The Shelby American (Fall 2021)

Fastback #101 was initially as- signed to the Shelby Engineering De- partment. Shelby operated a separate facility in Ionia, a few blocks fromA.O. Smith, which had previously been a Buick dealership. Fastback #101 was designated as a test car for fuel injec- tion (it would be one of about a dozen such cars, both small blocks and big blocks, to be equipped with fuel injec- tion and evaluated with an eye to- wards production). Shelby’s Chief Engineer, Fred Goodell, was a strong proponent of fuel injection. He saw it as eventually replacing the carburetor on production cars because it was more reliable (having fewer moving parts) and capable of producing more horsepower. Additionally, it was less expensive than a carburetor. Goodell was on the cutting edge of what would become an industry standard a decade later. He was convinced that coming emission standards would require out- side-the-box thinking. Between 1967 and 1970, Goodell supervised experimentation with a va- riety of fuel injection systems as well as superchargers (notably the Paxton centrifugal unit). Both mechanical and electronic fuel injection systems were evaluated, including throttle body de- signs and down-draft style systems. Eventually the program expanded to include almost two-dozen cars, re- ferred to as “engineering vehicles.” Actual factory documentation on this testing has proved almost impos- sible to find. Existing engineering records only describe a few specific systems, including Conelec, Bosch/ Bendix and Lucas. Although overseen by Goodell, many of the systems were installed by their manufacturers or by subcontractors. Once the tests were concluded the systems were removed from the cars which would be put back to standard configuration and then sold as used cars. No mention would be made of their prior use as engineer- ing or test cars. In May of 1967, plans called for fuel injection to be used on production Shelbys. Production of about 8,000 cars was estimated for 1968 with at least twenty percent (1,600 cars) re- ceiving fuel injection or superchargers. None of these cars, however, material- ized on A.O. Smith’s production line and 1968 production would be 4,450 cars – about half of what had origi- nally been estimated. Goodell was partial to a fuel injec- tion system made by Consolidated Electrical (Con/Elec), a smaller com- pany located in Elmira, New York. Conelec assured Goodell they would be able to provide enough fuel injec- tion systems for Shelby’s estimated production of 8,000 units annually and the cost was calculated to be about $50 per unit. In order to install the Conelec sys- tem, the intake manifold had to be re- moved from the car and a hole had to be drilled into each intake runner. This hole was then tapped so a fuel in- jection inlet line could be attached. The cost of machining each intake as well as the labor to remove and re- place them was in addition to the $50 cost of the unit. In 1968, Goodell oversaw at least four cars with fuel injection. Most likely these cars had their fuel deliv- ery systems custom-installed. Three of the first four cars built were desig- nated as “fuel injection test vehicles.” The fourth was GT350 convertible that was sent to the Hertz Corpora- tion. It was designated as an advanced show car. Goodell also personally over- saw the installation of fuel injection on a California Special notchback proto- type. The car came to be known as the “Green Hornet” and was shipped to Conelec in Elmira, New York where the fuel injection system was installed. The fuel injection project continued into 1969 Shelby production with more than a dozen cars added to the test fleet, but no production cars were outfitted with fuel injection. It was still considered as being “in develop- ment.” During this time Conelec was making changes to their system in an- ticipation of production. They planned to add an oxygen sensor and to recali- brate their computer to produce in- creased fuel efficiency. At least one The SHELBY AMERICAN Fall 2021 28