The Shelby American (Summer 2022)

The SHELBY AMERICAN Summer 2022 78 Ford published an nicely-done magazine that was primarily aimed at dealer showrooms and new owners but was also a source of excellent photos and details about Shelbys when they were new. It wasn ’ t very well known until SAACbegan “ discovering ” sources of information in the late 1970s. – Rick Kopec saac@saac.com f you found yourself in a Ford dealer’s waiting room between 1943 and 1993, maybe waiting for your car to be serviced, you might have picked up a small magazine ti- tled Ford Times and thumbed through it to kill some time. That was precisely its purpose. Ford’s monthly magazine was first published on April 15, 1908 and con- tinued until April of 1917, ceasing publication because of America’s entry into WWI. After a twenty year break, publishing picked up again in 1943. It continued for the next fifty years until it ended publication in January 1993. The small magazine (5˝ x 7˝) is a com- bination of the Readers Digest and Yankee . The articles are a mix of cur- rent events, historical topics, travel subjects, art and Ford product reports. New models are highlighted but not overdone. Shelby American, Ford’s sports car arm, received publicity through arti- cles in Ford Times about once a year as new models were reported on. After SAAC began in 1975 and Shelby en- thusiasts took an active interest in anything in print about Shelbys and Cobras, Ford Times articles were “dis- covered” and although the photo- graphs used have since been seen numerous times, back in the late 1970s they were new and exciting as enthusuasts found this new source. I This picture was taken in January 1965 during the introduction of the 427 Cobra and the GT350 at Riverside International Raceway. A lot was happening that day: there was a display of all Shelby American vehicles; a demonstration “race” of all Shelby’s cars; and the opportunity for members of the press to test-drive the new GT350 street model on the track. The sounds of the cars were recorded and used to make a 78 rpm record released as “Dan Gurney’s World of Racing.” Gurney narrated the cars as they drove past and provided commentary.