bitten by the Mustang bug, he ac-
quired two other Mustangs and even-
tually sold all three to pump the
money into his business. For penance
he drove a ratty Nissan while thinking
about Ferraris, Lamborghinis and
Shelbys.
When he realized it was possible
to make decent money in his antiques
business, along with buying used cars
and fixing them up to make them reli-
able before selling them, he left the
bank. Over a period of years he figures
about fifty cars went through his
hands. He began putting all of his time
and efforts into buying and selling an-
tiques, with the goal of specializing in
higher-end objects.
Atzbach was working about 120
hours a week and doing well. He was
making a lot of contacts and was
building up an impressive inventory.
But he felt himself getting burned-out.
He was so busy making money that he
had no time to spend it. That’s when
he went to the Monterey car week
with the intention of buying a Shelby
at one of the auctions. He came home
with a ‘68 GT500KR (which he still
has) and a Boss 302. His life was be-
ginning to acquire some meaning.
The SHELBY AMERICAN
Collecting always starts with a car. Some people own only one and collect stuff. Others
collect only cars. But usually both go hand-in-hand. Atzbach’s collection of cars is
nowhere near his memorabilia collection, but he has managed to snag a few historically
important examples. For example, he has half of all the 1966 GT350 convertibles made.
And what about the petrolania? That might be a new word for you. Atzbach says he just
likes the gas and oil signs. He also has a small room that has nothing but outdoor ther-
mometers, the kind you used to see at gas stations, candy stores, burger joints and malt
shops pitching just about every brand of soda pop you can name.
Winter 2016 65
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