20 / 103
The SHELBY AMERICAN
Spring 2016 20
Master Eagle Eyes Continue to Thrash it Out
Ok, this thing has lasted far
longer than we ever expected. It all
started when we began getting mul-
tiple eagle eye sightings from Ken
Young in Wisconsin and Jim
Hutchinson in Massachusetts for
each issue.We wondered, aloud, if it
might just be a coincidence – or if it
wasn’t, how long they could keep it
up. Then, before we knew it, we
started getting multiple sightings
from Ted Warren from Louisiana.
As Warren waded into the fray,
we got the feeling
that it might be the eagle eye equiv-
alent of the redneck boast, “
Hey,
ya’ll–watch this...
” In real life, that
kind of swagger, usually fueled by a
steady stream of alcohol, is followed
by either an explosion, a barrel-roll
or a belly flop. Warren’s eagle eye
sightings were surprisingly unique,
homespun and it seemed like they
were finding him and not the other
way around.
Then we got a large batch from
Bob Barranger of New Jersey. We
challenged him to maintain his
level of participation and were
somewhat surprised when he did.
Like a horse race, some seemed to
step it out while others fell back. Po-
sitions changed continuously. And
once in a while we got a few sight-
ings from dark horses who looked
like they might have what it takes
but faded in the stretch. Where will
it end? We have no idea. We’ll just
Ever seen a ‘68 Suzuki Cobra? We
hadn’t but Jim Hutchinson saw this
one advertised on an auction website.
It’s the T-500 model, but we doubt if
many GT500 owners will be rushing
out to get one to park in their garage.
There is a limit. Somewhere.
Young saw this ad in an issue of
Mike Kelly’s Cruise News
, a Florida
street rod newspaper. It’s hard to
tell what caught his attention first –
the Shelby stripes or the word
“chrome.”
You might call it a long term mar-
keting plan: with an eye to future
buyers, Ford teamed up with Lego
to create a new Mustang and F-150
Raptor. This was spotted by Bob
Barranger. It’s hard to believe that
a Ford engineer actually got paid to
develop a Lego Mustang? Are you in
the wrong line of work?
Don’t try making reservations at the
Hotel Fort Shelby in Detroit. No word
if Barranger did but that place is long
gone.
It seems like Young spends half of
his life on cruise ships. His latest so-
journ was to Southeast Asia. He ev-
idently didn’t get his fill of Vietnam
in 1968 so he had to go back. Rumor
has it that he lost a cigarette lighter
in a Saigon bordello and returned to
try to find it. He is pictured attempt-
ing to score eagle-eye points exam-
ining what he claimed was a cobra
on the ship’s wall. Spoiler alert:
that’s a seahorse, Young.
We wouldn’t normally consider a
catalog listing like this, sent in by
Young as it turns out, worthy of an
eagle-eye accolade, but something
caught our eye. The diecasts are
1965 GT350s available in red or
black. The description says, “
...this
is the most authentic Shelby diecast
ever created.
” This is the result of
how the passage of time affects his-
tory and accuracy. It’s only going to
get worse, folks.