960s is probably 70, 80 or even 90 now, and that’s the time
they slip away. But when someone is still with us, you can’t imagine the day that
they’re not. And there are no replacements for anyone.
NEWS FROM OZ.
2 pages
. Our Australian cousins sure do keep busy. It’s hard
to imagine the level of interest there is for Shelbys Down Under, especially when
everything costs more and they have to rely, mostly, on the mail or FedEx to get
anything. They nabbed the Best Club Display at a huge indoor car show in Mel-
bourne. Just like the U.S., there are an increasing number of NewGen Shelbys
in their shows and this bodes well for the hobby in general.
“Show a little respect, son. That’s an original Daytona Coupe.”
Here’s a thumb-in-the-eye to every Ferrari enthusiast. Spotted in the pad-
dock at this year’s Monterey vintage races by Harvey Sherman..