OT: RIP - Carroll Shelby

Just saw on the compuker where Carroll Shelby passed away at 89.

Always been GM - BUT, now maybe need a Shelby Cobra for my midlife (er later) rejuvination!

AMEN TO THAT! I only dream of having a 427 SOHC COBRA. Not a bad life after being told he was dying over 40yrs ago!

He designed some neat stuff. I had half-a-dozen of Shelby's "poor man's cobras" back in the 70s. Sunbeam Tigers. Shelby redesigned the British Sunbeam Alpine that had a little four-banger in it. He stuck in a Ford 260 or 289, Ford top-loader cast-iron four speed trans, ladder bars, and a Jeep rear axle.
They were neat little cars and fast. By the way, Ralph Smart had one at the beginning of the "Get Smart" show.

Not long ago, Anne Frances died. She's the blonde that had an AC Cobra in the show "Honey West." I drooled over her and the car for many years. But she got old and died.

His TV commercials had not been pulled as of about 4:00 P.M. CST.

I'm a GM guy too but respect the work he did.

Ralph Smart... was that Max's brother???

Godspeed Carroll. You were truly one of a kind.

There was a sunbeam alpine upside down in the neighbours back field for years. We used to drive jeeps over it, what a small car to put a small block in!

I goofed on that memory. I have no idea where I got "Ralph" from. Don Adams did indeed play Max Smart, not Ralph. To my defense, I never really watched the show. I didn't even realize he had a Tiger until a few years ago when I spotted it in a promo for rerun of Get Smart. The girl (his partner) was cute - Barbara Feldon as I recall.

Back then, I watched the British show - The Avengers. I was in love with "Emma Peel" (I think that was her character name). Diana Riggs in real life.

Yes,small for a V8 Ford. I remember my foot got so hot I couldn't drive it for more then an hour at a time. The floor was real close to the exhaust manifold. But for a 1964 car that could go 140 MPH and also get 22 MPG if you drove it easy - it was an amazing little car.

The car also had poorly designed steering which was designed by Shelby's team. He later said it was due to cost-cutting. It had NO Ackerman Angle (like any normal car has) so the tires squealed and burned out fast if you did a lot of corning.

Your memory was right on with Barbra Feldon being cute!
And what fun it must have been to drive a real Sumbeam/ Shelby!! Hot foot and all!
RIP Caroll you were a special Man!

Here's the last Sunbeam Tiger I owned. Photo taken in Atlantic City at a Shelby meet - maybe 1972?

My 65 Tiger with the Shelby LAT option package. That included a Jeep posi-rear, ladder bars for traction control, aluminum wheels, etc. I had yanked the 260 V8 and put a built 302 into it. A few months later I wrecked it after drinking a case of beer and then trying to race a big-block Chevelle.

<a href="http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/jdemaris/?action=view&amp;current=1965SunbeamTiger.jpg" target="_blank"> </a>

Shortly after I bought this stock Sunbeam Alpine. What a downgrade ! Went from a 302 V8 down to a 1725 cc four-banger.

<a href="http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/jdemaris/?action=view&amp;current=1966SunbeamAlpine.jpg" target="_blank"></a>

After that I got my beloved 64 SS Chevelle. As you can see, my goats enjoyed it.

<a href="http://s104.photobucket.com/albums/m162/jdemaris/?action=view&amp;current=1964SSChevelle.jpg" target="_blank"></a>

think it was "Maxwell Smart " "missed it by that much chief" Bill M.

Here's a link to a Shelby Cobra in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fngVM-hl8uc&feature=related

Mike Shelby

If I remember correctly, Shelby had to quit being a racing driver in the very early 60"s because of heart trouble, but he had been very successful as a racer for a number of years. He decided to try to develop a sports car with an American V8 and a European body about the time that AC lost the availability of the former engine in the Ace. Using his connections with others in the racing fraternity, he was able to come up with some Ford small blocks, which he did some hot rod modifications to, and then installed them in Ace chassis, renaming the combination the Cobra. I am sure there were other modifications done, but the resulting cars were really light and frighteningly fast, if a little crude. From what I read about the Cobras, they really did not make money from sales, but really helped Ford with publicity. This led to Shelby"s deal to modify Mustangs into GT350"s and later GT500"s, and after that various other cars from Ford and other manufacturers. I think he was pretty heavily involved in modified Chrysler turbo cars in the 80"s and 90"s and I think there are current Mustangs that at least have the Shelby name on them. He got a lot accomplished over his lifetime and must have been quite the promoter!

I also remember reading that Shelby had lots of health problems over the years, and that he received a heart transplant quite a few years ago. But whatever, living to be 89 is a lot longer life than most people ever achieve.

Oh, the car I remember in the Get Smart TV show was not a Cobra, but rather a Sunbeam Tiger. The Tiger was more or less the same general idea of a U. S. V8 in a small sports car, but it was not nearly the performer the Cobra was.

As a kid in the 60"s I lusted after the few Sunbeam Tigers and Cobras I ever saw, but never had the opportunity or money to buy one. Probably really lucky, as they were squirrelly cars that would really fly, and I probably would have killed myself with it if I had actually been able to purchase one.

I am sorry to hear that Carroll Shelby has passed, but we all will at some time or another. He sure did a lot of interesting things in his lifetime, and I have enjoyed reading about him for about 50 years or so. So long, Shel!

Ever think bout adding a S to your last name? lol.

Was Maxwell Smart's car a Tiger or an Alpine? James Bond had an Alpine in a least one movie. I hear Shelby American (his business) made a prototype Tiger but the actual cars were built by Jenson in England. They stopped Tiger production when Chrysler bought the Rootes group (Sunbeam's parent company) and they didn't see much future making or selling cars with Ford engines, I'm guessing a Mopar "A" block (273-318-340-360) wouldn't fit

To my best recollection, Shelby never made a 427 SOHC Cobra, but there are a few retrofits that have been done, as well as kit cars. I had a chance to buy a pair of SOHC "cammers" once- one was new in the crate, the other had been run a night or two in a dirt car. $5000 for the pair, back in the early 80s. I was young and just out of college, and just couldn't come up with the money. They went to the west coast. The pair would probably bring 100k now. Hind sight is 20/20.

For a time I had a non-running Singer. Ever hear of that one? I was a British-made, four-seater that looked a lot like an MGTD---in fact, there was a joke that it looked like a Japanese version of the MG. Reason I mention it Singer became part of the Rootes Group.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singer_Motors

My first car was a blue fastback 68 Mustang GT with the 4bbl 302 and 4 speed and I installed a 427 from a 64 Galaxie. Closest I"ll have to a 68 GT500KR and scary fast. My hat off to Shelby. (car is now restored with the original 302 and belongs to my brother.)

I met Mr Shelby when I was a kid. He was a chicken farmer not far from where I lived. He used to race at Lake Worth old seaplane base.Very nice easy going guy. Didn't have the big head problem like some did. He had to stop racing because of health problems. He later had a Heart transplant and a Kidney transplant.

Good summation of his career. And yes, he is/was still making Shelby Mustangs - GT350's, GT 500's, GT500 Super Snakes, and one I just read about a month ago... the Shelby 1000... the first road-legal, factory-built 1000 h.p. car.
While I never had a chance to meet him, I've been a fan for years.

Shelby American actually got out of the Mustang deal in 1967. The 1968 GT-350 and GT-500/500KR were actually completed by A. O. Smith in Michigan (yup, the Harvestore people. Ol" Shel also went on to do a lot with Dodge in the "80s. I had a Dodge GLH in the "80s, and he developed it to combat the Rabbit GTI. They went far beyond that with the Shelby Charger and the GLHS.

Autoweek article on Shelby
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120511/CARNEWS/120519987