In 1976 America had a celebration 200 years in the making. Up until then this Shelby was the “King Of the Road“. It was also the year this Shelby was parked after a fender bender & never seen from again for decades to come. ( scroll down for detailed pictures & video below ) With all good intentions of fixing the car , the owner’s life got behind him & the repairs of the Shelby never happened. So for the next 43 years it sat in storge with the 1976 Bicentennial license plate’s still attached to it before being discovered & restored to perfection. Yes Mustang Restorations Inc. in Dundee Illinois known as the oldest & largest Mustang restoration shop on the planet took on the monumentous task of making this once proud Shelby great again.. According to the build sheet found behind the dash, #2784 was destined to be shipped overseas & marked as such on the build sheet to receive a “metric speedometer”. By some twist of fate this GT500KR stayed in America & is the only one of its kind to be shipped to the upper mid-west. Pulled out of its almost 45 year resting place what was found was truly amazing. Since the car was only on the road for 7 years or so it still had its original #s matching drivetrain ! Equipped with options like Air Conditioning (rare for a Shelby with a Cobra-Jet with a 4-speed ) & the optional Knitted Weave seat deluxe upholstery which is still original to this car. Unique to this Shelby GT500KR being equipped with Air Conditioning & a 4-speed transmission combination is the rare to see “engine oil cooler” still intact. It doesn’t stop there though. While most Shelby’s are lucky to have just a few matching Vin’s. This Shelby is a “ 7 matching Vin. car ”, meaning it has the “Dash tag” vin, the “Door tag” vin, the “Shelby tag” vin, the “Buck” tag vin, the “Public” Vin. stamped in the drivers fender apron, the “Confidential” vin. stamped in the passenger apron & the matching Vin stamped at the rear of the engine block… All with the same # ! We also found the original tags in place on the Carburetor, Rear axle, Steering gear box, Engine, Transmission & yes even the Brake Power Booster tag still dangling after decades of time past. . Even the ultra rare & original to this car Holley Carburetor that was still sitting on top of the 428 Cobra-Jet engine the car left the factory with was sent to Holley corporation facility for their factory quality rebuild & plated just as it looked almost 50 years ago. Doesn’t get any better then that. Many, many original pieces to the car were unbelievably well preserved & reused for the restoration. This would include all correct date coded glass. Most of the interior was cleaned & detailed, including the carpeting, seat upholstery, dash pad, as well as the rear interior cargo panels. All 22 pieces. The inside vent grilles are as new looking today as they were back in 68. These are always pitted on every 68 seen or replaced with a cheap plastic reproduction. Not on this car though. The car even has its #s matching tail pipes on it with Ford logo & all. Wow ! But wait…There is more . Keep in mind that this car was parked early in its life with all of the factory pieces still in place. Drive train components like the Engine block, Exhaust manifolds, Intake manifold, Radiator ( another ultra rare piece) , Cylinder heads, A/C compressor, Steering box, Transmission, Smog equipment, brackets, pulleys, braces, believe it or not the Ram Air Cleaner rubber seal & the set of original FOMOCO head lamps we found in the trunk of the car that still work! All original to the car & restored to perfection. The original Am Radio works & the factory Clock movement still ticks just as it did when it rolled off the showroom floor. We used all original NOS Shelby & Ford parts as well as concourse quality replacements like some of the exhaust components & the factory correct Bias ply GoodYear white lettered tire’s on the factory original 15 inch Kelsy Hayes wheels with a set of correct & rare to see original mag star wheel covers over them. Pain staking details such as body panel alignment were a top priority for this restoration. Shelbys are known for their poor fiberglass fit & nose lettering mis alignment. This Shelby has none of that with body fitment & finish second to none . Even the headlamps are perfectly centered in their openings. Rare to see on these cars. Yes this Shelby is truly made The King Of The Road again !

Scroll down thru the many , many pictures to see the detail that was performed on this unbelievable build from start to finish line…