The Shelby American (Fall 2021)

The SHELBY AMERICAN Fall 2021 3 AMELIA ISLAND 2021. 4 pages. Things in the car world seem to be getting back to normal following the adverse reaction to the Covid-19 world pan- demic. Amelia Island in northeastern Florida was back on the schedule, al- though it was bumped back a couple of months. That didn’t affect the turnout – or the enthusiasm. Lynn St. James was the Guest of Honor and a bunch of the cars she drove throughout her career were on hand. SPRING FLING. 6 pages. SAAC’s Indiana Region has been holding its Spring Fling since 1977 and while other regional meets seem to be getting a tad smaller each year, the “Fling” gets larger. Owners bring out their Shel- bys and the cars are nicer and nicer each year. Rex Meyer brought his Alan Mann Lightweight GT40 to the show. He wasn’t in the running for the long distance award because he is a local boy. The car is an absolute gem. Other cars were in the same class. EARL PFEIFER AND THE TOPLESS COBRA. 4 pages. Here’s an inter- esting story: in 1982, at 22 years-old and with a new 20-year old bride, Earl Pfeifer bought CSX2100 for $26,000. And he didn’t even have a garage to park it in. The car wasn’t in very good shape but Earl dutifully rebuilt it and got it in running condition. Wife, Carol, liked driving the car as much as he did – maybe more – and she put almost as many miles on it as he did. It’s quite a story. MELBOURNE IN MARCH. 4 pages. The amazing American Muscle Car Museum in Melbourne, Florida is a private museum housing some 325 Mus- cle cars from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. A few times a year they throw their doors open to clubs and their members and their guests flock to the place. It’s definitely worth the visit. The cars and facility are owned by Mark Pieloch, who made his fortune in animal pharmaceuticals. A lot of that for- tune is tied up in his museum. INVESTIGATING THE ELUSIVE 1965 GT350 3-HOLE STEERING WHEEL. 3 pages. There were two different steering wheels used on the ‘65 GT350, but that’s a detail probably only owners are likely to know. The orig- inal wheel was the same as a Cobra but when supplies ran short replacement wheels were ordered in 15-inch diameter to provide more thigh room.Wheels with three holes in each spoke were used between cars #110 and #300, but not on every car. Then they went back to wheels with slotted spokes. THE CHECKERED FLAG. 12 pages. We continue to lose people and we shouldn’t be surprised – but we are. It’s probably because most are unex- pected. It comes with age but we just can’t seem to get used to it. And we hope we never will. We are only on this earth for a relatively short amount of time, and all we can ask is that while we were here we make a difference and people will remember us. It doesn’t seem like too much to ask. SAAC member and illustrator Ted Alexander likes Panteras. He sent us this illustration from a brochure he designed.